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Basing and flying N-Reg in Europe / FAA IR / Insurance & legality issues

I’m a UK based private pilot looking to buy a Beech Bonanza for UK / Western European touring. I keep coming back to the idea of basing an N Reg Bonanza in the UK. Converting my current EASA PPL to an FAA license, and getting an FAA IR. Such that I’m essentially an American pilot flying an American aircraft in Europe, with full IR privileges. I’ve read several accounts of individuals doing this and appreciate it’s a bit of a mountain of bureaucracy. Does anyone have any personal experience of doing the deed?

Although it would be somewhat unusual for us UK folk, it seems to make sense to me on many levels given my intentions and as a potential Beechcraft Owner : The FAA’s attitude to pilot maintenance / easier to import Beech parts into the UK from the US for N reg aircraft / The FAA’s attitude to the IR and revalidation, and the theory aspect of the course being seemingly more focused to my intentions as opposed to wanting to become a commercial pilot etc. I could go on……

I already have EASA Night and IR(R) Ratings and about 40 hours instrument flight time. So should I wish to pursue this route I would probably pass the theory in the UK before coming to the US for IR practical training and check-ride.

Can anyone suggest a good training school in the US ?

Any help welcome

United Kingdom

Hi. You have to do the theory in the US now but as it is a single exam it isnt a problem.

If I was you I would get a 61.75 PPl based on your european one. Buy a bonanza and then get a US instructor who knows the plane to get you through the IR over there. Remember in the US you don’t need a school as such, just an instructor who is set up in the alien foreign student pilot system. You then have a 61.75 with an IR showing US Test Passed. You can always add that to a standalone PPL or CPL later.

Alternatively just bite the bullet and take the PPL theory and checkride as well over there and get a standalone from the get go. If you are a current pilot it won’t take much to be able to pass a US PPL checkride.

Last Edited by JasonC at 22 Mar 12:44
EGTK Oxford

Welcome to EuroGA, @AndyGreen

You will still need EASA papers – see e.g. this long thread whose conclusion is still playing out.

Also FAA pilot maintenance privileges are not substantially different (in terms of what you can do in scheduled maintenance) to EASA ones.

At the light end of GA, N-reg ownership is best suited to owners who are pro-active on maintenance and who are able and willing to find good people to work on the plane, in a freelance manner. You need an A&P and better still an A&P/IA (an IA is required to sign off Annuals and any Major Alterations).

I have been N-reg since 2005 and would never want to go back, but equally I can see it isn’t for everyone.

There are various other threads which may be worth a read e.g. here

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Peter wrote:

You will still need EASA papers – see e.g. this long thread whose conclusion is still playing out.

Thats awesome.

Im looking forward to all the ramp checks at LHR and FRA on all the American carriers.
We be a lot of findings and groundings.

Stand by for ramp checks of European carriers in the US shortly afterwards

spirit49
LOIH

The American carriers are not operators based in the EU so they won’t be getting grounded. Dual papers are only required if the operator (which means the owner or pilot in the case of light aircraft operations) is actually based in the EU, or possibly an EASA country depending on how the rules are interpreted.

Last Edited by alioth at 22 Mar 17:38
Andreas IOM

Yes; the other thing is that the airlines are all AOC ops, operating under bilateral airline rights agreements, and when the EU approves e.g. Continental to fly to the EU, they will have approved their AOC procedures, pilot licensing, etc, and that gets around any more specific measures taken by the EU against “US interests” or “non EU interests” over here.

So far (as per the long thread) there is no indication that there are any ramp checks on “operator residence”, and my view (some disagree) is that the typical “airport policeman” is unlikely to have the brainpower to do the necessary checking – unless some country decides to mount a specific attack and produces briefing packs for the policemen, with a support organisation behind it. OTOH there are countries in Europe where a policeman can just arrest you and the job’s done – until you get your hands on a local lawyer who is familiar with aviation, so there is always that residual danger.

However, what drives most compliance in GA is not ramp checks (i.e. local CAA enforcing EASA FCL which is a branch of criminal law) but the requirement to be “legal” for insurance to be valid. Currently the insurers who people have contacted seem as confused about the situation as any pilot!

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Peter wrote:

However, what drives most compliance in GA is not ramp checks (i.e. local CAA enforcing EASA FCL which is a branch of criminal law) but the requirement to be “legal” for insurance to be valid. Currently the insurers who people have contacted seem as confused about the situation as any pilot!

I’m confused every time you state this. The t&c of our insurance policies are clear that the flight does not need to be legal (with very few exceptions such as the aircraft not having a valid CoA).

ESKC (Uppsala/Sundbro), Sweden

We did this before somewhere. UK insurance law is different to Swedish. Here, the flight has to be legal at the point of departure. Here is mine:

It doesn’t say you have to have a valid license, but I think that goes under “air navigation”.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Peter wrote:

We did this before somewhere. UK insurance law is different to Swedish. Here, the flight has to be legal at the point of departure. Here is mine:

It isn’t UK insurance law, it is purely contractual.

EGTK Oxford

Well, yes, but there is this overriding principle which I dare say would render void a Policy if the pilot did not have valid papers, because prob100.00 such a scenario would not amount to a “full declaration of all material facts”.

To argue the contrary is to argue that why should you have a pilot license. Just got your uncle to teach you to fly really well.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom
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