View Full Version : At what stage will...
ATCAdam
20th Feb 2011, 22:04
Hi my friend and I were thinking of hiring an aircraft out in the summer.
He has 85 hrs+ accumulated through the University Air Squadron and AEF but no PPL.
I have 40 hrs through flying with mil. pilots, 10 hours of which was on a TMG which solo'ed and a further 5 hours in a conventional glider, also with no PPL due to accruing the hours through flying with service pilots.
At what stage, or what process would we need to take to hire out a civilian aircraft? Apart from a lengthy familiarisation and conversion to the type of aircraft or motor glider, is there anything else?
BigGrecian
21st Feb 2011, 02:43
The stage is now.
Legally neither of you are pilots.
Neither of you hold a pilot license.
You need to complete a PPL. 25 hours dual (You may be credited experience at the discretion of a head of training for the UAS portion), 10 hours solo - and you can be credited upto 10 hours see LASORS: LASORS 2010 | Publications | CAA (http://www.caa.co.uk/lasors) Section C1.2 - the rest you'll need to research yourself directly with LASORS/CAA/Flight schools.
M1ghtyDuck
21st Feb 2011, 16:06
You need a PPL to fly an aircraft in this country.
Flights with military pilots, and thereby also your mates air experience flights, don't give you any hours towards your PPL unless the pilot is also a civilian rated instructor. Neither will your TMG unless you were PIC (which you'd only have been on your solo flight) and even then I believe you can only claim 10% of the time.
I'm afraid that in the eyes of civil aviation, you are no different to someone with no flying experience. Only your friends UAS time will count (as I believe that's under civilian rated instructors towards PPLs) but with the experience he's gained he could relatively easily "finish" his PPL with a flying school and then hire the plane.
AFAIK...if your friend has completed the flying course while on the UAS (and with c.90 hours I am guessing he has), he should have received proof of completion (I believe some sort of form/certificate), which will allow him to obtain a PPL with little or no flying required.
I'm afraid I don't have time to search myself, but have a look in LASORS...it's all in there.
(Warning...the above is a dim recollection of something I may or may not have seen whilst looking for something else... :})