ME IR Revalidation vs Renewal?
 

Hi guys,

I currently hold a JAA fATPL as well as a foreign CPL. I'm flying on my foreign CPL outside of Europe and am wondering whether it would be cheaper to let my JAA ME IR lapse until I need it or to keep it current. Our friends down in Gatwick are not that helpful.

According to LASORS a revalidation occurs when the rating is still current and a renewal occurs when the rating has lapsed but for less than 5 years. After 5 years apparently some other rules apply... No doubt it's more expensive!

Any advice including current costs and flight schools would be greatly appreciated. I obviously do not want to have to do an initial IR all over again! :)

Thanks again,
T

Hi, good questions.

Basically the way the rules ares written there's no difference between a revalidation and a renewal for an ir ( or an me) since both must be done by spending an hour with an examiner. So the cheapest way of keeping them current is to wait 4 years and 11 months and sit with a normal (non caafu) examiner who charges£150 for an hour of high excitement, then repeat 5 years later.

I found the best renewal method is to find a good examiner ( ask around they are all freelance and few are partisan) who usually knows someone who owns a twin but doesn't use it much. Then you practice the approaches a million times on msfs and if you are lucky you ace the pass in one go.

If you wait longer than 5 years you have to sit next to a CAAFU examiner again (you only ever want to do that once in your life) and pay~£600 to have your ego reduced. After 7 years you need to sit all of the exams again and sit next to a CAAFU examiner. ( you'd rather stick pins in your eyes)

But basically, if no one is paying to renew your ir for you after 5 years will they ever. Save the money and spend it on aerobatics!!!!

If you are flying on an ICAO licence and have a current IR attached to that licence then the five year rule is applied from the date that the foreign IR expires. Same applies if you are exercising the priveleges of a multi crew IR and want to renew the single pilot one.

So any time you want to renew the SPA IR (in the UK at least) you just do the renewal test with any IRE, no need for the CAA to be involved.