Using my new PPL in California

[Merritt]

Having received my PPL paperwork this morning - I am now 'official'...

I have just read the article in Octover Pilot mag regarding renting overseas and funnily enough I will be in Sanfrancisco / San Jose in November with work so would like to get up for a few hours whilst there.

The article refers to getting my paper work checked and validated by the CAA so that the USA will allow me to fly? Can someone elaborate on what kind of checks are required? Do I just call FCL at the CAA? Do I need to contact the FAA before I go out there?

Also - what about insurance whilst I am there? I seem to remember reading that UK CAA PPL holders are rarely ever covered by US insurance policies - is this correct?

Anything else I need to know before going??

Cheers

Steve

[MR. PROACH]

Congrats on the PPL.

FAA.gov will cover all the requirements for foreign license/medical etc.



I can suggest several places to fly out of (rentals) and of course, places you must fly to - if you don't have sorted already!

[Merritt]

Thanks... I will take a look at the web site but would appreciate any comments from UK PPL holders that have done this already so that I don't miss anything.


Would definitely appreciate some suggestions of places to visit and rental locations. BTW I am currently flying PA28-161 and PA28-181 so would prefer to stay on type ;)

Cheers

Steve

[snapper41]

I did this in Florida last year. You need to do the following:

1. Get the CAA to tell the FAA that you're bona fide. It costs £40 - see the CAA website for details.

2. Once that's done, the FAA will send you a confirmation letter.

3. When you've got the letter, you need to book an appointment at the regional flight safety district office for where you are in the US; see the FAA website for addresses.

4. Go along to the FSDO apppointment with as much ID and contact numbers as you can; take passport, driving licence, birth certificate - everything! Plus mobile and landline contacts.

5. The FSDO will give you a temporary airman's certificate which is in lieu of a full US PPL. The full licence takes around 120 days to arrive.

This all takes time; plan ahead and do it now!

[slim_slag]

Several Class D airfields in the Bay Area with GA presence, best in the form of flying clubs.

http://www.airnav.com/airport/HWD
http://www.airnav.com/airport/KSQL
http://www.airnav.com/airport/KPAO

and a class C

http://www.airnav.com/airport/KOAK

However, the airspace there is very complex, and they might not be too keen on letting a freshly minted PPL take one of their aircraft without a very significant amount of training.

You might be better off at livermore http://www.airnav.com/airport/KLVK

Prices in the bay area clubs tend to be dry - you pay for fuel on your own credit card when you take the plane back.

Whatever you do, you should go up with an instructor and take a trip up over SFO and fly around the bay itself. Hayward is a good place to start.

[MR. PROACH]

Livermore - Ahart aviation
Concord - Sterling
Both have Cherokees for rent.
Don't sweat the airspace too much - there are vfr corridors and the approach controllers will see you right!

And most importantly, you MUST go to the following;

Castle AFB museum near Merced.
Half Moon Bay for fish and chips at Barbaras.
Columbia airport - old wild west town

Have a damn good time!!!!:ok:

[Merritt]

Thanks guys...

Slim slag - understand entirely & gather that the airspace is busy there. Thanks for the options and the tip regarding fuel.

Snapper - from your 'number 3' item - am I right in saying that they will issue the temporary license there and then? I am only in the US for a week but have day 1 entirely to myself so would need to do it all in one day really!

Any comments on the insurance issue or does the temporary US PPL license mean that I am then covered on US rental aircraft?

Edited to say thanks to Mr Proach!
Steve

[julian_storey]

Lots of good advice on here. Couple of things to add . . . .


Send of your paperwork and money to the CAA straight away. They can sometimes take a little while to confirm your existence to the FAA.

Then send off your paperwork to the FAA (they don't need any money!). Specify a FSDO where you can conveniently present yourself to the FAA and be placed in receipt of your temporary FAA licence.

You need to do a BFR with an instructor before you use your licence out there. No big deal, although it wouldn't do any harm to familiarise yourself with the way the airspace out there works before you go. It's all a bit different.

You will love flying out there! Cheap aircraft rental, almost no landing fees, 24 hour airports etc.

Need to know any more PM me.

Have fun!

Julian

[slim_slag]

If you are only doing this for one day I'd take an instructor. Get your US certificate as well, save it for next time.

Insurance. Well, last time this came up on here it got heated. Posts edited, PMs flying around, lots of nonsense spoken.

Basically, you need to buy insurance separately, will cost $200 or so for a year, talk to the insurance compay for details of what is and isn't covered. If you take an instructor you will not need it as he will cover you. You can get several hours of instruction for $200.

[snapper41]

Merritt;

Yes, you will get your temp licence there and then. Be aware, given your limited time available, that the FSDO might well have strict appointment times. The one I used in Florida only took bookings for Wednesday afternoon, with the last slot at 1500; hardly convenient!

[Sensible]

You have got to get your FAA licence sorted first, no FAA licence = no airplane rental! It is not as simple and straightforward as it used to be and the paperwork from the CAA to the FAA doesn't take a day or two either! You may have left it too late already! What you may need to do is to fly your hours with an instructor. Flying the S.F. Bay area is somewhat more complex than a bumble around the British countryside and the chances are that you are going to need a few hours of instructor time to get up to speed with flying in US airspace anyway.
"Private renters insurance" may be a good idea. Rental insurance provided "free" by the FBO's in the US is at best basic and at worst, completely inadequate. You may end up with the bill for all or part of any damage to the airplane. Also, your holiday medical insurance will probably not cover you for mishaps whilst flying so you will need proper travel medical insurance specifically for flying. Bills in the USA are always HUGE. Try Traffords 0844 815 0970 you will need this whether you are flying P1 or supervised.
Good luck!

[mattkcraven]

Hi steve,

I did the same and flew around the bay area only 6 months after passing my PPL. The paperwork as already described takes a while and needs to be started well in advance.

Training wise then I did 4 hours dual in a PA28-161. This included being shown how to navigate the 'Bay Tour' which meant flying overhead the international airport at San Fran'. So no worries about 'lack of experience', it is surprisingly straight forward once you get your head around the local procedures, especially if you are further south towards San Jose. Just expect plenty of crosswind landings.

The FSDO is at Oakland international was very helpful and flexible, I just had to say when I wanted the appointment, and you recieve the temp licence there and then (the actual licence arrives a few weeks later).

All i can say is go for it really, I had a brilliant time taking my family up and around the Bay, flying parallel with a Virgin 747 on approach, going for breakfast at Half Moon Bay, lunch at Napa County :} .....want to go back!!

So you know then I flew from San Carlos with the West Valley Flying Club, just let me know if you want any more info.

Happy flying :ok:

[Merritt]

Thanks again...

I have discovered that I need to fill in form SRG1160 and fax it across to the CAA to set the wheels in motion (it will cost me £39)

Matt - is Oaklands far from San fran? Ideally I would like the earliest possible appointment on the sunday morning (I hope its open on Sundays!!) alternatively as late as possible on the Saturday evening!!


Steve

[slim_slag]

Heh heh heh. It's a federal government department.....

Oakland airport isn't far from anywhere in that area, but you need a car. I would be more worried about driving in san francisco city than flying over it :) You can take the BART but it's not the best area when you get to Oakland.

Calling it San Fran is better than calling it Frisco, but not much. If you want to be considered cool call it The City! :ok:

[mattkcraven]

Its not too far from San Francisco, basically just across the bay via the bay bridge (next to Oakland Airport). Just looked on the FSDO website and seems its just normal office hours unfortunately.

http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/field_offices/fsdo/oak/contact/

[Merritt]

Oh :mad:

That kinda scuppers my plans unless I can still go up with an instructor without the need for the FAA paperwork? I guess I could try and do the visit later in the week but would still like to get up for a few hours on the sunday..

[slim_slag]

You don't need any FAA paperwork to go flying with an instructor. If you are only getting checked out you don't need any TSA stuff either. Show them your log book and tell them your FSDO appointment for the certificate is later that week, they will not care. Under FAA Part 91 regs a flying school can also take you for a sightseeing flight, but only within a 25nm radius, which would cover the bay from Hayward. If you have a log book/UK licence you can just call it an instructional flight.

[Dave Gittins]

This subject has been covered frequently (Ok I have read this thread and it has moved on a bit now) but the sticky is still stuck for all to see.

http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=278995

DGG

[Merritt]

Just filling in the paperwork now.

Please can someone verify that below is the correct FAA form required (im pretty sure it is but just checking)

http://www.faa.gov/licenses_certificates/airmen_certification/media/verify61-75.pdf


Thanks

Steve

[PompeyPaul]

I'm in the same position. I found that FAA form you mention, but couldn't find the CAA page or form I have to fill in and send to the CAA ? Has anybody else found it ? The only thing I found was this:

http://www.caa.co.uk/application.aspx?catid=33&pagetype=65&appid=11&mode=detail&id=2090

Which is simply a payment form. Which is maybe what I'm looking for ?

[smith]

If you are only going to have one full day of flying I wouldn't bother with all the hoops you have to jump through especially as a newbie ppl. Fly with an instructor, he will let you be in control all of the flight and no doubt you will learn various tips and tricks different from a UK instructor which you can use when you get home.

To get an airmans cert, a check-out, then plan and fly a trip round the bay area in one day is biting a lot off imho. Just go, get an instructor and enjoy the view.

[Merritt]

PompeyPaul - the UK form is here:

http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/33/FORSRG1160.PDF

you also need the payment form.

Steve

[Dave Gittins]

Merritt : 1. Yep - You have got the correct FAA Form.

Pompey Paul : 2. This is the CAA Form. http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/33/FORSRG1160.PDF

3. You also have to fill in the payments form.

Best of luck - be aware that to do FR the and validate the FAA Temp Airmans Cert, you will have to do about 3 hours on the ground (so you will need at least a working knowledge of FAR/AIM 2007, use of sectionals, airspace etc. ) and a good hour in the air.

DGG

[Merritt]

Thanks Dave...

all the paperwork is now with the FAA / CAA.

The FAA say that they need 90days so I may not have it in time anyway since I am travelling on the 3rd Nov.

I have gone for the San Jose FSDO office since I will be in San Jose for the majority of my trip so I can pop in at lunch time.

If there additional suggestions for aircraft rental locations in San Jose I may be able to get up in the week as well depending on how early the sun is setting by then!

Here's hoping..

Steve

[gcolyer]

Just pop in at lunch time would be nice wouldn't it. It is not as straight forward as that. They will go through your log book and license, you will then fill in more forms where you will have to write all you times on type down as P1 and PUT.

It is also possible the FSDO might insist that you get an FAA medical. ther eis no law saying you must have an FAA medical but it is not unheard for them insist...they did for me and I have heard about others as well.

You will also need to do a BFR which off the top of my head is 1.5 hours ground grilling and 1.5 hours flight review. So it will be worth you while reading up on US airlaw and flicking through the FAR/AIM as the ground grilling will no doubt cover this.

[Dave Gittins]

At Denver they were quite happy with my CAA medical but I too have heard others can be less friendly. If there is a problem, I would try and argue that it is fully "on the basis of" (that being what it says) which includes the medical.

The guy who checked all my paperwork was mildly irked that he was having to do this as it was his day to be "duty dog" and so he was almost as green about the subject as I was. We spent ages correcting my writing so it was legible and then making sure the forms had no obvious crossings out which may have invalidated them.

The FAA at Oaklahoma City had not faxed the confirmation to Denver (at least that is what Denver said and OC said thay had), so I had to make a load of phone calls to get that straightened up and a copy faxed before I could go to Denver FSDO.

[Merritt]

Hmm - should have guessed it would be more complicated than it looks!

[Dave Gittins]

Not particularly complicated, just driven by processes and it all needs managing and can be a bit time consuming.

It looks on the face of it as though you send off a couple of forms and two / three months later collect a temp airman's cert and do a quick flight review.
Basically that is all it is but with two government departments and at least 3 different offices involved, some complex form filling to do, not to mention needing a US training school to do an FR (and potentially an FAA AME), it needs keeping on top of to make it work and all cme together in a day or two when you arrive in the USA.

The good news is that at least they all speak English (and the American folk really do want to be helpful as long as they keep to their rules) ... I had a terrible time in Greece.

DGG

[bangoman]

I looked into this as well - I was in the Bay Area in April. I only had a day set aside for flying. All things considered, it was much easier to get an instructor. I used Sterling Aviation at Buchanan Field, Concord (KCCR) - I can highly recommend them. Did a 2-3 hour trip around the Bay for $200 - Bargain!

If you did go solo, I found air traffic much easier to use in the US than UK. There is a constant process of handover to different units. Concord Tower hand you off to Norcal Approach. Request flight following, they give you a squawk and let you get on with it with traffic alerts mixing you up with the big jets in/out of SFO/OAK.

Whatever you do take a decent camera when cruising over the Bay, it's stunning!

[Humaround]

We did the 'Bay Tour' last time we were in Ca, from a little local airfield at Petaluma, about 40 moles N of SF. (edit - should read 'miles' - dam moles get everywhere...)

One of the best flights I've had. I have previously flown solo in Ca after checkout but on this occasion I was very happy to have the FI Dick do the radio and talk to SF Approach while I flew us 500' above the Golden Gate and around the Bay. Absolutely top.

The only time Dick took the yoke, as we flew over San Quentin, he grabbed it without warning, stuck us over on the wingtip to see the prisoners exercising in the yard!

Mrs Hum got most of the flight on video from the back seat of the War-yur.

[old-timer]

Go for it !! you'll love it, flying in the states is so much better in my experience, mind you that was pre 9-11, but they have a great attitude to flying, i'd recommend Squadron 2 at Reid Hillview, great firendly club owned by an ex UK RAF/RN Pilot, Frank Mason, a top guy.

I did a round-robin tour covering texas-california & return, we flew over Yosemite which was AWESOME but demands the utmost respect, it's high (13000' ! + safety altitude which requires oxygen to be safe)

have fun !!

[englishal]

To be honest, if you only have a few hours to fly, I'd get the paperwork sorted, and use an instructor for the day ($35-40 per hour) - then get them to endorse the BFR at the end of that day, so you will have a full and valid ticket for your next trip over...

It will probably take more than an hour for a newly minted PPL, and I would allow at least a days flying. There are so many differences between Cali and the UK - the most obvious one is the high terrain. Procedures are totally different too - So get an instructor onboard and fly somewhere interesting for the day - try Harris Ranch a fly in steak restaraunt, where the runway is a piece of old road running parallel to the new section - it is pretty cool to fly in for the best steak in Cali. Then come back for a holiday in the future and spend a couple of weeks touring and enjoying the weak dollar (flights are dirt cheap, I'm over flying in LA in Oct).

Have fun :ok:

[slim_slag]

Yes, if he is going to San Jose (and not San Francisco as first reported) then Reid Hillview RHV ( http://www.airnav.com/airport/rhv ) is an excellent suggestion.

If you want to take the Bay Tour on your own you will need a lot more than one hour checkout, somebody reported four hours, and that was six months after getting their PPL. Just going in and out of RHV will be a lot easier on you, approaching from the east you only have to talk to their tower, though you can always get radar services from NORCAL too, if you want.

If you say you are planning the Bay tour, amongst other things, they will want to see you can handle the handoffs between the various units up there, and also can handle it if they tell you are not cleared immediately into the Class B over SFO. There is a lot of brain work flying in the Bay Area proper, far more than in SOCAL, and that is pretty busy too. Basically they will take you up there to train you, so you will have done it with an instructor already.

If you look on the back of the SFO TAC you will get the VFR flyways mentioned earlier, but they scoot around the Bay, so that's a lot easier. Flying up the Bay is not for the inexperienced, used to live in Bay Area, know how it's done. You can easily get the experience required, but not in one hour.

[Wessex Boy]

Don't forget that there is a Floaty Beaver just over the GG Bridge!
I missed out on trying it last time I was there, will endeavour to have a go next time!