Any EASA problems with USA glider licence?

Question for the Europeans -or others- that know the facts, only the facts ma'am....:

What happens when a US pilot shows up to fly in Europe, like Germany Austria and Switzerland for any number of months? Perhaps joining a club to help facilitate things.
Any preparation to be done here in the US beforehand? Medical required over there? Language barriers based on required reading/testing?.....
What lays ahead. I hope it's not a insanely massive paperwork chase like other stuff I've ground through over there.
Thanks

Master

In Europe the - ICAO license validation process (Annexe 1 - 1.2) is
generally followed. Though it is not very specific.
Germany has many federal gliding "authorities" so the exact process will
probably vary depending on location.

The standards is pretty simple if you have an ICAO license already.
So - here is the consultant's guide - ICAO Annex 1, chapter 1 says -

1.2.2.1 When a Contracting State renders valid a licence
issued by another Contracting State, as an alternative to the
issuance of its own licence, it shall establish validity by
suitable authorization to be carried with the former licence
accepting it as the equivalent of the latter. When a State limits
the authorization to specific privileges, the authorization shall
specify the privileges of the licence which are to be accepted
as its equivalent. The validity of the authorization shall not
extend beyond the period of validity of the licence. The
authorization ceases to be valid if the licence upon which it
was issued is revoked or suspended.
Note.— This provision is not intended to preclude the State
that issued the licence from extending, by a suitable notification,
the period of validity of the licence without necessarily
requiring either the physical return of the licence or the
appearance of the licence holder before the Authorities of that
State.
1.2.2.2 When an authorization under 1.2.2.1 is issued for
use in commercial air transport operations, the Licensing
Authority shall confirm the validity of the other Contracting
State’s licence before issuing the authorization.
1.2.2.3 Recommendation.— A pilot licence issued by a
Contracting State should be rendered valid by other Contracting
States for use in private flights.
Note.— Contracting States which, without formality, render
valid a licence issued by another Contracting State for use in
private flights are encouraged to notify this facility in their
Aeronautical Information Publications.

What it means is that the Gliding authority of the state you are flying
in , and specifically the state of registration of the aircraft you are
flying - validates your license according to national rules. If you have
an ICAO recognised Glider Pilot's license, and a valid medical of at
least the level required in the country you are flying, it should be a
formality. You may be required to pass local English proficiency and Air
LAw exams. The validation may not be issued for longer than the validity
of your national license.

Generally best to join a club, join the national gliding organisation,
validate license.

There you go - lots of facts , and you are not really any better off
than before. Except you know what rules to quote when the people on the
other side don't know how to do this.

I wrote the process for this in South Africa, based on what happens in
Europe, New Zealand etc...

n 2012/04/30 8:14 AM, POPS wrote:
Question for the Europeans -or others- that know the facts, only the
facts ma'am....:

What happens when a US pilot shows up to fly in Europe, like Germany
Austria and Switzerland for any number of months? Perhaps joining a
club to help facilitate things.
Any preparation to be done here in the US beforehand? Medical required
over there? Language barriers based on required reading/testing?.....

What lays ahead. I hope it's not a insanely massive paperwork chase
like other stuff I've ground through over there.
Thanks





--
Bruce Greeff
T59D #1771

On Monday, April 30, 2012 2:14:17 AM UTC-4, POPS wrote:
Question for the Europeans -or others- that know the facts, only the
facts ma'am....:

What happens when a US pilot shows up to fly in Europe, like Germany
Austria and Switzerland for any number of months? Perhaps joining a
club to help facilitate things.
Any preparation to be done here in the US beforehand? Medical required
over there? Language barriers based on required reading/testing?.....

What lays ahead. I hope it's not a insanely massive paperwork chase
like other stuff I've ground through over there.
Thanks




--
POPS

When I did this in the UK a couple of years back, all I had to do was to have a medical form equivalent to a commercial driver's license certification from a doctor. The piloting part was actually quite easy to get done.

P3

On 30/04/2012 14:01, Papa3 wrote:
On Monday, April 30, 2012 2:14:17 AM UTC-4, POPS wrote:
Question for the Europeans -or others- that know the facts, only
the facts ma'am....:

What happens when a US pilot shows up to fly in Europe, like
Germany Austria and Switzerland for any number of months? Perhaps
joining a club to help facilitate things. Any preparation to be
done here in the US beforehand? Medical required over there?
Language barriers based on required reading/testing?.....

What lays ahead. I hope it's not a insanely massive paperwork
chase like other stuff I've ground through over there. Thanks




-- POPS

When I did this in the UK a couple of years back, all I had to do was
to have a medical form equivalent to a commercial driver's license
certification from a doctor. The piloting part was actually quite
easy to get done.

P3

That's because there is no requirement for a licence to fly gliders in
the UK & the minimum medical requirements are based on driving
standards. Sadly, EASA rules have just come into force although most
countries will have a transition period of up to 3 years before the
rules must apply.

Your best bet will be to contact a club where you intend to fly & ask
them what will be required for them to rent you a glider or fly from
their airfield.

EASA rules can be downloaded from he
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/925530/EASA%20FCL.pdf
you need to start from (pdf) page 173, Annexe III, section A, para 5 &
read on to licence conversion, section B, para 2. Basically, airlaw &
human factors tests, flight test, ICAO class 2 medical, ICAO level 4
language proficiency & meet the currency requirements. Oh, and have 100
hours flight time.

Bear in mind that licence validation is a 1 year, 1 time only thing.
Once you do it it will be valid across all of EASA-land, but it only
lasts for a year & you can only do it once. Since the requirements for
licence validation are the same as for licence conversion you might as
well get an EASA licence based on your FAA one.

Here in BGA-land we're using the full 3 year transition period so the
new rules don't have to apply until April 2015. We expect the BGA to be
EASA's & the CAA's point man when it comes to applying the rules so
hopefully the costs & bureaucratic burden can be minimised; other
countries may not be so fortunate.

I've no practical experience of the new EASA rules, everything I think I
know comes from reading the paperwork & internet rumours.

Lots of luck,
Ed.

At 13:01 30 April 2012, Papa3 wrote:
On Monday, April 30, 2012 2:14:17 AM UTC-4, POPS wrote:
Question for the Europeans -or others- that know the facts, only the
facts ma'am....:

What happens when a US pilot shows up to fly in Europe, like Germany
Austria and Switzerland for any number of months? Perhaps joining a
club to help facilitate things.
Any preparation to be done here in the US beforehand? Medical required
over there? Language barriers based on required reading/testing?.....

What lays ahead. I hope it's not a insanely massive paperwork chase
like other stuff I've ground through over there.
Thanks




--
POPS

When I did this in the UK a couple of years back, all I had to do was to
have a medical form equivalent to a commercial driver's license
certification from a doctor. The piloting part was actually quite easy
to
get done.

P3

If you are flying in the UK the ONLY legal requirement at the present time
is that you are over 16 years of age. If you fly at a BGA club they will
want to see a medical but that is not a legal requirement,
In the not to distant future if they have their way EASA will make it much
more difficult.
Whatever you do don't take a glider to Italy, they will charge you 450 eros
just for having it there.

Well OK then. Thanks Bruce, Papa3,B4 and Don.
It sounds like what I first need to do, is get rock solid with any and all Abbot&Costello routines... whowhere,what? .... and a pocket ox dispenser.
I'll make it happen, maybe report back later...
Thanks.

Originally Posted by BruceGreeff

Master





In Europe the - ICAO license validation process (Annexe 1 - 1.2) is
generally followed. Though it is not very specific.
Germany has many federal gliding "authorities" so the exact process will
probably vary depending on location.

The standards is pretty simple if you have an ICAO license already.
So - here is the consultant's guide - ICAO Annex 1, chapter 1 says -

1.2.2.1 When a Contracting State renders valid a licence
issued by another Contracting State, as an alternative to the
issuance of its own licence, it shall establish validity by
suitable authorization to be carried with the former licence
accepting it as the equivalent of the latter. When a State limits
the authorization to specific privileges, the authorization shall
specify the privileges of the licence which are to be accepted
as its equivalent. The validity of the authorization shall not
extend beyond the period of validity of the licence. The
authorization ceases to be valid if the licence upon which it
was issued is revoked or suspended.
Note.— This provision is not intended to preclude the State
that issued the licence from extending, by a suitable notification,
the period of validity of the licence without necessarily
requiring either the physical return of the licence or the
appearance of the licence holder before the Authorities of that
State.
1.2.2.2 When an authorization under 1.2.2.1 is issued for
use in commercial air transport operations, the Licensing
Authority shall confirm the validity of the other Contracting
State’s licence before issuing the authorization.
1.2.2.3 Recommendation.— A pilot licence issued by a
Contracting State should be rendered valid by other Contracting
States for use in private flights.
Note.— Contracting States which, without formality, render
valid a licence issued by another Contracting State for use in
private flights are encouraged to notify this facility in their
Aeronautical Information Publications.

What it means is that the Gliding authority of the state you are flying
in , and specifically the state of registration of the aircraft you are
flying - validates your license according to national rules. If you have
an ICAO recognised Glider Pilot's license, and a valid medical of at
least the level required in the country you are flying, it should be a
formality. You may be required to pass local English proficiency and Air
LAw exams. The validation may not be issued for longer than the validity
of your national license.

Generally best to join a club, join the national gliding organisation,
validate license.

There you go - lots of facts , and you are not really any better off
than before. Except you know what rules to quote when the people on the
other side don't know how to do this.

I wrote the process for this in South Africa, based on what happens in
Europe, New Zealand etc...

n 2012/04/30 8:14 AM, POPS wrote:
Question for the Europeans -or others- that know the facts, only the
facts ma'am....:

What happens when a US pilot shows up to fly in Europe, like Germany
Austria and Switzerland for any number of months? Perhaps joining a
club to help facilitate things.
Any preparation to be done here in the US beforehand? Medical required
over there? Language barriers based on required reading/testing?.....

What lays ahead. I hope it's not a insanely massive paperwork chase
like other stuff I've ground through over there.
Thanks





--
Bruce Greeff
T59D #1771

I can't speak for Germany or England, but I have been flying in France
for many years now. The basic requirements are a valid U.S. glider
license and a Class 3 Medical certificate. You need to mail these off
to the French licensing authority at least three months before you
plan to fly, along with some money, a photocopy of the last page of
your logbook showing your total hours, and a passport photo. One or
two months later you get a French license good for one year in the
mail.

If you are not that organized, you can show up at the French National
Soaring Center at St Auban with the same documents and your logbook
and they will issue you a license on the spot. Of course some money
exchanges hands in the process.

I do not know if the license issued in France is valid in any other EU
country. However, flying out of St Auban we fly over Italy and
Switzerland on a regular basis. No worries.

Guy Acheson "DDS"

On Monday, 30 April 2012 11:44:17 UTC+5:30, POPS wrote:
Question for the Europeans -or others- that know the facts, only the
facts ma'am....:

What happens when a US pilot shows up to fly in Europe, like Germany
Austria and Switzerland for any number of months? Perhaps joining a
club to help facilitate things.
Any preparation to be done here in the US beforehand? Medical required
over there? Language barriers based on required reading/testing?.....

What lays ahead. I hope it's not a insanely massive paperwork chase
like other stuff I've ground through over there.
Thanks




--
POPS

Hi POPS,
for Germany, I would recommend to contact the Gliding Commission of the DAeC for assistance:
http://www.daec.de/sportarten/segelflug/kontakt/
I am sure they can give you the correct answer.

On Monday, April 30, 2012 2:14:17 AM UTC-4, POPS wrote:
Question for the Europeans -or others- that know the facts, only the

facts ma'am....:



What happens when a US pilot shows up to fly in Europe, like Germany

Austria and Switzerland for any number of months? Perhaps joining a

club to help facilitate things.

Any preparation to be done here in the US beforehand? Medical required

over there? Language barriers based on required reading/testing?.....



What lays ahead. I hope it's not a insanely massive paperwork chase

like other stuff I've ground through over there.

Thanks









--

POPS

I flew for a year in Germany on a validated FAA glider certificate. What did I need? Thirty hours total glider time and a medical. That's it. Nothing more.

I only had five hours glider time when I arrived, so I flew as if I were a German student pilot. At 29.9 I was a student; at 30.0 I was flying with a formlessly-validated license. Surprisingly unbureaucratic for Deutschland.

Go to www.lba.de and look under Luftfahrtpersonnal.

I now have a real German license because I wanted to do some aerobatic training here.

I got a BGA Gliding Licence by mail based on my FAA certificate. Oddly, when I got my German GPL it was based on the BGA one...

I won't share with you the months of pain it took to get my powered license converted. Yikes. I had to pay 100 Euro to prove I speak English as a native speaker!

Terry