Flying in the USA

[Marco Lombardi]

Hi folks.
I would like to go for a flying trip in the U.S.
I have been told i need my license verified by the FAA.
Now, question is, my single/multi engine piston has expired under my U.K. license, do I need that renewed before applying, or is my ATPL sufficient?

I am finding this rather more complicated that what I had been told... :confused:

[grounded27]

Call the FSDO closest to your location.

Flight Standards District Offices (FSDO) (http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/field_offices/fsdo/)

Use the drop down menu on the above page to find your office.

[Mark 1]

The licence itself must be 'valid' under FAR 61.75 but the class ratings may have expired.
You will need to have done a standard flight review with a CFI anyway before you can exercise your certificate privileges. Likewise, if your home medical has expired, you can continue private flying with a US class 3 medical.

[Yankee Whisky]

The FAA issues a special license (must be applied for in advance) which can be used on the condition that the foreign license is current and that means also a current medical. It's a bit of bother because one also needs to be accepted on a CFI checkflight etc etc. It helps to know local airregs and notams etc etc.
If you fly a UK registered aircraft your UK license is accepted, but you must be familiar with local airregs etc. It is best to read the regulations before setting your hopes high.
Glider licenses are somewhat easier to get to fly in the states.
And don't forget that a private license does not allow taking passengers for compensation or the receipt of flight pay!

[MarkerInbound]

While I'll agree you need a current foreign medical when you apply for 61.75 FAA certificate, you may or may not need a current foreign medical while you're flying in the US. From the FAA website:


A person applying for a U.S. pilot certificate must submit evidence that he/she currently meets the medical licensing standards for the foreign pilot license on which the application for the pilot certificate is based (see § 61.75(f) (javascript:openPage('/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgFar.nsf/FARSBySectLookup/61.75','f'))). Some foreign CAAs enter periodic medical endorsements on their foreign pilot licenses that affect its currency (i.e., Germany, Austria, Kenya, Cyprus, Canada, Guatemala, Trinidad, Tobago, Singapore, and Sri Lanka). Therefore, if the foreign pilot license must have a medical endorsement to make it valid, an FAA medical certificate alone will not satisfy the regulations. In cases when a medical endorsement is not used, a current medical license from the person’s foreign medical examiner or a current 14 CFR part 67 (javascript:openPage('/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgFar.nsf/FARSBySect?OpenView&count=-1&RestrictToCategory=Part++67','')) medical certificate will satisfy the requirement.

So if your FAA cert is not based on a licence from one of those 10 countries, a FAA medical will keep you aloft.

And, again depending on the original country license, the 61.75 glider certificate can be just as complicated. Germany requires glider pilots to hold a medical, the FAA does not. So if the German medical of a pilot flying gliders the US on a 61.75 cert expires, they are grounded where if they held a "stand alone" cert they could still fly.

Don't forget the TSA madness.