Another moan at the CAA

[Fancy Navigator]

I am deeply annoyed to see that it takes ages to the CAA to process night qualifications or IMC ratings, but they manage to process the payment on the day they receive the application...:* £70 that they process on the day!!! They have time to open your envelope, look at the form, take your credit card number, process the whole payment, send you a receipt.....
Could not they do the same with the ratings mentioned above? At the end of the day, the only difference that appears on your licence when you get your night qualification is "the privileges can be exercised at night".... and that's all!! the IMC rating does not add much either.....! They probably have templates that they just fill in, so I am sure it could be done more quickly, eh?
So, obviously, while waiting for the paper work to be done, you can't use your ratings....
ENOUGH is ENOUGH :*

[spitfire]

Too right, mate.

When I moved to the USA and got my PPL over here, after passing the skills test the instructor was able to issue me with a temporary licence that I could use until the permanent one arrived from the FAA a few weeks later. Now THAT seems like a commons sense way of going about things.

[drauk]

Don't know if it helps at all, but you can (used to?) go to Gatwick and get these processed while you wait. Note this is only for rating additions, not for new licenses.

[Charlie Zulu]

Yup they were still doing it last year, a friend had his night rating added in this way.

I'll be going to Gatwick to have my Multi rating added mid-July. You should get to the CAA offices as early as possible and they will take all of the paperwork, licence, logbook. payment etc. Then they'll give you a time when to go back to the office later in the day to pick your new licence up.

Just a quick question. Would it be easier to get to Gatwick from Redhill rather than Biggin Hill?

[Chilli Monster]

Just a quick question. Would it be easier to get to Gatwick from Redhill rather than Biggin Hill
Seeing as Redhill is only 4 miles north east of Gatwick, whereas Biggin is 14 miles (both straightline distance) then there's your answer. You can probably get a bus from Redhill.

[High Wing Drifter]

I waited 6 weeks for my night rating. When I ended up at Garwick for my ATPLs I stuck my head round the corner and five minutes later...as if by magic...they added the uber line to that sorry looking fragment. OH CAA! WHY DO YOU TOY WITH ME SO?

[strake]

How about cheque to CAA for 630UK pounds cashed on March 12th for Star Annual. Aeroplane still in hanger waiting for CAA response....

[A and C]

Most unusual for the engineering side of the CAA to be that slow unless there is something very unusual about your C of A , the last one I did took about three weeks , however FCL is another thing entirely It has taken over a month now and they have yet to issue my JAA ATPL that is issued on the back of my valid and fully current CAA ATPL.

In my opinion the CAA FCL department sets a very low standard of service and usualy fails to achive it !.

[capt.sparrow]

Maybe there is truth to the rumour that CAA stands for Campaign Against Aviation!:p

[Squadgy]

Strake/ A & C,

Are you saying that when a CofA has been completed by the engineering firm you then have to wait for the CAA to sign it off and update their records???

Our grouped Cessna is away having it's CofA done and I was hoping to bring it home this week when the work was done. Please don't tell me we're going to have to wait even longer to get flying again:(

We're on Private Cat, LAMS schedule of it makes any difference

[Genghis the Engineer]

'Tis true squadgy, except that you can still fly under the CofV for the old CofA if it hasn't yet expired.

G

[Squadgy]

Forgive my ignorance, but what's a CofV ? The CofA expired on 21/5 (whilst the new CofA was being done). The aircraft flew last Friday for it's CofA Test Flight. If the CofV expires after the CofA can we bring it back and fly it??
Sure we didn't have this problem 3 years ago, the engineers did their thing and we were back up and running again :confused: