Hi all, I am a FAA PPL/IR flying a N-reg in Europe. Have been reading here for quite a while and this forum as well as Peter’s contributions on his peter-2000 website really boosted my knowledge of aviation.
Like so many I am concerned about the upcoming April 2018 “screw N-reg” deadline. I just came across a fairly new (at least to me) EU proposal dated 28 October 2016. It identifies itself as:
COM(2016) 694 final
2016/0343(NLE)
A full text version is here.
Of particular interest are in section 1.3 the third last and the last paragraphs: It specifically mentions the 10000s of third country PPL holders and a need for urgency due to upcoming April 2017.
This could potentially result in a high number of private pilot licence holders (above 10.000) having a foreign licence that would not fit in the European system. It needs to be noted that it is mostly European citizens holding a U.S. issued private pilot licence (PPL) who are potentially affected. Conversion of these licences in line with Commission Regulation (EU) 1178/2011 could lead to additional significant financial and organisational costs for the PPL holders.
With due consideration for the relevant provisions and deadlines contained in Commission Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011 (8 April 2017), the incorporation of a new Pilot Licensing Annex in the Agreement is considered urgent. As a consequence the Agreement needs to be amended promptly.
Did anybody know anything about this?
(Hopefully I didn’t screw up the quoting too badly.)
AxelF
Actually, converting the IR is less of a problem. Converting the PPL itself is a bit more of a nuisance.
Anyway, unless you have some very very specific medical issue (which allow you to get an FAA medical but not an EASA one), then, as long as you are reasonably current as a pilot, there is no big problem with a license conversion. No need to be concerned. Do it and the concerns go away. Also gives you the possibilty to fly EASA regs, should the need/oppurtunity arise.
I converted an FAA PPL to EASA. Was not a big deal. Helps to have a supportive ATO.
Thank you for pointing this out AxelF
EASA has been telling us for about a year that the technical aspects of the Annex on Implementation Procedures for Licensing are complete and agreed, but a political roadblock, about which no more could be disclosed, was holding up the process of adopting this Annex. Perhaps this is the solution for this roadblock?
My understanding is that the EASA Committee has discussed (but not yet passed) yet another postponement of the deadline, from April 2017 to April 2018.
Glad you are chiming in, Bookworm.
Perhaps this is the solution for this roadblock?
Hopefully, but what is the content of this “solution”?
This piece of proposed legislation seems to be more than (or just different to) a mere extension by another year (which – by itself – would be good news anyway). Do you have any idea what would it mean if this piece of proposed legislation were to become adopted prior to April 2017?
AxelF wrote:
Hopefully, but what is the content of this “solution”?
It’s the amendment to the BASA on the last page of the document. (It’s not clear to me why such an amendment is necessary.) This would, presumably, allow the Annex on Pilot Licensing to be enacted.
The extension to the deadline is a completely separate issue.
Thanks for finding that document, @AxelF and welcome to EuroGA 
This may be applicable. It is obvious that the FAA-EASA treaty is dead in the water and, writing now, April 2017 is very very close so implementing the “N-reg screwing” then would lead to mayhem.
The whole reason for the continuous string of delays, originally from April 2012 to currently April 2017, is because EASA conned the EU Transport Committee into voting for EASA FCL, on the assurance (which EASA knew at the time was bogus) that a treaty was just around the corner and it would allow mutual license acceptance.
Everybody who knew anything about this business at the time knew this was a lie but hey that’s how a lot of business is done in Brussels The place is set up to look like a warm and fuzzy consumer and civil rights protection agency so they make overt industrial lobbying difficult, but internally they work just like everybody has worked since the awarding of contracts to build the pyramids at Giza
So somebody in the EU has done the decent thing and forced EASA to honour their promise of delivering this treaty 
Or maybe this is from inside EASA itself, having to dig themselves out of a hole dug by the old management.
So I doubt anybody knows which way this is going to go. It seems obvious that a further delay, say April 2018, is necessary, but there isn’t any clear indication anything will be solved in that timeframe either – because the bit which is holding it up is some “top secret” card which the EU is trying to play against America and which has been tied to some other stuff which America doesn’t want to agree to. I haven’t got a clue what it is but it could be something big like the rights of some EU airline to operate domestic US routes…. well you can imagine how far that would run in the current US climate!
I did my IR conversion in 2011/2012 (the CB IR conversion route didn’t exist then, and there was a real risk that the 15hr conversion route would also disappear due to a stupid cockup of nobody knowing what to do with it post-April-2012… the precedent for this was a brief period post-1999 when a PPL/IR required all 14 ATPL exams!) but in your case you may as well look at doing the CB IR conversion. It will incidentally give you passenger night carriage privileges without having to do the 3 FAA-required night landings. That said, I have let my JAA/EASA IR lapse… I can do this for up to 7 years before the 7 JAA IR exams expire and I would have to do them all again.
But then, there is the CB IR conversion which is an oral exam and test with an examiner, so no exams to re-sit anyway!
Peter wrote:
So somebody in the EU has done the decent thing and forced EASA to honour their promise of delivering this treaty
Except that the BASA – Licensing – is not about mutual recognition. That would be too simple. It provides a somewhat simplified path to converting a PPL. A link to the document can be found here, as well as some discussion on the subject.
And here I previously wrote: As I understand the BASA (Bi-lateral Aviation Safety Agreement) licensing document (although I have not seen the IP and I am not even sure it exists yet), it offers a rather cumbersome path from FAA certificates to EASA licenses, with potentially the need to pass some theoretical exams in the process. That would however provide a “full” EASA license. What is described is very similar in spirit to what is currently in place for the FAA IR to EASA IR conversion through the CB-IR path.
Peter wrote:
This may be applicable. It is obvious that the FAA-EASA treaty is dead in the water and, writing now, April 2017 is very very close so implementing the “N-reg screwing” then would lead to mayhem.The whole reason for the continuous string of delays, originally from April 2012 to currently April 2017, is because EASA conned the EU Transport Committee into voting for EASA FCL, on the assurance (which EASA knew at the time was bogus) that a treaty was just around the corner and it would allow mutual license acceptance.
Everybody who knew anything about this business at the time knew this was a lie but hey that’s how a lot of business is done in Brussels The place is set up to look like a warm and fuzzy consumer and civil rights protection agency so they make overt industrial lobbying difficult, but internally they work just like everybody has worked since the awarding of contracts to build the pyramids at Giza
So somebody in the EU has done the decent thing and forced EASA to honour their promise of delivering this treaty Or maybe this is from inside EASA itself, having to dig themselves out of a hole dug by the old management.
Your talent for sniffing out conspiracy is legendary, Peter. :)
Aviathor wrote:
(although I have not seen the IP and I am not even sure it exists yet)
FWIW, they do exist, and are finalised, though they have not been published.
