Peter wrote:
A private pilot would have got crucified for that.
No limit fine and a stay, if caught this week, in a CoronaVirus UK State detention camp. That will teach em………..
It is all a big joke after all, until you are ramp checked and find out your FCC Radio licence is out of date..
BeechBaby wrote:
Can I dig a bit deeper into what you mean, N planes abroad? And the word ‘illegal’? The FAA regime globally is the worlds largest collection of registered aircraft. The FAA system is deemed one of the safest regimes throughout the world. Every day thousands of N reg aircraft fly the globe…The alignment of N reg and dodgy, illegal, something to be kept in a cupboard because of what they might be up to, I thought had disappeared last decade. Plenty of activities are conducted daily by EASA registered aircraft and pilots and do not seem to attract ‘local inspections’, so why N reg?
The safety record of n-reg planes is almost exclusively based on n-regs flown in the US – because while there are many n-regs outside of the US, there are still so much more within, that the outside ones do not show up significantly in accident statistics.
In addition to that I don’t know of any source of accident statistics, that specifically look at “N planes abroad” that is n-reg planes that have not been within the US for a period longer than a year.
The question, if the oversight of the n-reg fleet hat is operated in Europe and hasn’t touched US grounds for years is as tight as the FAA oversight in the US is open for years and won’t be answered before someone sues the US government for neglecting their oversight duties in case of an n-reg abroad accident. The a US court will clarify this question…
Can’t talk about the UK – but in Germany there are “local inspections” (ACAM-Inspections) that are not performed very often but everyone knows some owner who already got inspected. Not sure if FAA does something similar on German grounds as well.
BeechBaby wrote:
until you are ramp checked and find out your FCC Radio licence is out of date
Fortunately they dont expire, however there are plenty of other things to catch you out N-reg or G-reg, I wouldnt think that there is 1 aircraft in Europe that the paperwork is 100% and thats probably not for want of trying … ambiguous and complicated rules dont help.
quatrelle wrote:
Fortunately they dont expire,
Yeah the FCC site is as clear as mud. Ours is a 10-year licence, so folks would want to check that…. and your 30 day VOR checks too!
In the UK at least, the FAA is way more proactive than the CAA in busting engineers who have signed off something they didn’t, ahem, inspect. They bust an IA on perhaps the second report and eventually they will strip his A&P also. I know of some… In the meantime a cowboy EASA66 can and does carry on without any trouble.
quatrelle wrote:
Fortunately they dont expire,
Eh, no I would check. As WilliamF mine’s is also a ten year one. Expires this September. That was why I mentioned it because stuff like that can open up a simple check into let’s see some other stuff. Might, just might, ruin your day
Ahh this little gem and nugget………..
§ 91.171 VOR equipment check for IFR operations.
(a) No person may operate a civil aircraft under IFR using the VOR system of radio navigation unless the VOR equipment of that aircraft -
(1) Is maintained, checked, and inspected under an approved procedure; or
(2) Has been operationally checked within the preceding 30 days, and was found to be within the limits of the permissible indicated bearing error set forth in paragraph (b) or (c) of this section.
(b) Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, each person conducting a VOR check under paragraph (a)(2) of this section shall -
(1) Use, at the airport of intended departure, an FAA-operated or approved test signal or a test signal radiated by a certificated and appropriately rated radio repair station or, outside the United States, a test signal operated or approved by an appropriate authority to check the VOR equipment (the maximum permissible indicated bearing error is plus or minus 4 degrees); or
(2) Use, at the airport of intended departure, a point on the airport surface designated as a VOR system checkpoint by the Administrator, or, outside the United States, by an appropriate authority (the maximum permissible bearing error is plus or minus 4 degrees);
(3) If neither a test signal nor a designated checkpoint on the surface is available, use an airborne checkpoint designated by the Administrator or, outside the United States, by an appropriate authority (the maximum permissible bearing error is plus or minus 6 degrees); or
(4) If no check signal or point is available, while in flight -
(i) Select a VOR radial that lies along the centerline of an established VOR airway;
(ii) Select a prominent ground point along the selected radial preferably more than 20 nautical miles from the VOR ground facility and maneuver the aircraft directly over the point at a reasonably low altitude; and
(iii) Note the VOR bearing indicated by the receiver when over the ground point (the maximum permissible variation between the published radial and the indicated bearing is 6 degrees).
(c) If dual system VOR (units independent of each other except for the antenna) is installed in the aircraft, the person checking the equipment may check one system against the other in place of the check procedures specified in paragraph (b) of this section. Both systems shall be tuned to the same VOR ground facility and note the indicated bearings to that station. The maximum permissible variation between the two indicated bearings is 4 degrees.
(d) Each person making the VOR operational check, as specified in paragraph (b) or (c) of this section, shall enter the date, place, bearing error, and sign the aircraft log or other record. In addition, if a test signal radiated by a repair station, as specified in paragraph (b)(1) of this section, is used, an entry must be made in the aircraft log or other record by the repair station certificate holder or the certificate holder’s representative certifying to the bearing transmitted by the repair station for the check and the date of transmission.
BeechBaby wrote:
Eh, no I would check. As WilliamF mine’s is also a ten year one
My one …
My wifes one
Note, no expiration date on either, where does yours say 10 years ?
I think he means the aircraft station (ours show 10years) not the operator certificate (mine show no expiry)?
BeechBaby wrote:
§ 91.171 VOR equipment check for IFR operations.
Every UK CFI pulls up that one 
Yep our FCC A/C Licence is deffo a 10-year life.
Then to confuse it even more …. “Private or Commercial Pilots who fly outside of the United States, or who wish to operate an HF Radio need to obtain a Restricted Radiotelephone Operator Permit from the Federal Communications Commission or FCC”
Maybe it’s like the old UK CAA Licence … the old ones didn’t expire …. then the newer ones had an expiry date and almost everyone missed it.
It must be buried in the regs somewhere!
I can already feel more paperwork coming on
