General RT certificate
 

In regards to helicopter flying, when are you required to hold a general radiotelephony certificate?

What does the general RT certificate involve compared to the restricted?

Thanks.

Can't remember ... I am sure that I'm right in saying that you are required to have passed the Air Law exam before you go First Solo, and logic suggests to me that you should have RT also, but I'm not sure that you do :confused:

RC

Ha ha, your trying making the classic mistake of trying to apply logic to something as illogic as the Avaition Authority!
you need a valid RT Licence an time you cross an international boundry, you can get it at the end of your PPL.

In the UK, a radio telephony licence is required to be held by anyone who operates the radio (if you don't have/don't operate a radio you don't require a licence). There are exemptions to the requirement to hold a licence, one of which is the dispensation given to student pilots. The restricted RT licence allowed you to operate radio equipment where you could not manually tune between the standard frequency spacings. As all modern radios do not allow you to do that anyway, the licence you would get on completion of the theoretical and practical exam would be un-restricted. The RT licence is a stand alone licence and you do not need to be a pilot to hold one.

Well, I already hold a restricted RT certificate since I don't know when but I want to know when I have use for a general RT certificate.

The certificate becomes a general one when it is attached to a professional licence. The difference being you have then passed the appropriate exam to allow you to use an HF radio - useful across the Atlantic, for example.