Revalidating in USA
 

Ive gone un current and need to revalidate. Since I originally got my license. I understand things have changed and I need to apply to obtain forms from the CAA to fly in USA with my UK licence is this correct and who knows which forms I will require please?

It looks like nobody here wants to answer you - probably because the subject has been done to death.
One presumes you are talking about a 'piggy-back' license? Suggest search the forums for '61.75'.

Do you have a JAR licence? If so, you can revalidate an an EASA approved training school in the US without worrying about anything FAA related - unless you intend to fly solo after revalidating. I don't think you need a visa as you are not undertaking a course of tuition.

But why go back to the US to do it? You can revalidate in the UK, and it will be a lot cheaper.

Revalidating in the states.
 

Im in the USA on work a lot. I enjoy flying in the states and want to fly solo once Iv'e revalidated. It looks like I will have my ticket back within the week here in the UK but I still want to fly in the USA when ever Im there. I guess thats the piggy back license your referring too ?

Just tried a search on this forum for 61.75 but came back with nothing of any help. Can someone point me to a specific thread if no one wants to answer this if its been done before?

Do you have a US airman's certificate? If not, then you need to obtain one by validating your foreign licence and booking a visit to a FSDO.

Once you have your certificate, you need a current medical (FAA or CAA) and a flight review with an instructor to go solo.

Thats the piece of info I needed. US airman's certificate. Would anyone know the form number I need to search for on the CAA site?

SRG 1160 ......

Google "FAA piggy back license" and you'll get the idea.

The best bet though it choose a big ish FBO/school that you plan to rent from and ask them to set you up a piggyback licence - big places will be used to it and will talk you though the process, forms and usually have someone at the FAA field office who can smooth the way (it's a morning's activity on a good day).

You'll need - you valid UK licence, valid UK medical and that's pretty much it.

When you have the piggyback to activate it you'll need a flight review (what used to be called a BFR) and hour of ground and an hour in the air - the former you'll need to be comfortable with US airspace etc and the latter will double for your renter check out, so it's not a great imposition - whole thing a day if set up in advance.

The piggy back is valid for life so long as your UK licence is valid (in UK BFR and have medical) - you can sub a US BFR and medical for the UK one if the UK rules make it difficult to obtain one.

Also you can piggy back only once - so if you have SEP and Rotary and piggy back one then you can't piggy back the other one.

Not quite that simple. FSDO's are not necessarily on your doorstep (200 miles in my case) and FAA will need confirmation from CAA that your license is valid (it could have been revoked!).

Generally speaking there is a bit of variability between FSDO's and the people in Oklahoma City, sometimes the rules say one thing and the practice is different. In my case I was lucky and was able to meet the FAA person 30 miles away where he was getting ready to supervise a big airshow so it saved me a 400 mile round trip.

The "activation" bit is something of a red herring. The FBO will want it but opinion is divided as to whether or not it's a legal requirement. The enlightened say this is the FAA way of "rendering valid" a foreign license so if your UK license and medical are valid and you would be legal in the UK then the 61.75 makes you legal in the US. Others point to FAR's which conveniently require holders of certificates to have BFR's and medicals without differentiating between a standalone US Airman's certificate and a 61.75.

You'll find this useful
Airmen Certification - Verify the Authenticity of a Foreign License, Rating, or Medical Certification

Mike

Couple of points - does depend on where you're going but if the guy is currently in the UK he is 3000+ miles from a field office.

200 miles is not a long way to go - maybe the FBO will have an airplane and maybe the chap will want to get a check out and, who knows, maybe want some real experience of flying cross country - overall I would think that having the field office a couple of hundred miles always is a plus:)

No the activation is not a red herring - it is an absolute requirement - been there done that - everyone exercising the privileges of an FAA license MUST have a flight review from an FAA CFI within the previous two years - the EASA flight review does not satisfy that requirement.

In addition the originating licence MUST be valid i.e. not have been revoked or suspended, have the appropriate medical and flight review from the originating ICAO country - yes, even to fly in the US.

But he has indicated that he wants to go fly in the US so a FSDO is probably his best bet and yes, he does need his license to be validated by CAA per the link I posted. He could use a European DPE but is probably going to find it a lot easier to do it in the US. I was just pointing out that it is not quite so easy and straightforward as you made out, particularly if he doesn't happen to be in the Sunshine State.

You may assert the BFR/Medical business,and I'd agree with you on the letter of the FAR's however my own flight school in the US is happy with my UK license and medical backed up by the 61.75. It's clear that the FAA's intention is that the 61.75 renders valid (in the ICAO SARPS sense of the term) the foreign license.

Oh and by the way, if he were to decide to get an FAA standalone he'd need TSA approval, fingerprints and all the rest of the malarkey, even though he's transitioning from one PPL to another and not extending his privileges.

I'm in the interesting position of having my 61.75 based on a CAA lifetime PPL so where does that leave me? I won't be able to fly an "EASA" aircraft in Europe, but it's an ICAO license that entitles me to fly one elsewhere. I can of course pay 45 quid to get a LAPL which will give me back the privileges they intend to take away. Hmmm..... now what does the S in EASA stand for?

It is kind of complicated deciphering rules and opinions. However as far as I can see, the 61.75 certificate is a certificate like any other FAA certificate, just with some extra limitations written on it. If you read the rules regarding the FAA certificate, then yes, someone does need a BFR and medical certificate to exercise the privileges and hence, in my opinion, having read the FARs from cover to cover, one must have a BFR and medical for it to be rendered valid.

I can't copy pages out of the FAA Flights Standards Information System on the iPad but in the section giving guidance on how to process 61.75 applications is a paragraph on explaining the regulations with the new holder of a 61.75. It says to tell them they need a FR before using their FAA cert and that it must be from a FAA CFI. Go about half way down the page to 5-603 I.

FSIMS Document Viewer

While your UK medical is fine, I'd say the flight school doesn't have a clue.

Mike

Your flight school were simply wrong - all FAA license holders must have a current US flight review in order to exercise the privileges of the license - particularly piggy backs (follow the logic - who needs it most, the guy with twenty years experience in the US or the newcomer from a foreign land?) - besides which there is no "letter" when it comes to the FARS, they say what they mean and they mean what they say - you may even have been flight reviewed without even realizing it, it's an informal chat for an hour or so and an hour in the air, possibly indistinguishable from an detailed pre-rental check out - the important thing is that your log is endorsed by the FAA CFI.

I've had several pilots piggy back to be able to fly my plane (US reg) in non-US airspace, getting to the field office in St Thomas is difficult for most (yes, US territory and so Barbadians need a visa) but the flight review is a must and can be carried out by the US FAA instructor living down here if not done up there.

One rather interesting point about licence shuffling - one can get an ICAO approved PPL here in 35 hours and then piggy back - you do earn it though - the qualifying cross countries are rather interesting 100 miles over open ocean to another island - I'l FAA all the way but I'm rather glad I didn't have that experience:)

Englishgal's point - here's a weird one - the medical must be valid for the original licence - so UK licence UK medical - if the JAR standard (or what ever alphabetti spaghetti) Class 2 medical cannot be passed but the FAA Class 3 can, one simply can't just go get an FAA Class 3 and use that - the key is that the originating licence must be valid so if JAR have a current Class 2 medical and a JAR flight review in addition to the US one.

In those circumstances I do wonder if one can do a stand-alone FAA PPL get a Class 3 FAA medical and piggy-back a JAR - I assume there is some sort of reciprocal arrangement - no idea if there is - any one know the current rules on this issue (they do seem to change all the time)?

How does an FAA PPL holder legally fly in UK/EASA/JAR land?

Well, in the UK you just get in and fly it. The relevant legislation is in Articles 61 and 62 of the Air Navigation Order. Broadly speaking if you are the holder of a valid license issued by the State of Registry of the a/c or if you are flying a UK reg and have a valid foreign license enabling you to fly the type then you are OK for Private Flights.

Not the case.
The wording is FAR 61.75 is Holds a medical certificate issued under part 67 of this chapter or a medical license issued by the country that issued the person's foreign pilot license

You can read it here.

Yes but presumably if you failed your JAA Class 2 medical, then the JAA licence becomes rendered invalid. This in turn renders the FAA certificate invalid as it is only valid when the JAA licence is valid.

That's my understanding. No EASA/JAR medical certificate = no valid EASA/JAR licence = no FAA piggyback licence.