Simple answer .. please ...

[FullyFlapped]

I've searched the archives, and looked at more threads than yer average seamstress, but I'm still none the wiser .... so: does anyone know if there's a simple answer ?

I have a JAA PPL/IMC etc, and plenty of hours. I want to get an FAA PPL as well. Can I just :-

1. Take the FAA written exam(s).
2. Take a flight test with an FAA examiner.
3. Do the above somewhere in the UK.

... or do I have to go to the US, or do loads of hours with an instructor etc ? I'd rather take the full PPL than obtain a "restricted certificate" (which by the way seems to be as simple as knitting fog to obtain since 9/11).

Can any of you learned ones help please ?

Thanks,

FF :ok:

[Genghis the Engineer]

It is all in the sticky at the top of the page, but if you want the "Janet and John" version:-

- Fill out a CAA form, pay them £15 for reading it.
- Fill out an FAA form, naming an FAA FSDO where you want to get your licence
- Wait until told (takes a few weeks)
- Go to FSDO with JAR licence, logbook
- Receive temporary licence.
- Do FAA BFR
- Fly on temporary licence until your shiny plastic one, with a picture of Wilbur and Orville on the back arrives in the post.

That's it, no more than an hour or two with an FAA instructor, no FAA medical, hardly any money. However, you can't do it all in the UK, since there aren't any FAA FSDOs here.

G

[2Donkeys]

Reading the question, if what you are after is a standalone FAA ticket, the answer is slightly different to Genghis' who describes very well what to do if you want the restricted one (except the CAA Fee has just gone up to £16)

To get your own FAA PPL you need to:

1) Obtain an FAA Class 3 medical

2) Sit the FAA PPL Knowledge test

3) Brush up on your general flying and in particular, your ground reference maneuvers[sic] (not part of the JAA PPL), ideally with an FAA instructor. You will need an FAA instructor's sign-off that you are ready for the Oral and Flight test. Such a sign-off can only be given to a student the instructor has actually taught.

4) Take the FAA Oral Exam and Flight test

1 and 2 can easily be achieved in the UK. So can 3. In principle, 4 can too although opinions vary about how often visiting FAA examiners come to the UK and how easily slots can be booked.

Personally, I would probably get a cheap flight out to the US and do 3 and 4 there. The only downside to that, is the need to obtain an M-1 visa, which is not nearly as painful as some suggest. I now know several people who found it far more painful (and costly) keeping topped up with training whilst the FAA examiners were due to turn up in the UK "next month".

PM me if you want more specific advice.

2D

[Flyin'Dutch']

Since the 1 May of this year the only places you can do the written bits outside the US are those schools which are Part 141 approved.

That is currently only FlightSafety at Le Bourget and in the next week or so American Flight Training at Norwich contact details are on their website (http://www.flyafts.co.uk/index.html).

The latter has examiners coming over regularly for people taking flight tests.

You will at some stage as 2Ds says have to fly with an FAA instructor to get the sign off and you will need 3 hours of instruction within 60 days of doing the test.

Getting the M1 Visa is a minor pain if you follow the guidance offered by the US embassy and in one of the sticky threads here.

What works best for you depends on a number of variables.

Hope this helps, if you want to know more feel free to ask!

FD

[N Reg Aztec]

2D's,

To get a standalone ticket would the applicant not require the minimum night hours with a CFI (Incl take off, landings and X-c) as specified in the FARs?

N Reg.

[2Donkeys]

N reg Aztec

Absolutely right! The pilot will need to meet the necessary aeronautical experience requriements as defined by the FAA.

I don't know "Fully Flapped" but took his description of himself :

I have a JAA PPL/IMC etc, and plenty of hours

as probably meeting those requirements. You never know though, and people do get caught out as they fill in their applications. The cross countries required for the IR and the CPL are frequent problems for Brits.

Worth noting that where aeronautical experience is required with an instructor, that instructor need not be an FAA CFI, providing he holds an ICAO equivalent instructors ticket. The only time required with an FAA CFI is the 3 hours in the last 60 days as indicated by Flyin Dutch.

2D

[MLS-12D]

I'd rather take the full PPL than obtain a "restricted certificate" (which by the way seems to be as simple as knitting fog to obtain since 9/11).Why? The only real advantage to obtaining "the full PPL" is that it would permit you to retain your FAA privileges in the event that you don't maintain your JAA PPL. The disadvantages are that it will be more complicated to obtain than a "restricted PPL" (piggybacking on your JAA license) - which btw is still quite easy to get, 9/11 or no - and (I think) it will require you to maintain a separate FAA medical category.

The above assumes that you will be content with PPL privileges... if it is your ambition to go on to an FAA CPL or ATPL, then perhaps it would be necessary to first get a "full PPL", although I'm not so sure about that.

MLS-12D :8

P.S. The article Goodbye CAA PPL/IR (http://www.pplir.org/journals/old/NETWORK%20No%2E%2026.pdf) may be of come interest, although possibly slightly outdated (June 2001).

[IO540]

At the Norwich organisation, one can do a standalone FAA PPL for about £1300, or a piggyback one for about £250. All in the UK.

The S/A cost is based on three hours (their min requirement) in their Archer, plus the checkride in their Archer, and there is a £500+VAT charge for the checkride.

They cannot train in G-reg.

So, for the FAA IR, for any presently-G-reg pilots it would make sense to find a JAA IR instructor and then do the last few hours at the FAA place. But then one is flying a completely different type which messes up one's currency on type.... how do people get around this?

One could

1. Get the FAA medical
2. Get the FAA PPL at Norwich for £1300 in their N-reg Archer (even I could fly an Archer, VFR :O )
3. Put the plane on the N-reg (then you can fly UK/abroad, VMC but your IMC Rating becomes worthless)
4. Do the FAA IR at Norwich

Is there another way? What I really want is an instructor who can teach the FAA PPL/IR in my G-reg plane.

Incidentally, there is a big gotcha for the S/A FAA PPL, and that is a 100nm cross country night flight. Depending on where one is located, this could be very hard to do in the UK because most airfields close too early. One has to find two airfields at least 100nm apart, and fly between them after official night (which AFAIK is 30 mins after offocial sunset).

[nosehair]

The night cross-country referred to in the regulations say, "one cross-country of over 100 nautical miles total distance."
Total distance. Which means it can be a flight out to an airport 51 nm, land, and return to original point of departure.

[IO540]

I was categorically told that one cannot do that; it has to be a "land away", with both takeoff and landing during official night.

Admittedly it is slightly easier to find one 24H airport than two.

Also, does one carry a piece of paper for the ATCO(s) to sign, like one does on the JAR PPL x/c flight?

[White Bear]

There you go, getting all pedantic, and not reading it correctly. Please read the requirement again, a TOTAL of 100nm. So 51nm out and 51nm back does the trick.
By the way this is an accompanied flight, not solo, and if you do it right you can knock off many if not all of your night landing requirements at the same time.
The 100nm mile part comes probably from the old requirement for the long cross country (day VFR) that used to require a 300nm total distance with one leg at least 100nm long. This is no longer the case.
Regards,
White Bear.