Hello fellow Pilots,
Before I go on with my question, I need to provide some background information:
- I am a French national and have a French PPL
- I have been living and flying in Germany for many years, speaking German on the radio, on German-only airfields
- I got a BZF 1 in 2009, which should be valid without limitation
Now, surfing the AOPA webpage, I discovered that an ICAO exam now exists:
https://aopa.de/aopa-sprachpruefungen-level-6-deutsch/
Given the conditions above, is taking an ICAO test for German proficiency mandatory to me? Has ICAO superseded the BZF?
As a side note, I have seen the German proficiency level being mentioned on a German license:
…but when I had my English proficiency added to my license, I asked the authorities to add German to it also (based on the BZF). They said they would not, as German is not one of the six official ICAO languages. So even if I ever get a German ICAO certificate, it cannot be mentioned on my PPL anyway.
So what should I do? I think my main concern is: Is there a risk of not “being compliant” if I leave things as they are and get pulled into a ramp check at some point?
Given the conditions above, is taking an ICAO test for German proficiency mandatory to me? Has ICAO superseded the BZF?
I went to some airfields with no issues (I don’t have BZF/GLP, my FAA is enough to speak German in N-reg, I have an FCC radio certificate, very happy to show this on ramp checks)
So what should I do? I think my main concern is: Is there a risk of not “being compliant” if I leave things as they are and get pulled into a ramp check at some point?
You are speaking German on your DGAC PPL in an airfield that require you to speak German, why do you need BZF/GLP? only those with LBA papers have to worry about that…
The legal texts pertaining this are somewhat difficult to interpret, but my Interpretation is that if you, as a holder of a foreign license, hold a BZF, that is sufficient for performing German language R/T on VFR flights in Germany.
Specifically this section seems relevant:
A.6 Brauchen Inhaber einer ausländischen Lizenz, die deutsche Muttersprachler sind,
einen Lizenzvermerk über ihre deutsche Sprachbefähigung, um in Deutschland
Sprechfunkverkehr in deutscher Sprache ausüben zu dürfen?
Für Lizenzinhaber, die ihre Lizenzen im
Ausland erworben haben, wurden entsprechende Regelungen noch nicht abschließend festgelegt. Eine Voraussetzung zur rechtmäßigen Ausübung des Sprechfunkverkehrs in deutscher Sprache im deutschen Hoheitsgebiet ist die Kenntnis der deutschsprachigen Sprechfunkverfahren, wie sie z. B. durch den Besitz eines von der Bundesnetzagentur ausgestellten Sprechfunkzeugnisses nachgewiesen werden
kann, welches zur Ausübung des Sprechfunkverkehrs für Flüge nach Sichtflugregeln in deutscher Sprache berechtigt.
No. Once again: the German radio certificates and LP are two completely different things.
The phrase mentioned above speaks only about radio privileges.
LP is about being able to legally fly.
boscomantico wrote:
No. Once again: the German radio certificates and LP are two completely different things.
And I can fly to EDFE for example, speaking only English, without a BZF right? What is the purpose of the BZF-E? Does it only apply to German pilots?
PS you should do a flying-in-germany.de – I much enjoy reading the other ones, thanks a lot for those. And considering the target audience think about writing it in English while you’re at it ;-)
boscomantico wrote:
No. Once again: the German radio certificates and LP are two completely different things.
Yes. But the text I quoted is specifically about LP.
Other than that, I couldn’t find any definite written answer for OPs question, please go ahead if you did.
boscomantico wrote:
No. Once again: the German radio certificates and LP are two completely different things.The phrase mentioned above speaks only about radio privileges.
LP is about being able to legally fly.
Did you reply to MedEwok or Ibra? This seems to agree with what MedEwok wrote. If you have an English or German LP and a German BZF, then you can fly in Germany using German R/T.
I agree, for language proficiency you need German OR English to speak German, this is an ICAO fact without it the sky will fall appart !
On radio operator privileges attached to PPL, I can see why BZF is required for LBA PPL in D-reg…now FAA PPL in N-reg, why does this need BZF certificate? why FCC certificate is not enough?
Are we saying Boscomantico can’t fly N-reg using his FAA PPL + FCC paper while speaking German on radio in German only airfields? that sounds very awful
First of all, the linked document is not a legal text at all. It is/was merely an FAQ document by the LBA I believe, which, AFAIK, has been pulled from the LBA website. It contains some very dubious interpretations of FCL.055, and a lot of vague phrases.
But the text I quoted is specifically about LP.
No, while the document is essentially about LP, the reply is about LP only in its first sentence. The rest of reply is about radio priveleges.
can’t fly N-reg using his FAA PPL + FCC paper while speaking German on radio in German only airfields? that sounds very awful
Discussed many times here. And yes, that is the essence, if you don’t have a radio certificate for German. One reason why foreign pilots visiting Germany tend to go to the officially English speaking places only.
But this is not so strictly enforced. This guy for example doesn‘t seem to speak German, and flies into EDQN. Also otherwise, it‘s a nice little video.
