Hawker 800.....not correct. the validation process has been in place for a long time. HOWEVER...its a temp validation, useful for a year from issue and, can be extended once, if you can demonstrate that you have started and are attempting to complete the ground school exams that, may not have kept you alive up until now if you are an FAA guy, but certainly will, once you have an EASA ticket, apparently
:roll eyes:
The validation involves proving you have an FAA ticket, demonstrating 1500 hours of multi crew time, a Class 1 EASA Medical being issued and also, an LST, on the type you want to fly if you want it added to your validation. I meet all this criteria, but have to do the LST (still planned for today unless I see a doc confirming the delay until 2017 from the CAA), which is valid for 6 months and would add my current type to my licence.
I originally started flying as a demo/sales pilot for an American manufacturer, who didn't even have the EASA Type Cert on their aircraft at the time and so I needed an American licence to fly their aircraft. I never bothered with the EASA ticket because my intention was never to fly for a living....but one thing followed another and here I am, 11 years later....rated in 4 types (3 multi crew) and am staring down the barrel of no job, just having got a mortgage, 2 small children, a little bit of credit card debt, a car on lease etc etc. Pace....I am very happy to fight the EU/EASA on this. I do believe that the last time this all reared its head, a group of people with a bit more cash were getting together and had made noises directly at EASA re suing them for this illegal rule change and actually, the argument against the establishment, seemed to hold water, from a legal standpoint too. However, that seems to have gone quiet for us Pro licence holders...who arguably, despite more rigorous and regimented training and recurrent checks (if we are typed on larger, complex, multi crew, multi engine aircraft), are being looked at, AFTER the (in some cases) recreational, bimble around airways in little piston, leisure pilots?! I know of ONE guy who is a very wealthy, UK based FAA pilot, who owns his own 3 holer, who is prepared to fight EASA (and is doing so)...but he keeps himself to himself I think. I know another owner pilot, who i used to fly with who has STACKS of cash, but who is just burying his head in the sand and doing, nothing, in the hope he doesn't get caught, or that he has enough money to fight it if he is. Doesn't help the rest of us.
I'm all up for having the right to fly for fun etc (and I still do myself when I can)....but they should be looking at Third Country Licensing as a whole, not deal with the "well heeled", leisure folks who, more often than not, have their income and livelihoods firmly planted in a different industry altogether.
Us "third country simpletons" (a phrase one guy sed re FAA licences!!) need to stand together....no matter what licence we hold. The FAA over here (I'm in USA right now) haven't got any idea really, that the EASA are implementing these restrictions on us....one senior guy said that EASA couldn't stop an FAA pilot flying anywhere as long as he has the FAA ducks in a row...."...none of their Goddamned business!" he said!!
Sorry....rattled on....you can maybe tell I'm passionate about this?!