IR ME Renewal

[Flyingspaniard]

Could someone tell me what the format is of the IR ME Renewal and what the difference is to the initial. People keep telling me to get it done within the five year period, however I'm not sure what difference it makes.

Has anyone done their renewals recently without having flown IR ME for over a year like me and actually passed without a problem? Any tips on what you found you were rusty on after all that time and what you did to prepare yourself for it?

Would you bother going back to the airfield and aircraft you trained on even if it costs a little more(travel expenses etc)?

Any thoughts gratefully received.

FS

[FormationFlyer]

Well its prettyt much the same as the initial - except you can get an examiner who can do renewals (not all examiners can do initials), there is no requirement to enter airways either.

I found the renewals to be more relaxed - if out of current practice you probably need to fly 1 profile to be up to scratch again - there again I am assuming you are current in flying in general rather than ME IR type stuff...if you are out of currency full stop then it may take a bit more...

You can do your class rating renewal at the same time..

Hope this helps,

[Snigs]

And further to that, I'm not sure which license you're referring to (perhaps it's the FAA IR) but under JAR you have to re-validate your IR every year, and if you don't you have to do a certain amount of re-training and take the "initial" again

[flite idol]

If its a CAA IR then you have to renew before the end of the fifth year since the rating was current, which to all intents and purposes is six years since it was issued! One year of currency and then the clock starts for the five years. If you revalidate within this period then it can be with a designated IR (renewal)examiner, if the five years since currency have expired then its an initial all over again! You may have more time than you thought!

[Flyingspaniard]

Its a JAA IR, but I thought the five year rule still applied. What re training will I have to do? I guess I should take a look at the JAR Regs... Can anyone point me towards the website where I can take a look at the rules?

I really don't want to have to do another initial with a CAAFU examiner. That was scary and I don't think I would be good enough. Although I'm an instructor at the mo, I've flown one IR flight in the last year and no ME since I passed the initial last year... I'm stuffed!

[Snigs]

There is a difference between revalidation and renewal, this is probably where the confusion is.

However, I understood that to fly in IFR to the privileges and tolerances that your IR allows you need a current IR, which needs validating every year, please correct me if I’m wrong.

[worzel]

A JAA IR is valid for twelve months. Therefore it has to be renewed every year. After 5 years it has to be revalidated if it has not been renewed in the intrim. After 7 years you have to re-take the initial IR if it has not been used. This is just the basic outline the full thrilling version can be found in CAA GID 33.

Flyingspaniard

Its nothing to worry about, I did one last year and am due another soon. I looked around for the cheapest twin I could get my hands on, had an hours practice then renewed, in an type I had never flown before. If you find yourself a reasonable examiner all they want to see is that you're safe, and you can do the basic instrument stuff. They will appreciate that your rusty, as they only watch most of the time, most of them are too.

You can do it in a sim, although if you get a cheap twin you can actually do it for less cash plus you get to renew your ME, log an hour or two and it beats the hell out of sitting in a box!

Obviously prepare yourself as much as possible before hand, know the checklist, practice on flightsim etc... It wont be a problem. Its not as bad as the initial.

worzel

[IRRenewal]

And further to that, I'm not sure which license you're referring to (perhaps it's the FAA IR) but under JAR you have to re-validate your IR every year, and if you don't you have to do a certain amount of re-training and take the "initial" again
Very not true I'm afraid.

You don't have to do the initial again until the IR lapsed for over five years.

Flyingspaniard

No requirement for any retraining exists. However, should you for some reason fail to reach the standard required on a test then the examiner can dictate a certain amount of re-training before another test is attempted.


Snigs,

The is a difference between revalidating (taking a test during the validity period of the rating) and renewing (taking a test after the rating expired), but not in the format or the requirements of the test.


Cheapest twin I know of at the moment is a Cougar for £185/hour, including local landing fees.

Good luck