but the interesting one for me is that this chap apparently does FAA PPL/CPL/IR as well… and I would really love to know how that works without having N reg aeroplanes
The FAA accepts all training, anywhere in the world, towards any FAA license or rating, in any aircraft reg. Outside the US it can be done by any instructor. For example your IMCR training can be used towards the FAA IR logbook requirement. It is the checkride and the writtens that are the problem.
one man flying school that operates D and PH reg aeroplanes, and has been doing so for 2 years. Now, I can see how this works within the EASA system
It should be allowed if using EU-reg planes, but evidently it is not common. But France is “different” from a lot of places in that more is possible if you stay below the radar. The last guy who was doing FAA checkrides was doing them in France, too.
Peter wrote:
People get very emotional about this distinction but it is an obvious fact that nobody can offer free training so no matter how you dress it up, if you train outsiders you are a flying school. This is true whether or not these outsiders are required to purchase a “club membership” for tax, insurance or other regulatory reasons.
I don’t understand what you are saying. Obviously you are a “school” if you train pilots – whether a club membership is required or not. Also whoever have been talking about “free training”?
Peter wrote:
People get very emotional about this distinction but it is an obvious fact that nobody can offer free training so no matter how you dress it up, if you train outsiders you are a flying school. This is true whether or not these outsiders are required to purchase a “club membership” for tax, insurance or other regulatory reasons. And AFAIK no country in Europe allows a school to operate foreign reg. I have heard of a few cases of an EU school operating another EU reg on a temporary basis but it may have been “around” for training its owner, which is permitted in most places.
I may be misunderstanding your post, but I think you are wrong here.
I fly in a French aeroclub on a grass airfield in France, and our prices are determined by the cost of flying the two aeroplanes and microlight we own. This is not free flying, but there is absolutely no profit involved for anyone, it costs pilots the direct cost. To fly with us you need to join our Aeroclub and the FFA (for insurance) and as we are a DTO our unpaid instructors (who do get direct travel and licencing expenses) can train you for LAPL/PPL/night/microlight licences.
On the same airfield, there is a Commercial flying school (NOT an Aeroclub) that is an ATO and can train you for PPL/night/IR/CPL. This is literally a one man flying school that operates D and PH reg aeroplanes, and has been doing so for 2 years. Now, I can see how this works within the EASA system… but the interesting one for me is that this chap apparently does FAA PPL/CPL/IR as well… and I would really love to know how that works without having N reg aeroplanes…
Regards, SD..
Peter wrote:
ask yourself why practically all school planes in Europe are on local regs
For the same reason why practically all SEPs in Europe – school planes or not – are on local regs? (Obviously with the exception of N-reg, but you can’t use them in a school anyway.)
And AFAIK no country in Europe allows a school to operate foreign reg.
There’s no regulation that forbids this and I know opposite examples. It’s probably issue of local CAAs and lack of will in fighting against them when they are wrong.
For sure this is true, and it is true in GA more than in most areas of human activity – pilots are trained to fear authorities – but the basic problem here is that countries are trying to implement policies which would not withstand critical scrutiny.
There is the extremely obvious policy across Europe (and pretty obviously across the world) to limit commercial activities to local regs, and the driver behind this is equally obvious: ask yourself what would be the point of a national CAA if everybody was operating fleets under the regs of another country’s CAA!
And then there is the thread topic: a ban on long term basing (“long term parking”) of N-reg. N-reg is disliked more than EU-reg because of
All this is basic politics, identical everywhere 
For an excellent insider view, I recommend this.
Airborne_Again wrote:
Maybe no reason needs to be given in the UK, but generally government authorities have to state reasons for their decisions – at least in civilised countries.
Sounds very reasonable, but sadly there are countries in the world where the people have been tricked into being terrified of their own shadows, and thus have allowed their governments to wield more and more unaccountable power over the citizens, usually in the name of “security” or “fighting terrorism.”
It is always easy to require proof of something, but
so a “proof” is not likely to ever be discovered!
This is how much of the world runs. A lot of govt policy can never be published, not least because it would invite a challenge.
Peter wrote:
The method used is that the school does not get CAA approval, and no reason needs to be given
Maybe no reason needs to be given in the UK, but generally government authorities have to state reasons for their decisions – at least in civilised countries.
The method used is that the school does not get CAA approval, and no reason needs to be given 
That is how the UK CAA always did it, for example.
