Converting non-US certificate to US

[Roy Smith]

I've been asked to investigate, on behalf of some applicants to my
flying club, the procedure to take a non-US pilot certificate to a US
one. I got some good info from AOPA, but if there's anybody who's
actually been through the process and would be willing to share the
experience, I'd appreciate hearing from you.

[Brian Whatcott]

On 8 Sep 2005 16:41:41 -0400, (Roy Smith) wrote:

>I've been asked to investigate, on behalf of some applicants to my
>flying club, the procedure to take a non-US pilot certificate to a US
>one. I got some good info from AOPA, but if there's anybody who's
>actually been through the process and would be willing to share the
>experience, I'd appreciate hearing from you.
>


When this situation came up for me (many years ago) I applied to the
FAA for a private on the strength of a pre existing UK (then CAA)
private.

In other words, where there is a co operative agreement, it's not a
big deal. However, when it came time to buy a plane on the US
register, I found that a foreign national is in general barred.

The corporation which is set up for him at modest cost however, *is* a
US entity, and the plane was legally owned in this way.
There was also an issue of getting an aviation radio station license
though.

Brian Whatcott Altus OK

[Magic Fingers]

I'm doing it right now. Applicant holds the equivalent of PPL from the JAA.
He's a 30 hour VFR only pilot.
Spoke with two local DPEs. Both said to prep him to the PPL PTS, as that's
what they have to test him to. No shortcuts. Oral and flight test as if he
was a low-time student pilot applying for his first ticket.
Simple. No muss, no fuss.
Pat Brown
CFII


"Roy Smith" > wrote in message
...
> I've been asked to investigate, on behalf of some applicants to my
> flying club, the procedure to take a non-US pilot certificate to a US
> one. I got some good info from AOPA, but if there's anybody who's
> actually been through the process and would be willing to share the
> experience, I'd appreciate hearing from you.
>
>

[Magic Fingers]

Oops....
TYPO. He's a 300 hour PPL!!!
Sorry.
PB

"Magic Fingers" > wrote in message
...
> I'm doing it right now. Applicant holds the equivalent of PPL from the
> JAA. He's a 30 hour VFR only pilot.
> Spoke with two local DPEs. Both said to prep him to the PPL PTS, as that's
> what they have to test him to. No shortcuts. Oral and flight test as if
> he was a low-time student pilot applying for his first ticket.
> Simple. No muss, no fuss.
> Pat Brown
> CFII
>
>
> "Roy Smith" > wrote in message
> ...
>> I've been asked to investigate, on behalf of some applicants to my
>> flying club, the procedure to take a non-US pilot certificate to a US
>> one. I got some good info from AOPA, but if there's anybody who's
>> actually been through the process and would be willing to share the
>> experience, I'd appreciate hearing from you.
>>
>>
>
>

[Thomas Borchert]

Roy,

> the procedure to take a non-US pilot certificate to a US
> one.
>

Well, is you aim a US certificate based on a valid foreign certificate
or do you want to end up with a full US certificate independent of the
foreign license?

The FAA website spells out the details, but basically for the former,
you need to apply to the FAA in advance, which will check if you hold a
valid foreign certificate. After that, go to an FSDO and collect the US
certificate. After that, do a flight review and you're good to go.

For the latter, you need to apply for training with the TSA first.
Then, you basically need to go through the full training and all tests
- except that all training received for your foreign certificate
counts. In essence, you might end up needing to do only the 3 hours
required in preparation for the test.

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

[Roy Smith]

In article >,
Thomas Borchert > wrote:

> Roy,
>
> > the procedure to take a non-US pilot certificate to a US
> > one.
> >
>
> Well, is you aim a US certificate based on a valid foreign certificate
> or do you want to end up with a full US certificate independent of the
> foreign license?

I don't know exactly. The former sounds simpler. Are there advantages to
the latter?

[Thomas Borchert]

Roy,

> The former sounds simpler. Are there advantages to
> the latter?
>

It IS simpler. WAY simpler. And I would recommend to go that way for
occasional flying in the US. Mind you, the certificate holder will have
to do a full flight review, often forgotten by FBOs renting to
foreigners. If s/he is not familiar with US airspace, regulations and
procedures (radio work, above all), and the CFI giving the review is
halfway responsible, this will take more than an hour ground school and
an hour in the air.

The advantage to the "true" US certificate is that you can build
ratings and new certificates according to US standards on it. Also,
should your underlying foreign license become invalid for some reason,
the US certificate based on it would become invalid, too. One very
important possibility for that scenario lies in the extremely strict
medical requirements for private pilots in some European countries,
e.g. Germany. It's quite easy for a pilot to have his German medical
declined on a condition that would be perfectly ok in the US. Allowable
uncorrected vision, for example, is limited in Germany, it isn't in the
US.


--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

[Sylvain]

Roy Smith wrote:
>>Well, is you aim a US certificate based on a valid foreign certificate
>>or do you want to end up with a full US certificate independent of the
>>foreign license?
>
>
> I don't know exactly. The former sounds simpler. Are there advantages to
> the latter?

yes and no. it depends on the country that issued the
license upon which the US certificate is based; for
instance, I got my first US certificate under 61.75
based on the old style (pre-JAR) British PPL(A); in
this case, it was actually more advantageous for me
to do so than to get a 'real' FAA certificate; for
one thing, the British PPL(A) did not expire (just
like the US certificate, i.e., the piece of
paper does not expire); and that's important, because
61.75 says that the US certificate is valid as long as
the foreign license upon which it is based remains valid
(unless it is explicitly revoked or surrendered);
Moreover, at the time, my British Class-III medical
was valid 5 years :-) -- so all in all, it was simpler
at the time to stick with my 61.75 based certificate

nowadays however, it is my understanding that the new
JAR licenses do have an expiration date on it (I haven't
bothered yet to exchange my British PPL(A) for one -- but
I understand that folks with a German PPL also had the
same problem, i.e., expiration date on the license); and
it becomes a pain in the neck since you have to keep
not just one, but two civil aviation authorities
happy.

Now, if someone already has a foreign private license;
I reckon the best bet would be to i) apply for a US
certificate based on the foreign license under 61.75,
even though it has become more complicated and requires
that the country of origin certifies your credentials;
and ii) prepare for the commercial ticket; i.e., if you
must prepare for a written exam and checkride, might
as well go for the commercial for just a little bit
-- not that much -- more effort.

that's what I did actually (I still keep my private
certificate based on the foreign license because it
still has my glider rating on it; I should eventually go
spend a couple of weeks at a place like Minden and
get the commercial and be done with it :-)

--Sylvain

[Sylvain]

Thomas Borchert wrote:
> The advantage to the "true" US certificate is that you can build
> ratings

ok, may be this one changed, but I was able at the time to
add the US Instrument Rating on my private certificate based
on a foreign license.


> the US certificate based on it would become invalid, too. One very
> important possibility for that scenario lies in the extremely strict
> medical requirements for private pilots in some European countries,
> e.g. Germany. It's quite easy for a pilot to have his German medical
> declined on a condition that would be perfectly ok in the US. Allowable
> uncorrected vision, for example, is limited in Germany, it isn't in the
> US.

indeed. but some foreign licenses were valid -- as far as 61.75 was
concerned -- indefinitely, regardless of you having the corresponding
foreign medical (and/or maintained the foreign currency
requirements); that was the case with the old British PPL(A).

--Sylvain

[Thomas Borchert]

Peter,

Not quite sure where I was wrong, but alas...

> Very few pilots will have a
> condition which allows them to fail JAA and then pass FAA.
>

The vision thing I mentioned is a very real problem herein Germany. Be
aware that there is NO such thing as a JAA medical, really. The German
JAA medical requirements differ vastly from the British, for example.
My example with regard to vision is a good one for that. Now, I could
go to the UK every time I need a medical for my German JAA license (I
think), but that's not very practical.

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

[Thomas Borchert]

Peter,

> >The vision thing I mentioned is a very real problem herein Germany.
>
> Do you mean they don't allow pilots to wear glasses?
>

The rule sets limits on the amount of correction the glasses are
allowed to do, no matter how good your vision WITH the glasses is. The
limit is somewhere around 5 or 6 diopters summed over both eyes when
getting a medical for the first time and 8 or so on subsequent
medicals.

Yes, I know that this is total BS, but you will find some German MEs
vigorously defending this rule on the grounds that you might lose your
glasses in a crucial moment or your eyes are more prone to sudden
damage when they require high corrections or some such nonsense.

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)