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Age limits for GA

What are the practical limits for GA pilots and specific activities? I’ve listed my best guesses below but am a bit vague about commercial and aerial work activities.

There’s no actual maximum age for a PPL, with the CAA reporting the oldest current licence holder with a valid medical is aged 94.

Insurance may become more difficult to obtain or expensive, although many policies simply require notifying named pilots above age 70 or 75. We do this at our club.

Personal Medical Declarations must be renewed every 3 years from 70. PPL Class 2 are valid for one year after age 50. LAPL medicals are valid for 2 years after age 40. CPL Class 1 are valid for 6 months after age 60 for passenger carrying operations, otherwise last 1 year and after 65 require additional fitness tests.

There is no maximum age for Flight Instructors or Examiners.

There is no maximum age for more complex types such as multi-engine, SET or Jet where not carrying commercial passengers – I.e. private flights, ferry flights, freight, banner towing, photography, surveying.

Single Pilot Operations with commercial passengers is limited to age 60. Multi pilot possible up to age 65 where the other pilot is younger than 60.

I am not clear if the 60/65 limit applies to private operations (e.g. flying the owner of their aircraft and their passengers), parachute dropping, glider tug launching.

FlyerDavidUK, PPL & IR Instructor
EGBJ, United Kingdom

I am not clear if the 60/65 limit applies to private operations (e.g. flying the owner of their aircraft and their passengers)

While Ok under FAA part 91, I wouldn’t risk it in EASA land, even in an N or M reg under Part 91

Oxford (EGTK), United Kingdom

DavidC wrote:

I am not clear if the 60/65 limit applies to private operations (e.g. flying the owner of their aircraft and their passengers), parachute dropping, glider tug launching.

It does not apply to private operations, only to commercial air transport.

FCL.065 Curtailment of privileges of licence holders aged 60 years or more in commercial air transport
(a) Age 60-64. Aeroplanes and helicopters. The holder of a pilot licence who has attained the age of 60 years shall not act as a pilot of an aircraft engaged in commercial air transport except as a member of a multi-pilot crew.
(b) Age 65. Except in the case of a holder of a balloon or sailplane pilot licence, the holder of a pilot licence who has attained the age of 65 years shall not act as a pilot of an aircraft engaged in commercial air transport.
(c) Age 70. The holder of a balloon or sailplane pilot licence who has attained the age of 70 years shall not act as a pilot of a balloon or a sailplane engaged in commercial air transport

ESKC (Uppsala/Sundbro), Sweden

A_A you are exercising CPL privileges and receiving compensation. It may not be public transport, but acting as a PIC for reward is a commercial operation. There are grey areas where you might be an ‘employee’ with some non aviation duties, but it is grey. Inevitably the owner operator will ask you to fly when he/she is not a passenger, and then the grey becomes black and white.

Suggest you get expert insurance advice on your legality/liability under part.NCO.

The context is as a hired flight deck crew in a privately owned aircraft where the owner/operator is paying you for flight duties. You have no ownership interest in the aircraft.

Oxford (EGTK), United Kingdom

There is no mention of “public transport” in the relevant rules, only of “Commercial Air Transport” which is defined in the Basic Regulation:

‘commercial air transport’ means an aircraft operation to transport passengers, cargo or mail for remuneration or other valuable consideration;

ESKC (Uppsala/Sundbro), Sweden

We agree to disagree, I interpret the Basic Regulation as previously stated in the thread

Oxford (EGTK), United Kingdom

Lot of commercial operations/activities do explicitly fall under Part.NCO not Part.CAT

Others activities are grey, but the issue is rather CAT or NCO?

There is more to it: insurance, income/business tax, job authorization… so not just age/medical of the pilot

Paris/Essex, France/UK, United Kingdom

Ibra wrote:

Others activities are grey, but the issue is rather CAT or NCO?

Part.SPO isn’t commercial air transport, either, and thus carries no age limitation, even though such operations may be quite a bit more challenging than CAT.

LKBU (near Prague), Czech Republic

RobertL18C wrote:

A_A you are exercising CPL privileges and receiving compensation. It may not be public transport, but acting as a PIC for reward is a commercial operation. There are grey areas where you might be an ‘employee’ with some non aviation duties, but it is grey. Inevitably the owner operator will ask you to fly when he/she is not a passenger, and then the grey becomes black and white.

Exercising CPL privileges is not the point. Such an operation is either under Part-CAT, or Part-NCC/NCO. If you are operating under Part-NCC/NCO, FCL.065 does not apply. If you are operating under Part-CAT, it does. If you are carrying fare-paying passengers under Part-NCO/NCC, your age is not the regulatory issue you should be most concerned about!

you are exercising CPL privileges and receiving compensation. It may not be public transport, but acting as a PIC for reward is a commercial operation.

No: official definition below (Regulation (EU) No 965/2012 article 2)
’commercial operation’ means any operation of an aircraft, in return for remuneration or other valuable consideration, which is available for the public or, when not made available to the public, which is performed under a contract between an operator and a customer, where the latter has no control over the operator

So acting as a PIC for reward for an aircraft owner is not commercial operation

Last Edited by Piotr_Szut at 16 Dec 21:47
12 Posts
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