Question on the Instrument Proficiency Check (IPC)

[Des.Vaisselles]

Hello Canadians,

I have a bit of a situation with which you guys might be able to help.

I have one of these IFR ratings that you get after school and you don't really know what to do with. I currently fly VFR in Africa.

My IFR lapsed last August or should I say is un-validated since the new IPC circular.


With a bit of research this is what I found on Harv's air website:

"Since Instrument rating no longer expire, they are not subject to renewal, or renewal flight tests. Now they are simply subject to recency provisions. Essentially, instead of doing a renewal flight test every 2 years, holders of instrument ratings must now complete an IPC every two years. Pilots employed by Subpart 4 of Part VI private operators or Part VII air operators
generally will still meet the recency requirements through the completion of their IFR PPC’s."


Now my question is: can an IFR PPC in my African company qualify to renew my Canadian IFR or does the hole test have to be conducted on a "charlie" aircraft with a TC examiner and the hole nine yards?

How do you Expats renew your licenses?

All help appreciated,

Enjoy your day.

[Ramjet555]

Des. Vaisselles, A foreign IPC (IFR Proficiency Check) from a Contracting State having a reciprocal licensing agreement with Canada is accepted.

If your licence is not one of those, you would need to get a licence in either Canada or the USA where the IPC is recognized.

I'm an instructor in Alberta and hope to renew my FAA CFI-II-ME in the future as soon as I can justify it.

[V1... Ooops]

Des:

As Ramjet mentioned in his post above, an instrument proficiency check carried out by a contracting state is sufficient to keep the Canadian IR valid. I followed this path for many years when I was flying Swiss registered aircraft in Africa and continually renewing my Swiss (later JAA, later EASA) instrument rating.

There is a nuance to this provision that you need to be aware of: The foreign checkride must be carried out for the purpose of revalidating or renewing an instrument rating on a foreign pilot licence. In other words, a company PPC alone won't suffice, the checkride has to result in a revalidation or renewal of the IR on your foreign licence. You need to be able to show Transport Canada your foreign pilot licence with a valid (current) instrument rating on it in order to take advantage of this arrangement.

If you are flying a non-Canadian aircraft using a foreign pilot licence issued by the same country as the registration of your aircraft, you should not have a problem meeting the above requirement. But, if you are flying a non-Canadian aircraft using a foreign validation of your Canadian licence, then you likely won't meet the requirement, because the validation is issued on the assumption that you keep the underlying Canadian licence (and associated privileges, such as the IR) valid.

If you have any doubt, phone TC - they will be able to give you a definitive answer.

[Des.Vaisselles]

Thanks V1, that is my situation exactly I fly under a Validated Canadian License on Namibian registered aircraft.
So if I understand this correctly, I would need to have a Namibian license, with a valid IFR on it and only then can I use the IPC renewal system when I would do my PPC?

[paco]

I believe the flights also have to be for commercial purposes - that was the situation way back when.

Phil

[V1... Ooops]

Hello Des:

The crux of the matter is this: Your Namibian validation of your Canadian licence is based entirely on the underlying Canadian licence being kept valid at all times in accordance with Canadian aviation regulations.

In other words, what the Namibians (or anyone else in this world who issues a validation of a foreign licence) are saying is "OK, we will accept your Canadian licence to enable you to operate Namibian aircraft, on the basis that the Canadian licence would enable you to operate the same aircraft in the same manner/conditions in Canada". The Namibian authority is not passing any judgement on your competency, instead they are relying on the judgement & oversight of the Canadian authority who issued your licence. It is therefore essential that you keep your underlying Canadian licence valid in accordance with Canadian aviation regulations.

I retired two years ago, hence I am not up to date with current CARs about keeping an instrument rating valid. During my time in the industry (1970s-2013), we had to do an instrument rating checkride with a person who was designated by Transport Canada as an examiner (or, with a TC employee who was an examiner) once a year to keep the IR valid. I think the rules have changed since then.

The important concept that you must appreciate here is that you have to fully comply with Canadian rules to keep your Canadian licence (upon which your Namibian validation is based) valid in every respect. This means your medicals have to be carried out by an AME who is accredited by Transport Canada, your IR renewal checkrides have to be carried out by an examiner who is accredited by Transport Canada, etc., exactly as if you lived and worked in Canada.

Here's an easy way to see if you are legal or not: Ask yourself "If this was a Canadian registered aircraft, and a TC inspector appeared on the ramp this morning and examined my licence documents with a fine-tooth comb, would I be legally qualified to operate it?"

You are not employed by a company who is a "Subpart 4 of Part VI private operators or Part VII air operator" (as you wrote in your first post), simply because you are not employed by a Canadian company. The Namibian operator you fly for is not governed by those Canadian regulations. Transport Canada exercises no oversight of your Namibian employer.

The foreign instrument proficiency check that Ramjet referred to in post #2 above implies a checkride that keeps a foreign licence valid. If you had a full Namibian licence - in other words, a Namibian licence that stood on its own two feet, not a validation that is based on the underlying Canadian licence - then you have an IR checkride carried out in accordance with Namibian regulations to renew that Namibian instrument rating, and you subsequently showed your Namibian licence with the record of that IR checkride to TC, TC would then accept that as sufficient evidence that you have kept your Canadian IR valid (assuming, of course, that TC has a reciprocal recognition agreement with Namibia).

In my case, I had a full Swiss (later JAA, later EASA) licence that stood on its own two feet, I kept it continuously valid for many years, and when I later returned to Canada, I showed that evidence to TC and they accepted it for the purpose of declaring my Canadian IR to be 'current'.

Hope this helps you understand things.