CAA turnround time?
 

Anyone who's just got their licence like to let me know how long the CAA are currently taking to do the rubber stamping? - ta.

I'm waiting for my licence to come back at the moment, and have been told by the CAA that they are taking 10 working days to turn around applications.

Regards,
Vindaloo

I've been waiting over 2 weeks for an instructor variation - they've cashed the cheque though.

They started putting an estimate on the FCL website, but it doesn't appear to be kept upto date.

Posted my PPL application on 30th May this year. 2 weeks later to the day received my log book and medical cert back with a letter saying that they could no longer accept copies of birth cert or passport as proof of ID and needed originals (contrary to the instructions on the application form that I had been given to send off).:*

Anway sent off original passport as asked and received another recorded letter from CAA yesterday. More excitement & anticipation. Alas, inside was only a receipt for £146 and my returned passport. No accompanying letter and STILL NO LICENCE.:{

I've got another post office card this morning telling me that there is another recorded delivery letter at the main sorting office. About to nip down to collect it now. Could this be it .......?

I'll let you know.

Mr W. (with fingers crossed).

Bollox!!! Recorded delivery was just some work related stuff. Still no licence (4 weeks tommorrow since first applied).

Sulk.
:{
Mr. W

Took 3 weeks for mine. :cool:

i dont know where this 10 working days business has come from, people told me about it and it says it in lasors also, but lets face it mine took 4 week, not 10 days. Also, the best thing to do is to just sit and wait, ringing up dosnt help.

Yeah, mine took four weeks too.

When you get the receipt your licence is very imminent - it means that the application was in order and they just have to print it and post it.

Mine arrived second class post, no recorded delivery/special delivery. :-(

Springers

Doesn't it p**s you off that you pay good money for absolutely anything and everything associated with the CAA and they don't seem to be able to provide a decent service!!!!

Springers, what a joke you didn't yours via recorded delivery! Did they also return your logbook and medical through the normal post? It doesn't bare thinking about, the possibility that it could have got lost....

With the amount of money us aviators supply these people, you think they'd get it right!

Saying that, mine come in three weeks spot on so can't complain too much!

Let me see... sent application, logbook, medical etc off to CAA on the friday. Received letter on the Wednesday (iirc) which was a receipt for the £201 application fee. On friday I was leaving my house for work and bumped into the postman. Just as well as he asked me to sign his book and handed me a padded envelope... containing my new PPL.

So that was Friday to Friday - 5 working days from sending the application off to receiving licence.

However if you're wondering why I paid £201, well that was back in January 1999... bad qeather was around but I managed to squeeze my QXC in (everything else had been done before the christmas). Back then the CAA issued licences for life, not five years as they do now. So I don't have to pay a renewal fee every five years like the JAA PPL bods do... :-)

Yes, I've got the licence for life ... but I let myself get non-current by more than the five years, so what I'm waiting for the CAA to rubber stamp is a SEP class rating renewal. And I'm rather hoping to get the rubber stamp before I go to Canada for some floatplane training ...

Posted my PPL application on 31st May (with a photocopy of my passport). The licence duly arrived by special delivery 19 days later.

It seems that the CAA's service and procedures are both quite variable.

Well, the receipt arrived on Saturday, and it seemed to be saying that we'd guessed the procedures correctly at least to the extent of putting in the right application with the right fee. So I'm hoping not to be told "that was the wrong form" or "that was the wrong amount".

What's this passport business anyway? We couldn't find a list of the documents to be submitted for my application, so we guessed, and a passport was not one of the things we guessed might be needed.

Posted my application Friday and Royal Mail Recorded delivery told me it arrived this morning. The clock is ticking !

Didn't send my passport though - sent my original birth certifcate.

Will wait and see..........

Well yippee - my licence finally arrived today:D - 5 weeks and 3 days after sending off my application.

Have to say the service is pretty pi$$ poor. Tried phoning CAA FCL on 3 occassions last week and after going through their automated switchboard, enduring 20 minutes of awful "muzik" and the "all our 'agents' are busy" message 100 plus times I was unceremoniuosly cut off on the first 2 attempts.:mad: On the 3rd attempt got through to a polite & apologetic chap who said that applications were taking rather longer than they ought to at the moment but I should have it "soon".

Tyro - Standards & proceedures are obviously very variable:-

I sent my application off the day before you did, but mine took 38 days versus your 19.

Your licence was sent Special Delivery, mine 2nd Class ordinary post.

We both included photocopied Passports as proof of ID. Yours was was accepted without question, mine was not and I was asked for an original passport or birth certificate.

Seems that CAA-FCL could do with the Audit Commission having a poke around - "Best Value" principles and all that. Sound ripe for a bit of privatisation to me.

Anyway, enough bitchin' - I've now got my licence, and I'm now as happy as a pig in the proverbial. (Mrs. Wolfie in contrast is looking a little bit off colour at the thought of being my first passenger / (un)willing victim). :uhoh:

Mr. W

And the answer is ...
 

... nineteen days (from putting the application in the post to the licence arriving). I can take passengers again!

Hello,

I don't know if this will help or indeed if it represents reality, but the CAA a website which gives some information concerning the applications they are working on.

http://www.caa.co.uk/srg/licensing/default.asp

I noticed that this page has been updated since 8pm BST last night

Failing that the contact information is:

Flight Crew Licensing (Operations)
Civil Aviation Authority
Aviation House
Gatwick Airport South
West Sussex
RH6 0YR

Tel: 01293 573700
Fax: 01293 573996
e-mail: [email protected]

If you know this and have tried then sorry for teaching you to suck eggs, not my intention, just thought it might help.

I had heard rumours that this was posted somewhere, and had looked for it, but hadn't found it.

In fact I can hardly ever find what I'm looking for on the CAA web site - the nagivation is by far the worst I have seen for years. If someone asks a question for which you happen to know where to find the answer on the CAA web site it's very helpful to tell them exactly where to look!

Andrew S - On first glance it all looks very impressive.

If only the CAA updated the website "waiting list" more regularily to reflect he true position it would be more useful.

As for the phone number: ......well, give it a try, and if you retain the will to live after the automated proceedures, terrible "plinkity plonk" piano music & the repetative recorded message, then you are a better and more patient man than I am.

:hmm: :bored: :zzz:

Regards,
Mr W.