your ultralight instructor has the authority to award this through the club
If one belongs to a French club, I assume – but that is not my situation. Neither am I under the tutelage of any French-registered ultralight instructor.
Jan, that is correct.
I have a friend flying from ELLX
He’s french but has a LUX license.
He got the LUX CAA (DAC-L) to put the french LPR on the basis of a FRA CAA (DGAC) issuing a letter attesting of his level in french (well he is a native speaker so I suppose this helps 
)
What i do not know :
- how do you actually go about getting such an attestation if you are not french native speaker ?
(well i don’t know either if you are french, but i can ask my friend)
- will UKI CAA put that LP on their license based on such a letter ?
- what is its exact validity WRT to radiotelephony (both competencies are considered separately on the FRA license) ?
Jojo and Papa, thanks for your answers. I am not really worried, still it would be nice to have the formal paperwork; if only for the day I get checked by a gendarme in Monday morning mood… Generally there is no issue, as I only fly into non-controlled fields where R/T isn’t mandatory anyway. And, as has been pointed out, where radio is mandatory, it will generally be either in English or French, and I do carry (very proudly!) a level 6 ELP on my licence.
If I read that right, I think it is only FR only when there is no controller or AFIS agent….
Correct.
AFIS : 119.650. Absence ATS : A/A (119.650) FR seulement / only
If I read that right, I think it is only FR only when there is no controller or AFIS agent….
Yes. In the absence of ATS, or outside ATS hours, I would think ALL French airfields are FR only.
Edit: Including Le Touquet :-)
Yes. In the absence of ATS, or outside ATS hours, I would think ALL French airfields are FR only.
Et nooooooon !!!! C’mon Aviathor, that would be far too simple !!
Tongue in cheek, right? This is France after all.
Papapapa: you quoted the 1981arrêté which is about French issued licences. It just says that to get a French licence which allows you to do the RT in French, you must have taken an RT test in French.
If you have an EASA non French licence, the regulation is not clear as to whether you need a certificate or not to be allowed to do the RT in French. I have a letter from the DGAC that tells me that I’m allowed to speak French on the radio in France, under VFR and IFR. I got that letter on the basis of my old VFR only French PPL. I don’t have my French PPL anymore, since I have now a UK issued licence.
If you want to speak French on the radio in France, take a look at the bilingual manual (it’s scenario based, so it both teaches you the language and the procedures in usage in France).
MANUEL DE FORMATION A LA PHRASEOLOGIE
Many Belgian pilots who are French native speakers speak French on the radio in France, although they have never received a training to do so nor have they self trained. The result is a poor phraseology, but as it is common practice in France, nobody seems to care.
If an IFR procedure is available, you must speak French when the tower is unmanned
Instruction n°20131 DNA dated January 31st 1993
Sometimes radio is mandatory but you may get a permission to join the airfield without a radio if you call in advance and give your ETA.
For instance Royan allows landing on the grass runway if you get a prior permission
(Except AVA authorization of, unpaved RWY reserved for radio-equipped ACFT)
AVA means Administration de l’aviation civile Civil aviation authority
Basically, on large towered airfields, you will be allowed to speak English during towered times but not out of hours.
On small airfields, you will be allowed non radio.
Even if you are allowed non radio, I recommend to blind transmit using standard phraseology in French.
One more important thing: in French joining rules are rules, not recommendations. Most people don’t abide, but as a foreign pilot speaking French without a licence to do so, I recommend that you do everything else by the book.
Here are the rules, for the first time in English (at least I try to write a correct English)
If there is a TWR, abide the clearance.
If there is an AFIS, and if the radio is mandatory, and if nobody else is in the circuit, you may join directly in base or final.
In all other cases( meaning if radio is not mandatory, or if there is no AFIS or if anyone else is in the circuit)
In VFR, if you must first fly overhead, unless you already know the RWY in use and then you MUST join the circuit at the beginning of the downwind leg, no direct base or final joining.
In IFR, you may not land after your approach without making a VFR circuit, unless there is an AFIS.
If the summer, you might have parachute dropping overhead, aerobatics overhead, glider winching etc. Get the information from the information service (they always speak English) and then on the local frequency ask any pilot what runway he uses, and join at the beginning of the downwind leg.
Note that there are some French language radio notes here on EuroGA
