Flying in Europe

[[email protected]]

Which countries will allow a US Glider rated pilot to fly solo without additional paperwork?
Thanks In Advance
-Howie

[CindyB[_2_]]

On Tuesday, May 22, 2018 at 8:48:23 PM UTC-7, Howie Bohl wrote:
> Which countries will allow a US Glider rated pilot to fly solo without additional paperwork?
> Thanks In Advance
> -Howie

If you take your US licensed, N-number equipped glider with you, almost any ICAO signature country allows you to fly there. You are also required to know the airspace rules there when you do so.

However, if you want to fly a glider registered in a different country, while in some country other than the US, there WILL be at least a minimal amount of paperwork. The Brits and Aussies are the gentlest, with a national glider organization subset to their CAA(FAA equivalent).

Most other ICAO countries will require a a mailing exchange of documents with the FAA in advance of your travel, and most likely a medical certificate issued and valid for the period of your visit.

If you plan to travel and soar, contact the local glider pilot national organization for guidance. You didn't provide any clue to your plans, so this forum can't yet provide you any specific information. (Smile.)

Cindy B

[Howie Bohl]

Thank you,
I’ll be landing in Germany next week and driving through Bavaria. Have a lesson scheduled with Seventy2one and
Will try to visit Dassu in Germany and Schaenis in Switzerland.
Appreciate the info:-)

[Tango Whisky]

Le mercredi 23 mai 2018 07:07:56 UTC+2, Howie Bohl a écritÂ*:
> Thank you,
> I’ll be landing in Germany next week and driving through Bavaria. Have a lesson scheduled with Seventy2one and
> Will try to visit Dassu in Germany and Schaenis in Switzerland.
> Appreciate the info:-)

Germany and Switzerland are part of EASA land (which essentially covers all of continental Europe). You probably need to get an EASA licence issued based on your US licence, which would be valid throughout Europe. EASA licences are issued by the national bodies (LBA in Germany, BAZL in Switzerland) and might take more than a week to get.

However, as both Schänis and DASSU are commercial outfits who often deal with overseas visitors, they should be able to advise you. Depending on you experience in alpine soaring and your available time, it might be worth while to go with an instructor anyways and skip the paperwork.

[[email protected]]

Traveling to different sites with limited time it has been the most enjoyable when scheduling a dual x/c lesson. The instructor is more of a guide but you will pick up s few things. The time to be signed off for solo takes as many clock hours or more than going out on a 4 hour instructed flight where you will see more and fly more. Most instructors are pretty quick to discover the student ability and promptly stop instructing and start chatting as you fly around. Local knowledge is helpful and often you are able to fly a nice 2 place. Skipping s bunch of paperwork which might not come through in time is another t a son to go dual.

[[email protected]]

On Wednesday, May 23, 2018 at 3:43:00 AM UTC-7, wrote:
> Traveling to different sites with limited time it has been the most enjoyable when scheduling a dual x/c lesson. The instructor is more of a guide but you will pick up s few things. The time to be signed off for solo takes as many clock hours or more than going out on a 4 hour instructed flight where you will see more and fly more. Most instructors are pretty quick to discover the student ability and promptly stop instructing and start chatting as you fly around. Local knowledge is helpful and often you are able to fly a nice 2 place. Skipping s bunch of paperwork which might not come through in time is another t a son to go dual.

I have flown at DASSU in Unterwossen several times. The last time I was there in April of 2015 they would accept my USA license however my current Third Class medical was not accepted for solo flying in Germany and this denial was confirmed with a phone call to the German FAA equivalent. I did not ask them about a Second Class however there was a pilot flying solo with a First Class. They told me there was a Doc close to town that could issue a European medical however it would take a week or so to go through so I did not pursue that option. This has changed significantly since my first visit in 1999 for a winch sign off. Then they just asked me if I had a license but did not look at it and then after my required 10 winch flights with an instructor signed me off for solo flying and rental in any of gliders. Damage insurance was also available for purchase.

Chuck (99)

[Howie Bohl]

Thank you for the info. I appreciate it.

[Craig Funston[_3_]]

On Wednesday, May 23, 2018 at 11:14:00 AM UTC-7, Howie Bohl wrote:
> Thank you for the info. I appreciate it.

Howie,

I flew a D registered ship in Germany last summer with a US license, but it wasn't an easy process. The LBA (German FAA equivalent) is being pulled reluctantly into EASA world and last year was the year they were forced to start adapting to Euro regs (my understanding, I could be wrong about this). Anyways, there's lots of chaos and lack of clarity around the transition. Hopefully it's getting better.

I was able to fly under a special visitor provision that required sanctioning by the DAC (German Aero Club). Everybody in the glider community was very helpful, but lots of paperwork was required. Even with a good friend in Germany to coordinate things, this took 6 months. Working between the LBA and the FAA was particularly challenging.

Current plans for further European flight adventures is to get a European license at one of the large facilities like St. Aubain or Unterwossen. A 2nd class US medical is sufficient for this. That should side step many of the regulatory hassles.

Good luck and have a great time with Uli! PM me if you want additional information.

Best regards,
Craig

[[email protected]]

On Tuesday, 22 May 2018 23:48:23 UTC-4, Howie Bohl wrote:
> Which countries will allow a US Glider rated pilot to fly solo without additional paperwork?
> Thanks In Advance
> -Howie

Try: https://aopa.de/ueber-uns/for-foreign-pilots/ppl-validation/ppl-validation.html

We have about 7 US Team members needing to do this in the next few weeks.

Regards,
Bob

[Craig Funston[_3_]]

On Wednesday, May 23, 2018 at 6:23:58 PM UTC-7, wrote:
> On Tuesday, 22 May 2018 23:48:23 UTC-4, Howie Bohl wrote:
> > Which countries will allow a US Glider rated pilot to fly solo without additional paperwork?
> > Thanks In Advance
> > -Howie
>
> Try: https://aopa.de/ueber-uns/for-foreign-pilots/ppl-validation/ppl-validation.html
>
> We have about 7 US Team members needing to do this in the next few weeks.
>
> Regards,
> Bob

Bob,

Good information. Last year the LBA wanted a "certification" letter from the FAA confirming my current flight privileges. The letter had to be Faxed to them.

Needless to say the FAA representative in OK City didn't know anything about this and was only able to offer a complex procedure by which an email confirmation could be generated after a month or so. It turns out that the FAA online airmens services has an option to get a web generated letter which is available immediately as a PDF.

https://www.faa.gov/licenses_certificates/airmen_certification/airmen_services/

Presto, problem solved. The only thing needed after that is to go back a couple decades and figure out how to send a fax ;-)

Thanks,
Craig