Swedish JAA to British JAA?

[AdamFrisch]

I've searched until I'm blue in the face, all I can find is FAA to JAA or some other countries answers to conversion. Not intra-european conversions/exchanges.

Basically I'm about to retake my Swedish JAA license. But as I live in Britain these days I'd like to get a British JAA so I can fly there. My questions are:

1. Can I just exchange it for a British one or do I need to do new proficiency tests?

2. Could I fly in England (on G-reg aircraft) on my Swedish JAA without having to bother with getting a UK one?

Thanks.

[Keygrip]

Adam - what the heck do you mean by "retake your licence"?

If this is a question about a JAA PPL why is it in Professional Training forum - if it's a question about a professional licence, why don't you know where to get the answers from?

Explain exactly what you have and what you want, then maybe we can help.

[AdamFrisch]

No, it's not professional, it's a normal PPL. Sorry, didn't see a more suitable forum. Please move.

To clarify:

My old license expired 2001. Haven't flown since. Getting it renewed now. Once that's done want to exchange it for a British PPL. That's it.

Thanks.

[Keygrip]

Moved it for ya.

Before you get any responses - every member state of the JAA has its own interpretation of the rules and requirements.

Ignore any comments about LASORS - contact FOCA directly and ask them what they would require for renewal.

I've always found them very helpful.

[172driver]

Unless there is any good reason you want to get a CAA/JAA license (and frankly, I can't think of one), then why would you want to change? JAA is what is says on the tin - every member state's license is good in any other member state on any a/c registered in one of the member states. That's what the whole shabang is all about in the first place.

[BackPacker]

Yep, Within JAA land you can freely mix 'n match your license, medical, airframe, airspace, examiner, instructor and everything, since everybody has implemented the same basic set of regulations into their respective laws (JAR-FCL being the most relevant here).

There are some very minor implementation issues. UK not allowing VFR-on-top unless you hold an IMC or IR for instance. Netherlands recognising landings at night done as PICUS instead of PIC to qualify for the Night Qualification. And possibly a few more. One of these might be the reason to swap a JAA license from one issuing state to another. Or maybe some savings in P&P. But other than that, any JAA license is as good as any other.

[Whopity]

Can I just exchange it for a British one or do I need to do new proficiency tests?YES, and NO so long as its valid. Complete the following form http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/33/SRG1136FF.pdf

Could I fly in England (on G-reg aircraft) on my Swedish JAA without having to bother with getting a UK one?
YES, and any other ICAO PPL as well, and not just in the UK, Worldwide.

[AdamFrisch]

Thanks.

The only reason I can think of is this: since I live in England, I don't want to have to go back to Sweden every year to do my medical, or do a proficiency check if I don't fly enough. I want to be able to do that in the UK.

Can I do PC's and medicals in the UK and still keep my Swedish license?

[kalleh]

The UK CAA fees are also much cheaper.

[BackPacker]

Can I do PC's and medicals in the UK and still keep my Swedish license?

Yes.

I'm in the same situation: living in NL, NL medical, UK-issued JAA PPL. No problem whatsoever. The only thing to remember, as said before, is to send a copy of the examiners "authorization" (ie. license) to the UK CAA for any renewals, together with the rest of the paperwork.

You would do the same: find a UK examiner, get him to sign your paperwork, make a copy of his license and send everything off to the Swedish authorities. Of course, the examiner needs to sign the Swedish paperwork, which might be a bit of a challenge if that's in Swedish.

By the way, at your age I think the medical only needs to be done once every five years, and the PC (for SEP anyway) only once every two years. If you're not able to revalidate by experience, that is.