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Holders of a UK PPL (A) Licence (ICAO) should read this - limited to 12hrs TT on Part 21 (formerly "EASA") aircraft (problem now sorted)

This may be old news to many UK CAA PPL holders, but this is worth a read:

http://publicapps.caa.co.uk/docs/33/ORS4No1471.pdf ORS4 1471 local copy

In short, without converting to a UK Part-FCL licence you are restricted to:

1) Only flying UK G-registered aircraft in the UK (no restrictions on Permit to Fly)

2) VFR only

3) Max. 12 hours (until when? 30th June 2021)

4) No cost-sharing

5) Some training (but read that link).

6) This exemption expires 30th June 2021. What happens then is anyone’s guess.

Request an estimate for the time to process your application with the CAA, and then triple it at least. I’m told the UK e-portal is for commercial licences only, but this may be incorrect.

Swanborough Farm (UK), Shoreham EGKA, Soysambu (Kenya), Kenya

What I don’t get is the legal basis for the CAA to do this, because the actual license has this on the front of it

and should thus be valid in a G-reg, worldwide, VFR. If it didn’t say that on the front of it, i.e. be a sub-ICAO license, then all kinds of things are possible, but it does say that.

I know that Brussels prevents non-EASA papers being valid on an “EASA aircraft” (broadly speaking, a Part 23 certified aircraft) but Brussels cannot control what the UK does within its borders.

This came up before e.g. here and this very topic came up here but nobody commented on it.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Peter, the basis is explained in the first paragraph in the exemption:

The Civil Aviation Authority (‘the CAA’), pursuant to Article 71(1) of Regulation (EU) No.
2018/1139 as retained (and amended in UK domestic law) under the European Union
(Withdrawal) Act 2018 and Article 266 of the Air Navigation Order 2016 (the Order) (as
amended), exempts holders of the licence […]

These exemptions are necessary because the requirement for a UK Part-FCL licence or validation still exist in both retained EU law and the ANO.

London, United Kingdom

Why would the exemption be temporary? With the UK PPL being a full ICAO license, it should be permanent.

I can see that if negotiations with EASA are continuing (which they must be, below the media horizon) the DfT may not want to spit in EASA’s soup by reversing one of their pre-brexit conditions… otherwise this measure makes no sense at all since this whole thing is 100% within the DfT powers, and the DfT owns the CAA.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

What I dont understand is why the UK CAA/Dft cant just say “As of 1/1/2021, UK ICAO PPL = UK Part23 PPL”.
Similarly they could also do the same for the sub-ICAO licences and say “As of 1/1/20221, UK NPPL = UK LAPL”.
It would sure make everything alot easier and save alot of work for pilots & the CAA equally…

Regards, SD..

Edit : its bonkers that I cab fly a G-Reg PA28/172 etc anywhere on my French EASA PPL, but not on my UK ICAO PPL…

Last Edited by skydriller at 17 Apr 17:15

It turns out that the OP has, via some mysterious route many years ago, acquired the UK National PPL, instead of a UK issued JAA/EASA PPL which is what just about every UK PPL holder, training within the past 20+ years, had got.

I still think it is bizzare to cripple this ICAO PPL in this way.

It has come up before e.g. here and as you can see it is tied up with the UK medical self declaration (the PMD – Pilot Medical Declaration) stuff. This is also bizzarely related. All rather mysterious… Maybe the CAA is agreeing to “sacrifice” some UK pilots in return for EASA agreeing to something else. Maybe this is why – it isn’t just a few pilots who can no longer fly “EASA aircraft”! But most of them don’t know about this and are happily carrying on.

The UK National PPL had some obscure advantage, for Annex 1 (broadly speaking homebuilt) aircraft, IIRC. But no use otherwise, especially as one cannot even apply for it unless one has a valid Class 1/2 (the NPPL can be obtained without a medical, enabling one to go straight to an NPPL+PMD even if all one’s papers had lapsed).

UK national PPL and conversions.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

CAP2146 refers to this issue on page 27

and page 43

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

I think this has now been sorted – here

A CAA circular email of today:

“This SkyWise is to highlight a change to the UK (EU) Aircrew Regulations so that pilots with a licence issued under the Air Navigation Order and who hold a valid SEP, SLMG, SSEA or TMG Class Rating(s) can now fly UK (G) registered Part 21 aeroplanes.”

So if you have a UK licence issued under the ANO, you can now fly part 21 (formerly EASA) G reg aircraft so long as your licence has a valid SEP, SLMG, SSEA or TMG rating. There’s a reference to a new SI to support this (The Aviation Safety (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2021 (SI 2021 (614)) that comes into force today 16/6/21. It states

Holders of a licence with a SEP Class Rating are limited to similar privileges of the UK Part-FCL LAPL(A), when exercising the privileges of this rating while flying UK (G) registered Part 21 aeroplanes."

It also appears that the NPPL can now be used on Part 21 aircraft.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

skydriller wrote:

What I dont understand is why the UK CAA/Dft cant just say “As of 1/1/2021, UK ICAO PPL = UK Part23 PPL”.
Similarly they could also do the same for the sub-ICAO licences and say “As of 1/1/20221, UK NPPL = UK LAPL”.
It would sure make everything alot easier and save alot of work for pilots & the CAA equally…

Still think this is what should have been done.

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