the BEST way

[AfricanSkies]

I hold an ICAO ATPL licence and want to convert this to a JAR ATPL. I understand I have to complete a 50 hrs IR course and undergo 25 weeks theoretical training.

My question to you all is, which is the BEST way to do this?

Are there schools in the US which do JAR/FCL training?

Which is the best UK school?

Thanks

[HomerSimpson]

African Skies,

Well my friend there is a long road ahead of you. I am not completely up to date with the current regulations but here goes....

Unfortunately, the JAR system is an unforgiving beast to those from outside its countries. With your present licence you will only be credited the flying time. You will have to come to a JAR member state such as the UK and complete JAR ATPL exams. There are 14 exams in all I think. You can study them at a variety of places such as ATA (Coventry), PPSC (Bournemouth), Guildhall (London City) (plus others). Then once you have completed this you can start the flight training towards your CPL/IR. The CPL is completed first, 25 hours of flying of which 5 hours must be on a complex aircraft (single or multi). The test is on the complex type. Once completed this you go for the ME/IR. You now have to complete 50 hours training for the IR (reduced from 55 as you now have the CPL). Of which a minimum of 15 hours has to be completed on a multi engine aircraft (the rest can be on the sim). Then its your test with a CAA examiner and hopefully your then all finished.

You can however go through the intergrated route for the CPL/IR. This I believe can be done at places such as Cabair, Oxford, BAe (Spain) and SFT. I dont know much about this route as I didn't follow it, however I'm sure there will be otheres here who will guide you.

If I've missed anything out, please feel free to add the missing parts.

Best of luck,

Homer ;)

[Token Bird]

AfricanSkies,

check out: http://www.srg.caa.co.uk/pld/fcl/fcl_faq.asp

This will tell you what you have to do to convert your licence. There is no need to go through the whole thing again, as Homer has told you. Spending money on an integrated course would be mental. It shouldn't cost you any more than £12,000 to convert.

The conversion process depends on hown many and what type of hours you have, and also on the discretion of the flying school you go to. You don't have to redo the CPL, just the test, and you may not have to redo the entire IR of you find a sympathetic establishment. So the best thing to do is talk to a few schools and find out just what they are going to put you through.

As far as I know PanAm Academy and West Michigan University do JAR training in the US. Check out the CAA website for a full list of approved schools.

TB

[Manflex55]

TB is right, U may qualify for some exemptions, depending on your hours & a/c type. 500 hours on multipilot a/c is the magic number. But IN ANY CASE, I'm afraid U will have to pass the 14 JAR examinations. The exemptions only concern the (ground & flight) training, not the examinations or flight tests.

Since the 1st of Feb 2001, an ICAO IR cannot B converted into a JAR IR anymore. U need the full approved course of 55 hours. It is, however, still possible to convert an ICAO CPL into a JAR CPL, the amount of training being "at the discretion of the FTO", so 5 to 10h if U're good, a lot more if U're ... not as good.

MF

[mr.smith]

I'm in a similar position too, A.Skies, though only CPL/IR - I think I speak for all when I say the JAA conversion process can be a HUGE pain in the butt.
If ya fancy a pint and a bitch about the inherent evil of the JAA drop me a line.
Cape Town's kinda quiet fer flyin' eh?
regards,
smithy.(unemployed!)

:eek: