Obtaining FAA license in UK/NPPL conversion?

[Pudnucker]

I really don't think this ones been covered. Any ideas on the following:

Have 250 hours on NPPL. Can't be bothered any longer to await the outcome of the new Euro PPL so was thinking about getting an FAA license (my visual correction is a knats C*ck over the max correction allowed for JAR even though I can see 20/20), Want an FAA licence so I can add instruments go abroad or possibly try rotory etc .

Questions:

a) Can I get an FAA license here or is it best going to the USA and doing the conversion training?
b) Does the FAA recognise hours logged under an NPPL and count them (250 hrs is a reasonable amount so surely they must do)?
c) How do you go about getting the licence converted and or go about getting a from fresh FAA licence?

Tricky one :bored:!

Thanks for your answers!

[julian_storey]

It would almost certainly be a lot cheaper to get yourself an FAA licence in the US. A few months back, I was renting a tidy Cessna 172 in Arizona for $79 an hour. That's about £40!

There will be someone on here who probably knows better than me about what conversion options exist (if any) although the only way to get a definitive answer is to speak to someone at an FAA FSDO (Flight Standards District Office).

My guess is that although an NPPL is a 'non ICAO' licence, your instructor must have been JAR qualified so you may find that the training would in fact count towards the issue of an FAA PPL. One thing though, if it did count - the FAA system requires instruction to be countersigned by the instructor so you might need to track him / her down and get him to sign your logbook.

I would imagine that you would probably just need to get an FAA medical (you can get one over here - PM me for details), pass the FAA private written exam and receive such training as you might need to get through an FAA checkride.

As you may have read elsewhere, the FAA written is a piece of cake. The flight test though is actually more demanding than the JAR one so you would almost certainly need a few hours of instruction to get through that.

If you do go to the States to do your training make absolutely certain that you pick the right flight school. There are some fantastic ones over there but also some sharks. I've come across both and got my fingers burned in Southern California getting my FAA Commercial.

Good luck!

[IO540]

I am 99% sure the NPPL cannot be converted to a piggyback FAA PPL.

However the training that was done towards it should be allowable towards the FAA PPL logbook requirements, and that should take of most of the 40 or so hours. There will certainly be some additional stuff to do (even a UK/JAA PPL holder gets caught by this) because the FAA PPL has more requirements than a JAA PPL; for example there are specific night flights including x/country flights.

A good VFR pilots should be able to do a standalone FAA PPL in the USA in a week or so.

The single FAA PPL written exam is not a piece of cake. A smart UK PPL should be able to get some 60% right away but the rest is a mixture of stuff which he will have never seen; for example there are bits on U.S. airspace rules and procedures (which you just have to memorise) and bits on instrument flying which I did not do until the IMC Rating.

Then you get an oral exam (something UK pilots don't have to do) and the checkride follows right after.

It's worth doing though, as it opens the way to a reasonably accessible IR later on.

I've sent you a message, Pudnucker.

[Pudnucker]

Thanks for the messages guys. Very useful.

Quick follow up question as you seem to understand this. The 2 year flight review I understand, would have to be done back in the USA. This is no problem as I travel regularly on business and can do this. However, do you again need to get the TSA approval, Visa and all that malarky as a check ride is (I presume) considered a training flight?

[englishal]

The 2 year flight review I understand, would have to be done back in the USA.
Nope....My mate who is an FAA certified instructor did my flight review in my G reg aeroplane a few months ago. Of course I didn't pay him anything to be sure of not falling foul of other rules ;) I logged PIC as per the FARs....

[julian_storey]

Englishal is right.

An FAA BFR is NOT a checkride, it is simply a flight with an instructor. The instructor could though potentially refuse to sign of your BFR if he felt that you were not safe.

You can either do your BFR with one of the many FAA approved instructors over here or you could do it in the States on one of your trips. If you choose to do it in the States you wouldn't need TSA clearance or a visa because you are not training for the grant of a new certificate or rating.

[aztruck]

You can do a huge amount of prep over here. Use the Gleim red study guide for the written and you can take the exam online in the UK, book/computer training aids all available over the counter in the UK. Get hold of the PPL private test standards and see what you have to do for the test.
If you can, find a tame US qualified instructor to show you a few of the US manoevres in a suitable aircraft.
Get a personal intro to a flight school from someone who has been there, and get hold of FAA charts for the area. Go over these with your tame US Cfi over here before you go.
The radio work can be quite different, and this, rather than the flying, might use up a fair bit of capacity when you transition to the US.
The triangular cross country flight you will almost certainly have to do in the US, and dont forget that the US ratings all involve night flying .
If you havent been used to using radio aids(vor/dme etc) as an aid to Vfr nav then this is also worth discussing with an instructor and putting in a bit of practice.
I dont know which bit of the US you visit so I cant comment on best time of year etc to go out and do the test.
At a guess I'd say 10-15 hours including test should finish it up, not including a couple of hours over here before you go. Almost 7 of those hours would be solo /night/long cross country, unless you have been flying lots of legs in excess of 50 nm in the UK!
Best of luck, pm me if you want any more info.