I’m in the process of obtaining the FAA “Piggyback” license. Unfortunately I had some delay with the application (First I had to convert to EASA, then go through the validation process at the UK CAA). Hopefully I will receive the Piggyback license in time, but I’m also looking for other options. A friend of mine told me I could probably do a examination (including theoretical knowledge exam) for a FAA PPL. Is anyone familiar with this route? As I did my training in the USA (with an EASA approved FTO), I know it can be a hassle to obtain TSA, SEVIS and Visa. So It could not be worthwhile anyway.
Does anyone have a suggestion or should I just hope for the best that my “Piggyback” license will arrive in time?
Thank you for your suggestions.
Yes, you can do it. But it’s still going to take a few hours. I came over with my UK PPL and thought it’d be just a matter of taking a few flights, but in the end it was 25hrs due to the differences in regulation, unfamiliarity etc. But I’m certainly glad I did it that way, as I now have two sets of licenses not dependent on each other. It might be quicker if you’re up to speed with the US regs and fulfill the requirements (cross country req’s differ from Europe, night flying and instrument as well).
There’s also the question of the visa.
A 61.75 licence doesn’t take long to arrive once the local CAA has validated it. While I agree with Adam and got a standalone as well as the 61.75, if you are already at the validation stage, doing your standalone PPL won’t be any faster.
This rather old writeup is still mostly current as regards the Visa etc process.
It is going to take weeks or longer to get the visa sorted. You need the I-20 form, which the (has to be Part 141) school will take a while to come up with, for a start. Then you have fingerprints (which like the FAA medical can be done in the UK)…
It is highly desirable to do this sometime if you own an N-reg, but it won’t be quicker than a 61.75 PPL.
Of course there is the old argument that under 18hrs/week you don’t a visa, etc, and I know some who have done a whole CPL/IR or ATPL that way (admittedly years ago) and that ought to work for a conversion of the old JAA training to a full FAA PPL which is only a few hours of flying (I did that in the UK in 2004 before the options became, ahem, difficult) but
)You can do the standalone without the Visa aggravation, but you will still need TSA clearance. I did the FAA PPL over the course of a holiday in the States. Nobody seemed to worry about this, although there is absolutely no wiggle room on the TSA security requirements.
The PPL knowledge test is not terribly difficult, but the language of the exam is, reasonably enough, US-centric. I did a Gleim home study course to brush up on it, and was very glad to have done so. Having worked through the modules, I took the test with no further study and scored 90+.
I know that if you have a school lined up and the preparation complete before turning up in the States, a good school will get you through the US PPL material and flight test in a week to 10 days. There is a lot to do if choosing this path, and the school are not just going to throw you straight in with an examiner in the hope you’ll scrape through – at least that is my experience.
I would like to upgrade my FAA piggyback PPL to a Standalone one. Do you have to go through all the Visa crap for that?
As above: nope.
I’ve been flying in the US for the last 6 years on a 61.75 licence. There was a little bit of hassle when I converted from JAA to EASA CPL, but that was not significant compared to doing stand alone.
For that I would need to get TSA approval including fingerprinting, take the written exam, do 3 hours training with a CFI and rent a spamcan for another couple of hours for the checkride. So about $2000 down for a piece of plastic that gives me no additional privileges.
I did go through the rigmarole to get the IR added to my US certificate, but there was no better alternative to that. They don’t give you any credit for having an IR when it comes to doing the private checkride!
A great article!
It’s good to read an account of where somebody didn’t go the full I-20 + Visa route.
The law on that (the “full time course of study of 18hrs/week or more” wording) was never clarified specifically for flight training, and IMHO if you fly less than 18hrs/week you don’t need a Visa, despite all the hype and disinformation that’s been going around for all those years.
And not many students will be tough enough to exceed 18hrs/week of flying. When I did the FAA IR in 2006 (Arizona) I did 2 flights per day (12hrs/week) and was completely shagged every day.
I know of UK pilots who did the whole US thing right up to the ATP, with no TSA and no Visa, just by going there on a holiday and turning up at a small family school in Florida, but it’s clear you would need to choose the school pretty carefully!
The big drawback of 61.75 papers is that it’s a house of cards which depends on your European papers being good, etc.
The big drawback of 61.75 papers is that it’s a house of cards which depends on your European papers being good, etc.
An EASA licence is valid for the holders lifetime unless suspended or revoked. 61.75 doesn’t require that any associated ratings remain current. I had that confirmed at my local FSDO when I got the JAA to EASA change. I suspect it doesn’t even need address changes to be on your foreign licence as (a) it’s not a condition of licence validity and (b) the FAA have your address on record anyway and you can update on-line without requiring a new certificate.
So my only requirement is to maintain flight review, IR currency and medical status, and keep my FAA airman records up to date for my address.
