N-reg situation update
 

Here

Nothing particularly new but a useful summary.

One can use any ICAO PPL to fly a G-reg worldwide VFR till April 2014, so the current automatic validation continues till then.

It seems that not many countries have applied to EASA for a derogation on N-regs, so these people may be flying illegally as from today. I wonder whose job is to enforce that? The country of operator residence - a concept without any meaningful definition? What a bizzare situation. What a load of idiotic expense gravy train riders in brussels to have done this.

Here is a nice article on it, in English and German.

If That is a nice article I would hate to see a horrible one

I think that it is time we valued our own training industry in EUrope and I see nothing wrong in sensible rules for Europe, about time we got a bit more businesslike and put European pilots first

That's what the USA does and I think it is the right approach, maybe just a shock when we realise that you don't need to cross the Atlantic to get licenses and ratings but can do it here just as well. wouldn't expect US schools and instructors to jump for joy but it makes sense.

Peter,

An interesting article, it seems to say that a person resident in a country controlled by EASA, even if they hold a US FAA licence will not be able to fly an N registered aircraft IFR, in EASA controlled countries legally?

To quote the article

Yes; that is the situation.

Unless he holds EASA papers, in addition to the FAA ones.

That's why I did the JAA IR recently. It is completely useless for legal flying for me.

But this hangs on the EU residence of the "operator", not the pilot. The residence or citizenship of the pilot is irrelevant.

That's the European protectionist approach. But it's doing it backwards. It is the bizzare European practices which have driven most of the IFR community to be N-reg in the first place.

Peterh337

That doesn't mean that we shouldn't start to get our european house in order come on guys surely you would prefer to start building a thriving European flight training system

Well, yes, but with EASA having just revamped all the regs to do with training, and having just put in yet another tightly protectionist system, with just a few concessions to common sense here and there, that discussion is 100% theoretical..... nothing is going to change now for many years (short of an EU meltdown, which is perhaps not all that unlikely).

The obvious opportunity to rationalise the whole system and create an incentive for the N-reg scene to dry up by itself, has been missed.

I don't think anyone doesn't want a world-class thriving European traning system. So why not build such a system, and let people flock to it instead of the FAA.

Instead, the "North Korean" approach, as Jan Brll put it, is to stop people exercising any choice. In general, most political and economic systems have not found that a good means of getting their "house in order" or "building thriving industries".

Pardon my confusion, but if my current CAA UK-PPL for life was ICAO-compliant yesterday, what has changed to make it non-compliant today? Or is it simply that the EASA FCL 'act' automatically removes the ICAO-compliant status on national licences?

Your ICAO papers, whether issued by the UK, the USA, or Mongolia, remain as before, and remain required by the State of Registry to fly an aircraft on that registry, worldwide. Nobody can take those away from you (except the issuer).

What EASA (an agency of the EU) has so far done is to force EU pilots to obtain additional papers.

So pilots flying on non-EASA ICAO papers, e.g. UK non-JAA PPLs, or FAA PPLs, or FAA IRs, etc, will need to obtain EASA papers as well - after April 2014 in the UK.

EASA could have brought in a reg requiring the pilots to wear pink underpants, or get a certificate in taxidermy. It would amount to the same thing. For the portion of a flight which takes place in EU airspace, they have the power to do all of these things - because the UK signed up to obey the EU.

That is why I did the JAA IR recently. It's not that I need it to fly, and in fact the UK/JAA PPL/IR is not even valid to fly my own plane (actually it is valid in the issuer's airspace - the UK - which is a bit useless, since the FAA CPL/IR covers me for that, and the rest of the world) but I got these extra papers as an insurance policy against what might happen after April 2014, or even before that should the 15hr IR conversion route disappear.

Its my understanding that a JAA licence will be updated to an EASA licence.

The main issue seems to be for people domiciled in EASA land with only an FAA licence

Yes; but the detail is not quite like that.

The circumstances where the pilot (or pilots, in a multi pilot aircraft) will need to have the EASA papers are

- flying in EU airspace, and
- operator based in the EU (the exact wording is in EASA FCL somewhere, and is vague), and
- the country where the operator is based has not applied for the April 2014 derogation

So yes an N-reg pilot flying in EU airspace whose operator is EU based will need to have EASA papers in addition to the FAA ones.

There is no definition of what an EU based operator is.

Domicile, or tax domicile, is a yet different concept...

It is still an ICAO PPL but the buffoons in Europe don't recognise ICAO PPLs unless they are issued in compliance with their own rules, and they of course, are not members of ICAO! The return of Monty Python!

:ok::ok:

Help, Help. I'm being oppressed

So where does all this leave me?
 

Dual US and Uk citizen, living in the Uk flying a N reg aircraft with a FAA PPL. Am I bolloxed with the new rules?

Your citizenship is irrelevant. The question you need to answer is -

'Is the operator of the aircraft you are flying EASA resident?'

If the answer is 'Yes' then you will need EASA papers and the papers required by the State of registry (for an N-reg that means FAA papers or only fly the aircraft in the EASA country that issued the EASA papers).

If it is your aircraft and you are resident in the UK you are caught. There are potential structures that could result in the operator being located somewhere else, but these are unlikely to be practical for a typical Piston GA aircraft.

It is my own personal aircraft, I brought it with me when I returned to live in the UK.

What do the ramifications of being "caught" mean for me?

You need an EASA licence and IR (if you fly IFR). If it is an aircraft with a type rating, the FAA type rating still works for it. If it is one of the aircraft with an EASA type rating but no FAA comparable type rating (single engine turbines) I think you need to get an EASA type rating. If you live in the UK you have until April 2014 to get sorted (plus a once in a life time 1 year validation you can apply for if you are partway through the training).

If you are in some other country you need to ask the NAA what derogations they have applied for.

Ok so if I take (and hopefully pass) the EASA license (I am a VFR rated pilot flying a VFR equipped N reg, 180hp Maule) will I then be legal to fly in the UK or will I have to re-register the plane as a G reg. This would be a real pain as it has had a recent paint job with the N number in big letters plastered down the side. Hate to think I have to mess with the beautiful paint job

Alll you need to do is get an EASA PPL and medical (there are a number of AME's that can do both the FAA and CAA at the same time so it is no big deal). My recollection of the PPL level conversion is that it is a bit of PITA but not that big a deal.