US Flight Instructor relocating to UK
 

Hey all,

Delighted to be moving back to the country of my birth in June next year after 22 years in the US. I have my FAA flight instructor and instrument rating but have no idea how to convert this for the UK. I also only have a basic med so I imagine I need to get a medical too. Appreciate if anyone can give advice on what the rating conversion process looks like.

Darren

Here's a starting point:


https://www.caa.co.uk/general-aviati...-january-2023/

In case you weren't aware, no '1500 hour rule' in the UK so having CFI (and all the qualification required to get CFI) you are probably 80% of the way qualified for a UK airline job if that's the way you want to go. Depending on what you're trying to achieve in life, it would work well to get a UK job, get a couple of thousand hours over a few years, and then go back to the US where the real money is. Enjoy, and welcome home.

I really wouldnt bother. ICAO means nothing here.

What a strange thing to say. The UK is fully compliant with ICAO. The UK is a founding member of ICAO and sits on its governing body.

Perhaps he/she/they meant "Non-CAA" isn't valid here?

Plus here for converting your instructor's rating.
https://www.caa.co.uk/Commercial-ind...s-to-Part-FCL/

And here for converting your IR.
https://www.caa.co.uk/Commercial-ind...rument-rating/

A few thoughts (I have CPL/IR both in the US and UK, as well as a UK Instructor's rating).

- CPL syllabus is remarkably different in the UK and USA. You won't in the UK find the arcane "Commercial Manoeuvres" in the FAA CPL Checkride, but you will find a much higher standard of precision ded-reckoning navigation
- IR syllabus is virtually same, with a few differences between the checkride and skilltest (latter is the UK and European terminology). UK skill test doesn't include the circling approach or the approach on partial panel, but does include recovery from unusual attitudes on partial panel.
- You will find a greater concentration to pass the UK FI skill test on the individual PPL exercises than you are used to, otherwise pretty similar.
- Look forward to studying a LOT of air law that'll look very different to FAA air law, also airspace, met information and the like all work rather differently in the UK to the USA.
- Bad news - UK licences include a lot more written exams than in the USA. Good news, there's no checkride oral.

G

What part of the UK are you re-locating to?
There are quite a few of us in the South East who fly on FAA licenses and need every two years a Flight Review and/or an IPC.

Well generally relying upon FAA licences is generally not permitted any more - but absolutely true that there's significant work out there for FAA instructors, as a lot of British pilots like to also maintain FAA certificates (myself included).

G

Genghis: What do you mean by this?
It is true that it harder to obtain initially a FAA license in the UK (not least because you can no longer do the 'Written' here in the UK) and, likewise, it is harder - if not impossible now to get a piggy-back (61.75) in the UK since there are no authorised DPE's left now in the UK.
But: "Well generally relying upon FAA licences is generally not permitted any more"? I have, and continue to regularly fly my N registered plane in the UK and Europe on my Stand Alone Commercial FAA License..
​​​​​​​Am I doing something wrong?

If you are resident in the UK, you are required to have a UK CAA licence for flying in an N-reg aeroplane in UK airspace. Once you cross the channel to EASAland, you're of-course fine as you're a non-EUian, flying an American Aeroplane on an American Licence.

EASA brought in a similar regulation so a European Citizen with an N-reg aircraft has to have an EASA licence for the flying they do in EASAland airspace, but then can fly it on their FAA certificate in UK airspace.

This has been the case since June 2022 in EASAland and December 2021 in the UK.


So, a British resident holding only FAA certificates, has not legally been able to command N-reg aeroplanes in UK airspace for the last 22 months or so.

G

Peter - that's great to hear. My transfer is now confirmed and I expect to be living in Oxfordshire. Happy to drive to the South East to help with flight reviews. Any advice how to contact FAA licenced pilots?

Cheers,

Darren

Thanks all. My transfer is now confirmed so looks like I will be the other side of the pond sometime in June 2024. I guess if I'm doing BRFs for UK CAA pilots with FAA licenses, I'm all set to go as they would be PIC, right? Therefore I wouldn't need an valid UK medical etc.?

I plan to convert my licenses etc asap, but would love to at least start on BFRs so I don't get rusty and get to enjoy the British countryside from 3000 feet :-)

Darren

I think that would depend on FAA regs. If they make a large error during the review flight, are you not required to become pilot in command, or possibly even take control?

Additionally, you'd need to know how to check the validity of their UK licence, ratings and medical, all three of which have become unnecessarily complex since you've been away.

61.3 (c)(2)(viii)

If the person getting the flight review is current they are acting as PIC.

There's a vibrant online flying community in the UK. Many facebook groups, the Flyer Forums, the Light Aircraft Association with it's regional struts. Lots of UK pilots have FAA certificates, so just dial into the local community. Lots of airfields and flying clubs in and around Oxfordshire.

BUT, you need a UK licence and medical to fly as an instructor or examiner in UK airspace. You can't start doing BFRs, or any other instruction, before you've done that. The good news is that you do not however need a professional licence - it's fine to instruct on a PPL, and be paid for it. What you might consider is doing a CRI qualification - Class Rating Instructor; there's no direct equivalent to this qualification in FAAland, but it's only a 1ish week course and single skill test (checkride) with a minimum of five flying hours. It would permit you to instruct already qualified pilots (no ab-initio instruction), and that would certainly make it legal for you to fly people's biennials - indeed you could combine that with the similar UK requirement for pilots who are dual rated, as most Brits with FAA licences are.

G

That regulation is solely about the requirement for medical certificates. A flight review is logged PuT by the reviewee and the instructor is PiC. A test is logged PiC so long as it is passed, albeit that the examiner is still the real PiC - that is the case both sides of the Atlantic. Either way, the instructor/examiner needs UK licence(s) to instruct or examine in UK airspace.

G

Super helpful, thanks for the advice!

Thanking anyone with recent license conversion knowledge FAA > UKCAA.

Initially is the process still a matter of paying a fee with correct form filled out, presenting original logbooks/licenses at Gatwick House, then waiting for assessment regarding possible exam exemptions based on level of experience (license, flying experience, ratings held)?

If so, how long are logbooks held at Gatwick House before ultimately handed back to pilot?

:cool:
​​​​​​​

The Current UK AIP has 40 or 50 pages of differences from ICAO listed at:
GEN 1.7 DIFFERENCES FROM ICAO STANDARDS, RECOMMENDED PRACTICES AND PROCEDURES
I guess one could claim full compliance since the differences are published...