I should have read the OP more carefully… He’s not currently flying an N-reg. So Bosco’s answer is a lot better.
Except I would not agree with “it seems that you were ill-advised about doing an FAA PPL.” because that gets you a license which is valid for the rest of your life, recognised worldwide (in an N-reg, or post local validation) and which no European “power” can take away from you. That time, and the high quality flight training you get in the US system, was not wasted. And if you also got the FAA IR, you have some easy routes to the EASA IR. I am glad to have my standalone FAA CPL/IR because I can fly my N-reg worldwide, and once out of the UK (which is roughly 15 mins’ flying time for me) I don’t need any Euro papers whatsoever.
My advise would be to keep your residency in USA
That’s clever, especially as the EASA “operator based in or…” wording has never been defined. A US passport and an address would probably be pretty good, but again only for an N-reg. If flying some Euro-reg, it is up to the specific Euro CAA what papers they accept.
AFAICT the derogations apply only to flying an N-reg, and they have been re-done every year since 2011, sometimes for 2 years in one go, and always only at the 11th hour.
Filippo wrote:
Would you mind pointing me to any relevant instructions?
The complete regulation can be found here EASA
This includes a generic application form.
In Germany, VFR-PPL’s are handled by the regional AA’s. Not all of them have the relevant forms online, but e.g. the LBM in Rhineland-Palatinate does.
For PPL-IR the LBA is the competent authority, their form can be found here
One of “my” candidates chose Austrocontrol. Upon asking which forms to use, he was simply told to take the generic one in the original EASA regulation. Worked fine…
Fantastic, thank you everyone. I agree with Peter, I am still happy to have gotten my license in the US: I expected some work for the conversion, and it might still just work out to be cheaper and faster than the options I had in Italy! The 100 hours would have soured the deal significantly, and gave me a bit of a scare, but it looks like there are some solid alternative paths now.
Sounds like my next step is to reach out to the Italian AA to figure out if they are up to date on TIP-L.
Then it’s a matter of choosing the AA I want to convert with. Not really sure how to judge, so happy to hear opinions, but I see a bit of an early consensus on Austrocontrol if the Italian one is not viable or desirable.
Finally, I’ll need an examiner who feels like figuring out something a little unusual with me.
I can work with that! Thank you for working me through it.
boscomantico wrote:
EASA regs say that you must hold an EASA license to fly in EASA-land, no matter what reg the aircraft is
That’s not quite the case. The requirement for a European licence only applies to pilots of third-country aircraft when the aircraft operator is resident in the relevant territory and the aircraft is flown there. In other words, while Filippo is not an EU resident, the option exists to accumulate flight experience on a US-registered aircraft in Italy using only a US pilot certificate, assuming the pilot is also the aircraft operator.
Filippo wrote:
the Italian AA website mention a 100hr PIC TT requirement for both conversion and validation
The requirement in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/723, art 9(2)(f), is to “have completed at least 100 hours of flight time as a pilot.” All of the flight time done on the private pilot course counts.
something that gives me a temporary way to work my way to the 100 hours
As mentioned, the EU–US conversion agreement dispenses with that experience requirement. However, EASA Member States may validate an ICAO Annex 1-compliant licence for non-commercial tasks in the relevant territory for up to 28 days per calendar year, which could be used on aircraft registered in the EASA MS. The validation requires an acclimatisation flight with an instructor but there are no tests and an EASA medical is not required. Art 8(3) in the above delegated act. This provision is separate to the derogation mentioned in the third post above by boscomantico.
should I expect AAs to have implemented TIP-L already
The Danish authority has already published an application form for US conversions so the procedure should be recognised there. Other popular choices are Austria, Malta, and the Republic of Ireland. The state of licence issue must hold the medical records so make the choice prior to obtaining the EASA medical certificate.
Peter wrote:
because that gets you a license which is valid for the rest of your life, recognised worldwide (in an N-reg, or post local validation) and which no European “power” can take away from you
Just for sake of completeness: Literally the same is true for any EASA license if you replace “n-reg” by “EASA-reg” and “European” by “US”.
Not really; look at the detail and the history of Europe. National → JAA → EASA, etc. 5 year expiry, etc. And the Euro IR is lost totally after 7 years.
The EASA licenses are valid indefinitely!
Only ratings based o the license have an expiration date – but this is true for ratings based on FAA-licenses as well
Specifically for France, does anyone have any idea how the BASA process is supposed to work?
The best I’ve been able to find is a document from the DGAC dated 3 june 2021, Programme de Formation Adapte pour les Titulaires d’une Licence ou Qualification OACI. It sets out the process fairly clearly, except for one worrying sentence, “La France n’est pas en mesure de délivrer ces licences ou qualifications… pour le moment.” Which makes it all a bit pointless! It’s becoming a bit worrying since from next June I (and lots of other people) will need to follow this non-existent process.
I tried calling the DGAC but they don’t answer :-(
I did find the form for the old-style temporary license based on a foreign one, which still seems valid, but it says “Cette validation se fera… jusqu’au 20 juin 2022”. Implying that it will be superseded by the new BASA process – which doesn’t exist.
All a bit frustrating…
John
Mise en œuvre du BASA UE/US …
…
3) Les pilotes détenteurs d’une licence américaine résidant en Europe
sont informés :
…
b) que les examens théoriques et pratiques requis conformément aux
conditions posées par l’accord BASA UE/US seront organisés par la DSAC
à partir du 1er janvier 2022 ;
c) que la DSAC délivrera des licence et qualifications associées,
conformes à la réglementation européenne, sur le fondement des
conditions posées par l’accord BASA UE/US à partir du 1er janvier 2022;
…
