Converting FAA/Canadian to Australian?

[TIMTS]

Anybody here know what it takes to convert from FAA to Australian licenses?
Are they going along with the UK on the JAA thing?
Also, how is the market down there for a low low time commercial pilot with Instrument rating and external load experience?


Any input appreciated!!
Thanks

[M/V]

TMTS,

I don't recall the particular CAO, but it used to be that a pilot with FAA ratings had to obtain 200 hrs commercial experience using that licence before one could return to Australia and convert to a CASA licence. I believe this was done to discourage people going over to the USA and getting a licence in a much shorter, and at the time cheaper, than in Australia (when our dollar was
worth alot more than today)
I had done the same as you are talking about and had only the Air Law exam and a check ride.
Contacting CASA would be your best bet.
Good Luck
M/V

[CanAus_Driver]

Hey all new member. Moving to Australia, Qld from Canada. I'm curious what costs might be incurred to get an Aussie licence if I already have a Canadian CPHL.

Thanks Billy

[Capt Hollywood]

G'day CanAus_driver,

Click on this link and it should give you all the info you need. Where in QLD are you moving to?

http://www.casa.gov.au/fcl/overbr.htm

Cheers,

CH :cool:

[BigMike]

1 exam (Air-Law, open book exam) Flight test, and medical + the usual paperwork.

Best to phone CASA direct as well, they have a habit of not returning emails :hmm:

[CanAus_Driver]

Hey Capt.

Moving to Townsville. Wish there was more flying there but it's a military town. Might settle down in Brisy after we get marrries still not sure!

[helopat]

1 exam (Air-Law, open book exam) Flight test, and medical + the usual paperwork.
Best to phone CASA direct as well, they have a habit of not returning emails :hmm:
Hate to add to the growing list of 'things you need to do' but in addition to the above, which is spot on, you'll need to apply for AND RECEIVE an Australian Security ID Card before getting the license issued:rolleyes: ...I'm in the middle of it right now and its NOT a quick process.
Best of luck my friend.
Pat

[murdock]

I know this may have been discussed before in other threads, but just wanted to quickly ask for some advice on getting my Australian Licenses.

I have a FAA ATPL(H) and Canadian CPL(H) and am heading down to Australia this October and wondering what is the best route (quickest and most cost effective) to getting my Australian CPL(H) and maybe ATPL(H)?

I am looking at doing the conversion with an online course provided by Advanced Flight Theory Online (http://www.aft.com.au/shopezi/shopindex/indexcat21.htm). According to their website the course will cost AUS$400, and about AUS$600 for materials (Maps, CAP, CAR's, etc.). Does anyone have any experience with AFT Online, and is all the material for $600 really necessary? I understand that the exams are open book, but haven't had it verified. Anyone know if that's true?

I'm not sure where to head to first when going to Australia, and I imagine it will depend a lot on where a good school is located and where the jobs are going. I am hoping to get a job in the utility industry, but am open to all options. Anyone with some good advice would be greatly appreciated. I am a utility pilot, with quite a lot of time long lining, working on fires, flying A-stars and EC-130's.

Thanks in advance.

[Epiphany]

Assuming that you are Australian or can work here your best bet would be to first contact CASA and find out exactly what they require from you for issue of a CPL(H) before you spend any money.

[topendtorque]

with a name like Murdock and your demonstrated english typing skills you shouldn't have a problem, but prepare yourself for the English speaking test, done by a difficult Indian accent.:{ yep you heard right, Indian or somewhere from the sub continent.

easy for us over here as we spend heaps of time on help lines for various reasons where they all are, Oh, and the pocket full of change that it will cost you as well.

not only for that but, for each of, tests on, dangerous goods, eyes, ears, alcohol or drugs in your blood, your ticker, acquiring an entry ID card to the airport, possibly a few more.

Proving that you can fly will be cheap and easy compared to all of that.

if it is now you wish to venture here then north to sunny Maroochydore is a good place, too cold and miserable down south.

[murdock]

Cheers for the response guys. I have been on the CASA website looking at the conversion of foreign license guide (http://www.casa.gov.au/scripts/nc.dll?WCMS:STANDARD::pc=PC_90024#convert), and from what I have read the license conversion rules seem fairly straight forward.

I have heard about the English test going around, and hopefully I shouldn't have a problem with it... hoping anyway. I also have a JAA CPL(H), so one would assume that getting an English test would be a bit unnecessary while holding 3 different ICAO licenses, but who knows, and we all know what assuming does to us. The whole industry is all about getting money out of us.

Yes, I have a working visa for Australia, so that part ain't a problem. I have recently written to CASA and am awaiting their response to everything, to make sure I am doing everything correctly. I already have most of my Australian medical done, just gotta get some blood tests completed next week. I am also in the process of applying for the ARN.

Mainly I am just asking if anyone has any experience with AFT online, and those who have done their Australian CPL(H), ATPL(H) and IREX written exams, if they found it necessary to have all the maps and books that I was referring to earlier that AFT Online says I must have. It just seems a bit heavy to have to spend $600 on reference materials. I recently just did my Canadian IFR and ATPL(H) written tests, and I didn't need to have any materials, other than a calculator, whiz wheel, and a pen and pencil, just like when I did all my other exams.

Otherwise I am just looking for some good advice on schools for doing the flight test and where might be a good place to look for work.

Thanks again.

[Heliringer]

Mudoch,

I have used the AFT self study books when I was doing my ATPL. They cover everything you need to know. I thought the ATPL coversion was just a Air Law exam, so therefore you would only need the Air Law books and the relevent CASA documents, which would probably add up to $600.

For the IREX you will need all the Jepp's/All the ERC low charts/PCA/ERSA/CAO'S/AIP and a study book. Bob Tait's is popular. I used the Aviation theory centre book and passed it on the second attempt. The Irex is a pig of an exam!

Chopperline on the Sunshine coast is a good school for any flying component you may need to do. I only say Chopperline because they are one of the few schools that are part of a bigger aviation company and therefore may have work available when your conversion is complete.

Good luck in Australia

[Unhinged]

A foreign licence without English Language Proficiency of at least Level 4 listed on it cannot be converted until & unless you do the test with an Australian testing officer. Long and boring details are on the CASA website. It isn't a hard test, but there's no way around it. Officially it tests your ability to communicate in English, and to understand "Aviation English" spoken by a less-than-perfect speaker. Unofficially, it's a crock. Holding 3 ICAO licences means nothing to CASA if none of them have at least ELP 4.

You will need the ARN before your doctor submits the medical details to CASA. If you "almost have the medical done", and are "in the process of applying for an ARN", you've got things back to front. You don't mention an ASIC, but I assume you've got that underway.

You will only need to do a flight test if you want an Instrument Rating. You only need to do the CPL(H) Air Law exam because it is a pre-requisite for the ATPL Air Law. You do not need an Instrument Rating for an Australian ATPL(H), and there is no flight test for the issue of an Australian ATPL. Once you have the required exam credits and flight experience, CASA will issue it if you feed them money and paperwork in the right combination.

AFT do excellent materials. They also support you extremely well. Use them. You will need the reference materials. You might not use them all in the LAW exams, but you can't be entirely certain which ones you will need. Well, you won't need the Act or the CASRs for the exam, but one day CASA are going to change that without pre-announcing it, and it would be a complete bugger to find that out when you sat down at the exam. You must have properly bound paper versions of the docs for the exam. You are only allowed extremely limited document tagging. You are not allowed the computer docs, even though that's what any sane working pilot uses.

Agree with the poster who said Chopperline if you need the Instrument Rating. Never studied or worked there, and have no direct association (I know some staff and many students), but they teach up to a quality not down to a price.

Don't mess with CASA, especially CLARC - Just lie back and think of England. This is the organisation that has, in every case I've seen, rejected licence and ASIC applications when the flourish on the end of a signature went even 1 mm outside the signature box on the form. Just to make it more exciting, they won't contact you let you know what the problem is - they'll just snail-mail the whole package back with scribbled notes on it.

Lastly, official advice from one CASA office is not guaranteed to be accepted by a different office. You have been warned ...

[lelebebbel]

While it can be as bad as people here say it is, it doesn't have to.

1) Start by applying for an ARN. Don't have to be in the country to do this.

2) Get the class 1 medical done asap. It involves a long-ish session at an eye doctor and a blood test and takes a few weeks to process. There are a few locations overseas who can do it, otherwise book it as soon as you are here.

3) As soon as you are in the country, apply for an ASIC card. The application has 16 pages and requires a few signatures from other people - it helps to be at a flying school to do this.
This will take 4-6 weeks to process, and you may want to call to chase it up, because applications sometimes seem to vanish, or get sent back 6 weeks later because some box wasn't ticked.

4) AFT has an excellent reputation and there courses certainly are good, however with your prior experience you may not need to complete the full air law course to pass the exam, as the rules are largely based on the FAA system.

My suggestion would be to get your hands on a full set of publications (you need the stuff that AFT sells for $600. Either buy or borrow them), spending a few days with them, and then attempting some AFT online practice exams, which are like $10 each. The exam is open book, and you want to have the whole set in front of you. The trick is to get used to using the books and looking up every answer.
If you consistently get mid to high 90s, sit the real exam. Exam centers are in every major city - www.aslexam.com

5) Once you have the medical and passed the exam, take the flight test. Your licence will be mailed to you as soon as all the ASIC background checking is done.

Someone at the flight school, or the ATO who does your flight test should be able to certify your english proficiency.

All relevant forms, as well as a list of DAMEs (overseas and in Australia) can be found on the casa website Civil Aviation Safety Authority - Home (http://www.casa.gov.au)



Finding a job - it's all word of mouth and knowing people. The senior pilots at your flight school will be the biggest help. I can PM you a few contacts for flying schools, with the disclaimer that I work for one of them.

[murdock]

Thanks for the great info Heliringer and Unhinged. All very useful information. In fact I had not heard about the ASIC, so finding out about that and getting the application form was good to have.

I will wait until I receive the ARN before having the medical examiner submit my Australian medical paperwork. I don't think he was aware of having to have an ARN number for the medical either.

lelebebbel your methodical steps to acquiring the license are very useful and helpful to myself, and I imagine, also to those who might consider this route as well.

I can see having all the material will prove to be useful, and in the greater scheme of things, always good to have it, than rushing to get it later.

lelebebbel, any info you have on advice for flying schools would always be appreciated.

Thanks to all, for helping clarify a lot of details for me. Gonna go ahead and register and order the supplies from AFT this week. So here's hoping it will all work out.