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Keep your EASA MEP / EASA IR up to date!

I just want to mention that recent EASA moves have really tightened up the renewal options for these.

These need to be revalidated every 12 months.

If you do it within the 12 months, it is a "revalidation". This can still be done with a freelance instructor, as before. The usual cost is about £150, plus the cost of the aircraft.

If you let it go past the 12 months, it is a "renewal". This cannot be done purely with a freelance instructor anymore. You have to go back to an FTO which has to assess you and potentially you are stuck there for some "retraining". There are 2 or 3 stages of "expiry" which force different amounts of FTO involvement but obviously any FTO involvement is a significant hassle and expense (they are in business after all). You could easily be into 4 figures.

If the period of expiry is less than 3 months there are no recommended minima for refresher training. However, you will still have to obtain a certificate from an FTO (now called "ATO") to confirm either that they determined that no training was required or that the required training has been completed.

Another thing is that previously if you had a JAA IR and an FAA IR, but didn't have any need for the JAA IR, but you flew regularly on the privileges of the FAA IR (example: N-reg owners, or UK airline pilots working outside Europe) so you didn't bother revalidating the JAA IR, you could revalidate it anytime just with a flight with a freelance examiner. The flying on the ICAO IR kept the JAA IR from expiring. This has ended too, and has caught a lot of professional pilots with their trousers down.

If you let the JAA IR lapse for 7 years, you have to do it all again, i.e. the 7 IR exams, the 50/55hrs training!

While the JAA IR is relatively rare in the private pilot IFR community (most of which is N-reg/FAA IR) this is yet another factor working against private pilots maintaining the much more common twin (MEP) rating, if they don't own or regularly fly a twin.

The reference is in AMC1 FCL.625(c) and the relevant page is 226. I hope I got this right!

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Update:

I have just read that the Irish CAA have done this differently.

They are allowing people whose JAA IRs have expired (but who have in the meantime been flying on another ICAO IR e.g. the FAA IR) to change their country of residence to Ireland (which I believe also forces the transfer of one's medical records to Ireland) at which point they re-validate your JAA IR and you can then move your country of residence to the existing one.

Utterly bizzare that one has to do this.

But Ireland has a bit of a "form" for interesting paper conversions. When JAA first arrived c. 1999, they used to convert an FAA ATPL into a JAA ATPL. This was utterly priceless (the only way to get a JAA ATPL is to log 500hrs in a multi pilot aircraft) and went on for several years.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

If you do it within the 12 months, it is a "revalidation". This can still be done with a freelance instructor, as before.

No, it has to be done by an Examiner

The flying on the ICAO IR kept the JAA IR from expiring.

No, it still expired, The valid ICAO IR was regarded as an indication of currency with regard to the UK 5 year and JAA 7 year rules, so you could renew it without any hassle.

The latest CRD on the IMC NPA has acknowledged the ICAO IR.

Forcing people to go to an ATO for renewals is another price hype and contrary to the objectives of Regulation 216/2008 Article 2:

(c) to promote cost-efficiency in the regulatory and certification processes and to avoid duplication at national and European level;

I've been sloppy with terminology, Tumbleweed

No, it has to be done by an Examiner

I meant "freelance examiner" (IRE or CRE/IRR).

The point is that you do not have to go to an FTO to do it, with all the complications involved which multiply if you are using your own aircraft (most UK FTOs and the vast majority of non-UK FTOs do not support customer aircraft).

No, it still expired

It expired as far as flying on its privileges was concerned but AIUI you could always get it back with a revalidation flight. Was that not the case?

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

with all the complications involved which multiply if you are using your own aircraft (most UK FTOs and the vast majority of non-UK FTOs do not support customer aircraft).

This is likely to be a major issue as the aircraft used will have to be on the ATO's list of declared aircraft. In the case of a twin then there is the matter of differences training if its not the same model and now there is a further complication IN-2012-155 says the test shall be conducted in a FFS or OTD!

you could always get it back with a revalidation flight. Was that not the case?

Not quite, a Skill Test or now a Proficiency Check

There is a complication in the UK. I have just got the following from someone working “in the system”:

If your EASA IR has lapsed (i.e. more than a year since last revalidation), you can still renew with any (possibly freelance) IRE but he can’t conduct the Prof Check unless you have a Course Completion Certificate SRG1119D from an FTO. If you have a valid ICAO IR they should just give you a signature without any training.

I wonder what the practical likelihood is of getting an FTO to issue a Course Completion Certificate unless they have taken money off you?

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

I know many that will quite happily as the IRE (often actually a CRE/IRR) works through the school, happy to share details if people need

Now retired from forums best wishes

Many thanks Balliol

I also have more info:

The AMC does not require any training, it simply requires the ATO to
make an assessment, so your log book is all the evidence they require.
Oddly, the Course Completion Certificate does not go anywhere, you can
keep it, the ATO can keep it but the CAA do not ask for it. The examiner
must check it exists and he can do any training but can’t sign the
certificate. Find a friendly ATO. FTOs are long gone.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

All correct, it is the same for expired ratings such as SEP and MEP as well. The reality is that any decent examiner will have an arrangement with a suitable ATO to get sign off otherwise he/she will struggle to get renewal income.

Now retired from forums best wishes

Is this UK-only or EASA-wide?

I would like to update some of my web writeups with the latest info.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom
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