Flying in US with BGA Glider Pilot Licence

[Ian Webb]

Hi All,
Planning on going to the US for a holiday later this year. I plan on
having a couple of glider flights and was wondering if anyone had
actually managed to go through the paperwork - FAA/CAA/BGA- to be
able to fly solo with the BGA Licence. Flying solo is not a necessity, but

would be nice to have the paperwork in order should the chance arise.
Any help appreciated.
thanks

Webby

[Ian Lane]

At 15:18 04 February 2019, Ian Webb wrote:
>Hi All,
>Planning on going to the US for a holiday later this year. I plan on
>having a couple of glider flights and was wondering if anyone had
>actually managed to go through the paperwork - FAA/CAA/BGA- to be
>able to fly solo with the BGA Licence. Flying solo is not a necessity, bu
>
>would be nice to have the paperwork in order should the chance arise.
>Any help appreciated.
>thanks
>
>Webby
>
>

When I tried to do this a couple of years back, I was told initially that
unless I had an EASA glider licence, I couldn't have a glider rating added
to my EASA PPL even though I'd had one previously on my old FAA piggy back
licence.

However, I came across the following paragraph from the FAA inspectors'
handbook:

""(FAA Order
8900.1, Volume 5, Chapter 2, Section 14) is:

J. Flying Clubs. A foreign pilot license issued by a flying club under a
specific delegation of the foreign CAA of an ICAO member state is
acceptable for the issuance of a private pilot certificate under § 61.75.
For example, several countries may delegate the authority to issue glider
pilot certificates to members of their national gliding clubs."

When I put this to the FAA, they conceded the point and I got the rating
included. If you don't have a PPL, then I'm not sure how it would work now
but they do recognise British (and Australian/New Zealand) qualifications .
The thing is, the FAA certificate would be issued under what is called
section/para 61.75 and is piggy-backed onto your UK licence. If you don't
have a licence, then there's nothing to piggy back on to. You could of
course fly solo as a student pilot under the supervision of an instructor,
and if you're not bothered about x-country flying, that shouldn't be a
problem. Might be an an idea to discuss options with the nearest FAA Flight
Standards District Office (FSDO) to the area you'll be visiting.
Hope this helps

[Ian Webb]

Thanks Ian. I would only be interested in local flying, so the student
thing could be the way to go.
I'll look into that.

>

[son_of_flubber]

On Monday, February 4, 2019 at 1:00:06 PM UTC-5, Ian Webb wrote:
> Thanks Ian. I would only be interested in local flying, so the student
> thing could be the way to go.
> I'll look into that.
>
> >

https://www.faa.gov/pilots/become/student_cert/

No medical exam required for glider pilot.

"You must meet with a Certified Flight Instructor, also known as a Recommending Instructor (RI) in IACRA, to complete the process. You must bring valid photo ID to that meeting."

https://iacra.faa.gov/IACRA/HelpandInfo.aspx?id=6

[Bruce Hoult]

On Monday, February 4, 2019 at 7:30:05 AM UTC-8, Ian Webb wrote:
> Hi All,
> Planning on going to the US for a holiday later this year. I plan on
> having a couple of glider flights and was wondering if anyone had
> actually managed to go through the paperwork - FAA/CAA/BGA- to be
> able to fly solo with the BGA Licence. Flying solo is not a necessity, but
>
> would be nice to have the paperwork in order should the chance arise.
> Any help appreciated.

It's about 25 years since I did it, at Turf Soaring north of Phoenix in 1994.

I did a two-pronged approach: I visited an FAA office and got a reciprocal US license on the basis on my NZ logbook and QGP (Qualified Glider Pilot) rating issued by the NZGA.

While waiting for that the place I was visiting soloed me as a student after one flight and immediately allowed me to fly solo cross-country "under supervision" -- which as elsewhere meant discussing my plans with a local instructor before takeoff, taking into consideration the weather on the day etc.

One I got a temporary reciprocal US PPL car I was taking local friends for passenger flights.

Unfortunately I never received the permanent US license which they supposedly mailed to NZ, and I was unable to get a replacement because I needed to tell them the number of my lost license and I'd never received it so didn't know the number! I gave up on that around 1998.

I'll be moving to live in the US soon and will hopefully be able to sort it out by actually visiting an office. Or just start again.

[Garrett McEwen]

Bruce, just FYI you are listed in the FAA database and they don't have an address for you on file. Should be "easy" to get your replacement card issued when you get here.

https://amsrvs.registry.faa.gov/airmeninquiry/Main.aspx

[Bruce Hoult]

On Monday, February 4, 2019 at 7:06:07 PM UTC-8, Garrett McEwen wrote:
> Bruce, just FYI you are listed in the FAA database and they don't have an address for you on file. Should be "easy" to get your replacement card issued when you get here.
>
> https://amsrvs.registry.faa.gov/airmeninquiry/Main.aspx

Oh, cool! I don't know if that search page existed last time I thought about this.

--------
Certificate: PRIVATE PILOT(FOREIGN BASED)
Date of Issue: 3/7/1994

Ratings:
PRIVATE PILOT (Foreign Based)
GLIDER

Limits:
ISSUED ON BASIS OF AND VALID ONLY WHEN ACCOMPANIED BY NEW ZEALAND PILOT LICENSE NO C-2534.
--------

Yup, looks correct, including the NZGA C-certificate serial number (grandfathered to QGP these days). As I said: 1994.

Thanks for finding that!

I may well do a PPL ASEL once I'm living there. Not only are hourly hire rates much cheaper in the US -- I see $120 to $130 an hour for a 172 in the US vs about US$175 in NZ -- but it's just an add-on rating, not a whole new license like in NZ. Last I checked, the NZ authorities give you a maximum credit of 10 hours off the PPL for gliding experience.