flying internationally with US private

[Damn Dan]

A frenchman I know is going to school here in the states and is interested
in getting his private pilot's license. He asked me if the lincense he got
here would hold any weight in France when he went back home after school.
Anybody know the international policies on stuff like that?

-Dan

[Andrew Sarangan]

"Damn Dan" > wrote in message >...
> A frenchman I know is going to school here in the states and is interested
> in getting his private pilot's license. He asked me if the lincense he got
> here would hold any weight in France when he went back home after school.
> Anybody know the international policies on stuff like that?
>
> -Dan

In the US, FAA will issue you a restricted private pilot certificate
if you have a foreign license. The certificate will be valid as long
as your foriegn license and medical are valid. I imagine France would
do the same if you produce a U.S. certificate and medical. However,
this is only meant as a temporary solution. If you are going to be
living in that country for any significant length of time, then it is
best to go through the normal channels to get the unrestricted
license.

[John Harper]

He should ask the DGAC (=French FAA) - like the FAA, they
have regional offices at major airports. However the answer is
that it will do him no good unless he flies an N-registered plane.
The DGAC will issue an equivalency document on the basis
of an FAA PPL - EXCEPT for EU citizens who do not have
the right of residency in the US (Green Card or US Citizenship).
As I discovered when I tried to do this (and I'm not even French -
but I am an EU citizen) - the guy at the DGAC in Nice was very
pleasant about it but said that unless I had a Green Card there
was nothing they could do.

I assume the reason for this is precisely to stop people doing what
your friend wants to do, i.e. doing all the work in the US then getting
a French licence by equivalency.

John

"Andrew Sarangan" > wrote in message
om...
> "Damn Dan" > wrote in message
>...
> > A frenchman I know is going to school here in the states and is
interested
> > in getting his private pilot's license. He asked me if the lincense he
got
> > here would hold any weight in France when he went back home after
school.
> > Anybody know the international policies on stuff like that?
> >
> > -Dan
>
> In the US, FAA will issue you a restricted private pilot certificate
> if you have a foreign license. The certificate will be valid as long
> as your foriegn license and medical are valid. I imagine France would
> do the same if you produce a U.S. certificate and medical. However,
> this is only meant as a temporary solution. If you are going to be
> living in that country for any significant length of time, then it is
> best to go through the normal channels to get the unrestricted
> license.

[Mary Shafer]

On Tue, 30 Mar 2004 10:25:01 -0800, "John Harper" >
wrote:

> I assume the reason for this is precisely to stop people doing what
> your friend wants to do, i.e. doing all the work in the US then getting
> a French licence by equivalency.

Doing so is very common, actually. It's much cheaper to get your
license in the US than it is in Europe, so the US has flight schools
that will produce your private ticket in two weeks, with room and
board included, which are advertised in Europe.

I know two Germans who have gotten licenses this way, as well as one
Briton. When they told me how much money they saved, I was quite
surprised.

Mary

--
Mary Shafer Retired aerospace research engineer

[John Harper]

Yes, but they get a JAA license, not an FAA one -
it's perfectly OK to do all of your training in a different
country from the one the license is valid for, as
long as you do it under the jurisdiction of the
target country. What the DGAC is trying to avoid
(I presume) is people circumventing their
jurisdiction.

You could argue that it doesn't matter, because one
country's pilot license is pretty much the same as
another's. I'd agree, but if the DGAC/CAA/etc followed
that line of thinking to its logical conclusion they'd disappear
in a puff of JAA smoke. Which was pretty much the
intent behind the establishment of the JAA, and which
the DGAC/CAA/etc have now spent several years
successfully resisting.

John


"Mary Shafer" > wrote in message
...
> On Tue, 30 Mar 2004 10:25:01 -0800, "John Harper" >
> wrote:
>
> > I assume the reason for this is precisely to stop people doing what
> > your friend wants to do, i.e. doing all the work in the US then getting
> > a French licence by equivalency.
>
> Doing so is very common, actually. It's much cheaper to get your
> license in the US than it is in Europe, so the US has flight schools
> that will produce your private ticket in two weeks, with room and
> board included, which are advertised in Europe.
>
> I know two Germans who have gotten licenses this way, as well as one
> Briton. When they told me how much money they saved, I was quite
> surprised.
>
> Mary
>
> --
> Mary Shafer Retired aerospace research engineer
>