I understand that the exams will be local CAA invigilated and the process of tagging questions from the ATPL banks is underway. Questions will be drawn from Met, Air Law, Flight Planning, Performance, IFR Comms, HP and expectation is that the material may take longer to cover than the minimum 80 hours.
We have been in discussion with the CAA for a couple of weeks now since one of our candidates (an FAA conversion) had his paid examination booking rescinded. Today the CAA issued IN 2014/127 (http://www.caa.co.uk/application.aspx?catid=33&pagetype=65&appid=11&mode=detail&id=6347) telling us that ’they’re working the issue’.
I find it personally rather disappointing that we are months into this FCL regulation amendment and, despite having issued training approvals to some flying schools, the CAA are still unable to administer licence issue/flight examinations.
No sense of apology or concern in this IN. The inability of the CAA to administer tests and issue ratings for a new qualification that has been in the works for over a year is outrageous,
The note does not indicate that anyone with the full IR theory exams would be acceptable and this is also a major omission. I see no reason why anyone can’t take the test immediately and wait for the rating to be issued for a few weeks.
Very poor show by what we are told is a more responsive and customer focused organisation.
I really don’t understand that IN – it seems to talk about the CB IR as if it’s a different rating! it is just an IR surely? It will just show on the licence as IR like any IR does now? What would they need to print differently?
It is a full IR but the exam passes carry no credit towards the CPL? This is pretty obscure however and very few people will know it.
Peter – what I was getting at it that there will be a lot of people like me who have a CPL with ATPL TK, IMC rating (common amongst instructors) and are planning to do the CBIR route to get the ‘frozen ATPL’ – the CB IR is a bug change to the modular ATPL route, I’m worried the CAA seem to be thinking about endorsing it on the licence as some different IR when the training course is irrelevant to the rating test and subsequent licence entry
The IN covers both the the CB-IR testing and the En Route IR testing. En Route IR is a new rating so will be printed differently, so that COULD be the explanation
The devil in the detail is that a CBIR TK exam credit prevents pilots from flying SP HPA. Consequently, when a pilot is issued with an IR having followed the CBIR route there will be a restriction on their licence.
Of course, there are those of us as Balliol says who have the full IR theory credits having completed the current atpl/CPL/IR TK syllabus and it is unclear whether such individuals will have the SP HPA restriction. I fall into that category and, having almost completed my ‘top up’ training at an ATO approved to deliver CBIR, I am now in the position whereby the CAA are not willing to process an application for flight test, never mind issue of rating until 1 September.
Yes, you read it correctly – the CAA have approved some ATOs to deliver CBIR and EIR but are not in a position to either examine or issue ratings to people who have completed the relevant course.
The CAA is becoming a joke. On the one hand side they have started with a campaign to dismantle all the goldplating. On the other hand side they are trying very hard to keep full control of all the IR exams preferably appointing their own examiners or those designated by the ATOs. The whole purpose of the legislation was to make the conversion easy.. Any icao ir holder who meets the requirements should be able to walk up to any EASA examiner with the right credentials and do his exam anywhere in EASA land.
If the basa ever comes through it might even become a simple prof check rather than an exam.
What you mean with HPA I do not understand. The ir has been brought down to what it was suppossed to be .. An ir rating.. SpeciAl stuff like the HPA is either a seperate course or part of the ATPL?
