UK Licence expired and living in South Australia - Help I want to get airbourne again

[skiddy]

Hi,

I am looking for some advice on getting airborne once again in South Australia. I moved from the UK just over 12 months ago. I have now go my residency visa and want to get airborne once again. My IMC expired in October 2008 and medical in December 2008. My current PPL expires on the 28th August 2009. I have obtained an ARN from CASA here in Australia but have stalled at this point.

I am seeking advice on a recommended flying school around Adelaide to approach to help me update/renew my license. I understand that I have to sit the Aviation Law exam but I am some what confused on how I stand with all of my current expiring licenses. I really need to talk to someone who is able to help me obtain my license here in Australia.

Any advice and recommendations would be appreciated.

[Veeeffarr]

Hey Skids Check out Civil Aviation Safety Authority - Home (http://www.casa.gov.au) for the rules. Under the Operations tab there is Individuals which has the information you need. Looks like you need to pass a flight rules/air law written exam and a flight test with an examiner to get an Australian PPL issued on the back of your JAA PPL. If you've got an ARN you can apply to a DAME (Designated Aviation Medical Examiner) for a class 2 medical certificate. If you can pee straight enough to hit the sample bottle you should be OK to pass. Addresses for DAMEs are on the CASA website. You will also need to apply for an AVID or ASIC security check to satisfy the anti-terrorist lobby. The flight school you use should have the forms for this, or you can check the CASA website. There is no equivalent to the IMC rating in Australia but you might want to check out a PIFR (Private IFR rating) if you don't want to avoid the clouds. If you're round Adelaide why not go down to Parafield Airport and see who's offering what in the training/hire department. You will probably be required to train as required to meet the test standards. As a visiting, albeit Australian trained pilot I rented a C172 from Forsyth Aviation at Parafield without any problems. Good luck, flying in Australia is well worth it! Cheers VFR

[skiddy]

Thanks for posting this reply. I have investigated this further and if my UK license expires I will have to start from the beginning, exams, tests, flights etc.

Luckily I am returning to the UK for a couple of weeks and I am going to attempt to renew my UK license before it expires on the 28/08/09. This will mean that I have to pay fur UK medicals etc but this will buy me time to convert to an Australian PPL on my return. I am doing some flying with an instructor before I return to the UK to get the minimum 12 hours for the UK license.

If anyone has any advice as to if this will be sufficient provided I complete the hours in the UK to renew my PPL I would be grateful. I can see an instructor in the UK rubbing his hands when I walk through the with a fist full of Dollars (Pounds) to undertake refreshing training up to 10 hours :) for my ticket.

[Phil Space]

My understanding of your situation is that you do not need 12 hours to revalidate your uk ppl. A test with a flight examiner will do the trick.

If you are an oldie like me then your UK licence does not expire..just your cert of experience.

The it is just a case of passing the air law in Oz and another flight test and you will be up and running.

I guess you will be doing the training at Parafield or maybe Port Agusta.

Good luck.

[skiddy]

Phil,

Thanks for that advice you have actually answered and clarified my question. I had assumed that my license would expire but also being an oldie (CAA rather than JAA) my license does not expire only my certificate of experience.

This has relived me somewhat as I do not have to go through all of the hours, medicals etc in the UK. I will certainly upgrade my license on my return to Australia and get airborne once again. As you state the exam and check ride is all that I will need to get my ticket here in Oz.

Once again thanks to all for the advice and help.

From one happy PPL

[Wine Glass]

Depending on what type of flying you are hoping to do, you should perhaps check out Adelaide Biplanes down at Aldinga. Check their website for their fleet - pretty diverse and interesting, a bit more eclectic than a flightline full of spamcans.

Oh, and the owner is an ex Pom... :)

[aseanaero]

Dave Forsyth at Forsyth Aviation in Parafield will sort you out

[Bigglesthefrog]

There seems to be an increasing number of British people that are leaving the UK and heading off in the direction of Australia, New Zealand and Canada to name a few. I suspect the main reason is that so many of us believe that due to a general and overall mess that consecutive bumbling governments have made of the country over the past couple of decades, there is very little left for those of us who remember what it used to be like. Flying in particular has been hit hard by silly and generally overblown legislation. So although it may be a little off theme of this thread I would be interested to hear from Skiddy, why he chose to go, how easy it is to arrange and how the flying scene over there compares to here in the UK.

[Phil Space]

Make sure you do the UK medical and the check ride with a UK examiner to renew your UK certificate of experience. You will be getting the Australian licence on the back of that following medical,air law and probably some training followed by the GFT/check flight. Australia has lots of rules that differ from the UK and budget on several hours with an Ozzie instructor.

I don't know if things have changed now but when I first arrived in Australia (back in the 90's) I brought with me an N reg aircraft which I was allowed to fly everywhere on my US licence. I criss crossed the outback for a year seeing some amazing remote places.

However when it went on to the VH reg I then had to do all the cross country flying and demonstrate remote area awareness before the local restriction was lifted on my Australian ticket.:hmm:

[Whopity]

Skiddy
Read your PMs I sent you details of a UK Examiner resident in SA.