I know these conversion threads pop up all the time but I have a general question about the process.

Can anyone actually answer a question without saying,

"But you will have to check with the CAA to be sure".

It's infuriating that that no one can give me a straight answer for pretty much any question. I ask the CAA and they just give me a reference for a regulation they don't really know the meaning of themselves.

If anyone has done this successfully since 2021 please say it's possible so I don't lose hope!

https://www.caa.co.uk/commercial-ind...-january-2023/

route 2 I reckon. Good luck

What exactly don't you understand? As long as you have the hours: You get a medical, take the exams and do a Skill test in the Sim. It couldn't be much simpler.

So it states I must have a valid type rating for the conversion. Does that mean at the start of ATPL distance learning it must be valid? Or only for the ATPL sim check ride? If I do need a valid type rating to start ground theory can I use a different rating for the sim ride?

How long is my license verification letter valid for? Most of my experience is in a ATR42. Can I use an ATR72 sim for sim ride?

I thought these questions were relatively easy to answer but the school kept telling to ask CAA.

Can you offer any advice please rudestuff.

You don't need a valid type rating to start distance learning - just an ICAO PPL.

If you have the hours then by extension you must have a type rating since you need 500 hours multi crew. To avoid a full type rating course you need at least 500 hours on the type that you use for the test, and a valid type rating. Google "list of EASA type ratings" and you'll see that 42/72 are considered a common type, so you should be able to use either of those.

Thanks for the comments rudestuff and Paco. The answers seem pretty straight forward so why won't any person from a school or CAA give me a definite answer?

I only ask because I have seen two people spend much more money than needed on a licence conversion because they didn't actually qualify for sim check ride. One in the USA and the other in Canada. These organisations kept saying they had all the qualifications and hours when they didn't, just to get them to pay the money.

Another reason why I won't convert