JAR PPL to FAA PPL Conversion

[invertedspin10]

I currently have a FAA license based on my UK JAR PPL. I am thinking of getting an FAA IR which means I first need to get a true FAA issued PPL (Not one issued on a JAR PPL)
Does anyone know how to do this. Do I have to go thu the visa/TSA hassle .
I believe I basically just have to take the test? are there any written exams required.
Any help would be great

thanks

[Chilli Monster]

I currently have a FAA license based on my UK JAR PPL. I am thinking of getting an FAA IR which means I first need to get a true FAA issued PPL (Not one issued on a JAR PPL)

No you don't - you can add an FAA IR to an FAA PPL issued "on the basis of" your UK PPL.

Does anyone know how to do this. Do I have to go thu the visa/TSA hassle .

Yes you do - http://www.flightschoolcandidates.gov

I believe I basically just have to take the test? are there any written exams required.

Yes, one multiple choice exam, not that difficult. If you get the ASA or Gleim books / CD ROM exam prep you can't go wrong.

[Flyin'Dutch']

Will you have ready access to a N reg aircraft in the UK? If you don't then you wiill not be able to exercise the privileges of the IR.

Yes and no.

You can fly IFR outside CAS in the UK with an FAA IR

[invertedspin10]

Great . Thanks for all the advice so far .
I didnt realise you could get the IR on the basis of your restircted FAA PPL.
Is there any benefit of getting un unrestricted FAA PPL in that case?
Also if later I decide to get a FAA CPL then does the IR get carried across automatically from my restricted to my new CPL.

can anyone point me to the IR currency requirments and do they have to be done in a N reg aircraft

[IO540]

You can fly IFR outside CAS in the UK with an FAA IR

Delete the "in the UK bit" - the privileges in a G-reg are not limited geographically.

One grey area with an FAA PPL, never clarified AFAIK, is night flight in the UK which is normally "IFR". But with an FAA IR this one goes away.

[IO540]

I agree with SocalApp. However may I add:

Much depends on one's future outlook. I've said this before but will say it again.

A lot of people think they just want to see if they like flying, then they spend a year working through the JAA process, then realise they want to do the IR, then they discover they can't do it either because of the huge exam swatting workload or because of some subtlety like having one ear which fails the (stupid, pointless and non-ICAO) JAA Class 1 audiogram.

There are subtle/rare cases where an FAA PPL (alone) is achievable and the JAA one isn't. For example the FAA permits demonstrated ability for some medical issues whereas JAA doesn't, or JAA allows the DA route on a renewal only but not on the initial. This comes up regularly in the medical forum and is no doubt highly provocative to the CAA.

If one is certain that the PPL will be the limit (e.g. due to no possibility of becoming an aircraft owner, for financial reasons) then go JAA every time. That is true for the vast majority of UK private pilots (sadly). But well funded [future] pilots with ambitious Euro-touring plans need to think more carefully. I had ambitious touring plans from the day before my first lesson (though not the budget, initially) and wish I had done things very differently.....

You can meet the FAA IR currency requirements in any plane, Mongolian reg if necessary ;)

May I ask a related Q: How long can one allow a JAA PPL to lapse for before having to retake the exams? (assuming one has been flying lots all along).

[englishal]

If you want to get an unrestricted FAA PPL (it's not mandatory) before going on to the IR, you will need to ensure that you have all the required flight experience as documented in FAR 61.109
You will need to meet ALL of the requirements for the FAA PPL and the FAA IR to take the IR checkride. I got caught this way, I didn't have any night and came to take the FAA IR checkride (on a "based on" ticket) and the examiner "failed" me straight away :O

Advantages of FAA ticket:

Much easier to keep. In Jarland if you don't jump through hoops at exactly the right time, you can loose your ticket. Last year, despite having done about 60 hours in 12 months I almost was forced to do a retest. This was because I didn't have the "1 hr with JAA instructor in last 12 months" element. The weather was bad for weeks and in the end, luckily, with 2 days to go I managed to get up for an hour - only beacue it was blowing about 35 Kts and the examiner I went with had cancelled his PPL student. I had deliberately left it this late because the CAA in all of its wisdom says that you must get the licence signed by an examiner but only in the 3 months prior to expiry! How silly is that, if you meet the requirements 1 day after year 1, then why not get your ticket singed then, and valid for a further 3 years? This is what I did do in revalidations 1 and 2.

If this happens in Faaland, you are not allowed to fly, but you just do the Biennial check when you can get time....no big deal.

Not only that, but every 5 years you have to re-apply (and pay) for the JAA licence.

The FAA are realistic with regards to medicals. This may or may not be an issue of course, but medical duration is longer. A class 3 is valid for 3 years at the mo, due to be 5 years soon (sub 40 yoa).

One of our group members flies our G reg quite happily on his USA certificate. Has done for years, and insurance is not even an issue.

[phillipsmw]

Im filling in my 8710 at the moment. Ive noticed that the minimum instrument hours for the FAA PPL is 3 hours, and in JAA land its just 1 hour

(Ive got 1 hour 5 mins)

Does this mean Ill have to do extra instrument time to get an FAA restricted PPL. And if so, do I need to do this before travelling to the US?

Many thanks