I was seriously looking at Iceland. I have visited a few times and it is a fantastic place, and apart from the winter months (when it is mostly dark) it has a decent weather record. The ATO I looked at has a very modern fleet (DA40s and 42s) and a top class reputation.
An ATO in Iceland must be an attractive proposition. I bet the night life options are well wrapped up (yeah, getting my coat…)
I’ve been in Iceland a couple of times and nightlife in Reykjavik is fantastic! Just use Google Images to get the idea ;-)
There is Keilir Aviation Academy which has a good reputation.
Keilir were the people I spoke to. Very helpful, and a great reputation, but they were unable to help me due to their regulator.
Training CB IR on own aircraft
I’m currently studying to get the TK done.
I plan to train in my own aircraft. I have a CAA UK License. The plane is fully IFR registered in Denmark.
It is approaching 2200 hours on a 15 year old engine.
I know I need to get the aircraft approved in the UK for training. Is the engine time and age a problem?
I think this issue (people wanting to train for the CBIR on their own aircraft, but engine being above recommended TBO) will catch out quite a few owners.
I guess some freelance instructors will just not care (not their job to make sure the aircraft complies with the requirements for licensing training), but most instructors are attached to a school and then the school will have to put the aircraft on its training license…
I did the old IR two years ago on a G reg aircraft with 2200 hours and 22 years on the engine. Not a problem, legally speaking, although you can’t do any pilot maintenance (e.g. the 50 hour) that might normally be allowed, between the most recent engineer sign-off and the test.
I don’t recall the school having to put the aircraft on their training licence.
You will probably find other practical issues in using your own aircraft (such as equipment, avoiding scheduled maintenance periods, etc) but it’s definitely permissible.
I don’t recall the school having to put the aircraft on their training licence
When I did this, 2011/2012, there was a “paperwork process” which took maybe an hour or two. One FTO absolutely refused to do it (even though I offered to pay them any money for their time) and the other one did it fine. I didn’t get the impression that it was anything difficult.
When I was instructing, I developed the procedure for a flight school to “onboard” an aircraft, including for the test.
It was a two-page tick-box form making sure that all the paperwork is up to scratch and all the required equipment is there and works, plus making photocopies and preparing a standard folder. The e-mail to the CAA was only 5 minutes of this. One hour if the owner runs the aircraft well, tops [examples were – PA28R just bought, student did PPL in it, or C303T run by a very conscientious owner, which the student rented for his MEP training as he wanted to fly it afterwards].
The main reason we did it was to ensure airworthiness and legality for the instructor as PIC.
There can be the sticking point of needing a proper checklist for the aircraft that is appropriate for the individual aircraft – especially for the CPL exam, it needs to be reasonably in line with the equipment in the actual aircraft.
There can be the sticking point of needing a proper checklist for the aircraft that is appropriate for the individual aircraft
I spent ages and several iterations on the checklist, converting the POH into something brief and ergonomic that would satisfy the CAA. It was one of the most frustrating parts of the process, although the end result was pretty decent. If a school had had to produce this, given the time it took I can understand them charging something for the time.
