When looking for a plane I did not make N-reg a requirement, but allowed it as an option.
Since the plane I bought was N-reg, I stayed on N-reg, got the 61.75, got the FAA IR, got a US AOPA membership. Have yet to get a standalone FAA license and maybe some cherries on top of that. All on due course.
I suspect life would be a bit easier in Germany (more shops with FAA sigh-offs) but given the “common sense” and “trust in individuals” nature of N-reg, I get by, albeit life can be frustrating, because everyone that has a clue is overcommited with work.
I’m not considering changing the reg, but if I was buying another plane, I would accept a sane EASA reg, or N-reg equally.
Have yet to get a standalone FAA license
Bear in mind that once you do that, you will need an FAA medical also.
Of course there are advantages in standalone papers… like never expiring, not based on anything, etc.
I will need a FAA medical if/when my EASA medical expires, till then I have the 61.75; that’s why I went for a 61.75 first, and the FAA standalone is a low priority item – when I end up in the US for a longer while, I’ll toit. And renew my driver’s license and see about BasicMED. And… :)
FWIW, the EASA papers are also “non expiring” in the sense that the license is “always” valid and the SEP(L) rating needs to be redone every 2 years, which is relatively trivial in aviation terms. One needs a [B]FR on the FAA papers too, even on the 61.75. I believe one can get a BFR based on WINGS credits and a sign-off from an EASA FI co-signed by one of the WINGS representatives. I’ll have to explore that option as a “just in case”.
I stayed on N-reg, got the 61.75, got the FAA IR,
I will need a FAA medical if/when my EASA medical expires, till then I have the 61.75;
I think I am right in saying that IF you exercise the privileges of an American qualification, using a 61.75 e.g. a FAA IR, which is NOT on the underlying licence you still need a FAA Medical for that – not just waiting for when one has achieved a ’Stand Alone’ licence’.
You can run a 61.75 PPL and an FAA IR (either a “IR test passed” or the “Foreign Pilot exam IR”) on just a UK / EASA medical. It is only if you get a standalone PPL or CPL that you need the FAA medical.
Back to the topic, it is now a lot harder to get the 61.75, and in some countries most of the N-reg community is on 61.75, not a standalone PPL. I’ve been told that most German N-reg are flown on a 61.75, whereas in the UK it may be more like 50/50. The zoom option (another thread) was widely done but the DPEs doing it got killed off rapidly so if anyone is still doing it, read this. I’ve had loads of people join EuroGA with no intention of contributing but only to PM me asking where they can do it. I don’t reply to them, not just because a lot of them will be agent provocateurs working for someone who wants to kill the route.
Only a small % of N-reg flyers were doing it for medical reasons, but some were very good e.g. if you failed the audiogram in just one ear you could never get a European IR, despite this “defect” being medically utterly bogus. There was a complicated and confidential route involving a foreign CPL/ATPL which was UK-only, and obviously existed to protect commercial pilot jobs, not to help GA. This medical stupidity was fixed by EASA only in the last few years. Other stuff like e.g. an IR with CVD was done under the table by the UK CAA for at least 20 years (a daylight-only IR), and allowed by EASA only 5-10 years ago. At a wild guess 10% of the N-reg community was doing it for medical reasons. But a probably similar % of European pilots moved the other way (N to UK/EASA) because they needed an FAA Special Issuance (which is a real bastard to do in Europe because most FAA AMEs don’t want to do it and will kick you off the day you need SI – including certain names posted here a number of times, which I won’t name) whereas it was doable with a Euro AME.
Doesn’t a 61.75 need re-issuing if you change address? It must be something like that because I recall a debacle when several hundred German pilots arranged to get their 61.75 papers either issued or updated (10 years ago?), organised by AOPA DE, and the guy didn’t turn up… This factor alone will drive a rapid attrition in the N-reg community in some places.
I think you need a new re-issued (the number stays the same) 61.75 if your base license number changes, and that’s it. Also if you get a FAA rating added to it (eg. IR).
tmo wrote:
I believe one can get a BFR based on WINGS credits and a sign-off from an EASA FI co-signed by one of the WINGS representatives. I’ll have to explore that option as a “just in case”.
The Operations Lead for the National FAASTeam killed that off, sadly.
Sad and unfortunate, but thank you for the info.
For N-reg you typically need
The above can be easy, or not so easy. For example, and perhaps surprisingly, the altimeter check can be a hassle if you have pointed out this thread to a bunch of FAA145 companies in your area who like to double their income by doing that, and they told you to p1ss off 
Now imagine how much easier all this gets if you have a local A&P/IA who is also a CFI
A&P for Annual
A&P/IA to sign off Annual and sign 337 forms (Major Alteration forms)
I think the first of these two bullets could have been written “A&P to sign off maintenance” as you do need that, but you only need one individual (the IA, who is also an A&P) for the Annual and any 337s.
Now imagine how much easier all this gets if you have a local A&P/IA who is also a CFI
Like my Private Certificate flight instructor, who first helped me sort out some issues with my new-to-me plane, then taught me to fly it, then signed off the Annuals etc almost for free for 17 years. One stop shopping with possibly the grumpiest 30-something guy who ever was, but who underneath was very different
