Convert FAA Pilot License to UK CAA

[@arniemengel2298]

Scott, I spent four years at RAF Upper Heyford from 1986 to 1990. Lakenheath had an aero club that was being managed by Warren Chmura at the time and he was trying to get them more solvent. I with the help of a couple of other guys was able to convince Warren we were serious with over fifty active duty members to start a branch of the Lakenheath Aero Club at Heyford. My last three years we were able to grow to two Tomahawks, a Warrior and an Arrow. Some of these aircraft came from Zaragoza or Torrejon Aero Club closing down. You're right about the difficulty in flying in the UK. We had plenty of local folks that had gone to the US, received their licenses and couldn't use them. Being US registered aircraft we trained to US standards and had check rides done by the FAA International Field office examiners from Frankfort come over an give several check rides on a weekend. The problems to fly there were significant but worth the effort as you say, the place is beautiful. Flights to the Lake District, Blackpool, the Fens and especially the channel islands and the continent are what memories are made of. I don't think I'd want to jump through all the hoops you did, however. I admire your tenacity to get it done.

[@arniemengel2298]

I'll also mentioned the command structure at the 20th TFW at the time were very supportive. Cudo's to them.

[@Airpaycheck]

Got my Private at the RAF Woodbridge aero club in the ‘70’s. Came home and had to learn to fly on the right side of the road 😁

[@speedfinder1]

Sir, first of all, thank you for posting up such a comprehensive and interesting video. As a "Brit" I can really confirm that it is really hard to understand American radio messages. I watched about ten videos where the pilot was identifying their aircraft as "Cherokee" and then their registration number. All I could hear was the word "Turkey" and then the number. Two countries separated by a common (Or Not so common.) language. 😁.

[@speedfinder1]

If I may also add, the British accuse the French of being a nation of bureaucrats but there is no country in the world like Great Britain when it comes to pointless pieces of paper, documentation and a fee for everything. This is a country where it takes up to five years ( YES FIVE YEARS!) and countless written tests, fees and other documentary paraphernalia to get a road traffic licence to ride a motorcycle with an engine more powerful than a bicycle! 😮. The United States of America is the land of the free. Great Britain is the land of the people, buried in paperwork!

[@JamKick]

Great video. FAA CPL IR ME pilot here, moved to the UK and after hearing all I had to do, I said forget it and went to work in finance. Its crazy the charges for approaches, landing, every little thing. Talk about a back ward system. So many small airfields in the UK too, must struggling to stay open.

[@Eva-cs5le]

It really is a bit of mine field for people converting licences. A lot of people in the UK use EasyPPL which I found was more comprehensive for the exams with an excellent bank that will prepare you very well. Learning and flying in the UK, you get used to the complexity. I was witness to an FAA pilot fall foul of CAA regs and PPR (prior permission required) only recently. Sky demon is fantastic! I think our approach to clouds i.e clear of cloud in certain airspace is largely related to how complex the airspace is and how crap our weather is 😂 Great video Scott, and for anyone considering it, do come to the UK for flying it's great fun once you get past the complexity

[@Qrail]

Hamilton Watches. Wonderful time pieces. I still have my Grandfather’s watch he wore on the railroad. From 1903 to 1960, he worked for the LA&SL. He retired with 57 years. The watch is still accurate more than 100 years later.

[@rigilchrist]

Well done Scott. Navigating through our bureaucracy is deserving of a medal! GA here in the UK is challenging, compared to the US, which has to be the best place in the World to fly. For anyone interested in flying here, the PPLIR group has fantastic video advice, explaining in detail all the quirks and differences for GA. The CAA attempted this task once, but it is embarrassingly bad, so the brilliant Timothy Nathan of the PPLIR group took up the challenge. There are a LOT of differences. What next Scott, converting your IR?

[@FlyWirescottperdue]

We'll see if I can do that. I put in the request. Watch for an announcement in May. I'm hoping to do some flying in the UK early this summer!

[@skid2151]

Flew Hogs at RAF Bentwaters from 1988 to 1991. Flying in the UK is awesome! Cheers!

[@jesknow]

Glad to see you have a REAL sponsor (not HelloFresh/Factor)! Mechanical watches are a wonderful thing. Glad to see it!

[@daveone191]

If you have never been there then 4 places that any aviation enthusiast should visit (a nice weekend) would be the Eagle pub in Cambridge (look at the bomber crews signatures on the ceiling), the Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial at Maddingley just outside Cambridge (lest we forget!), Duxford Museum and the Shuttleworth collection (nothing post 1950).

[@TheSlider535]

In 1982 when i was in Florida i got a USA PPL to the equivalent of my Canadian PPL, by going to the FFA and was given it right away, I know today thing have changed,

[@charleshaggard4341]

Looking forward to the videos from the UK. My dad was a radio operator in a C-47 during the war and I remember a watch of some kind that had a 24 hour face. I don't know if he had that while he was in the service or it was one he picked up somewhere.

[@darrenhillman8396]

Well done Scott! The skies are blue over here, too! Look forward to seeing a few flight videos from this side of the pond in due course! Best wishes from an armchair sim pilot. 🇬🇧

[@FlyWirescottperdue]

Will do

[@markusschloter8277]

There is also a way to get an "EASA 28 day Holiday License". With this Holiday License you are cleared to fly any EASA registered Airplane. If in need, please contact AOPA Germany.

[@blakechinn5792]

I have a Hamilton watch and I love it. I had a Rolex gmt and I like the Hamilton more . Thanks for your dedication to the channel Scott. It's very well done and informative.

[@nicolassales8679]

Oh we love a bit of bureaucracy here in the UK! Next time you are over fly to the Scilly Isles, 15 minutes from Lands End.

[@mu2995]

Scott, Very good content. Did the same more than 10 years ago. It’s exactly as described. Before Brexit this license was also good for EASA countries, has changed now what means is for UK/Ireland only registered aircrafts. Not sure was mentioned in the video as such. You can fly a N registered aircraft in Uk as long you are US resident and hold a valid FAA license. Up to 28 days per year is for G registered aircrafts.

[@FlyWirescottperdue]

True statement... if you fly an N registered airplane in the UK, and live in the UK, you must have a UK license as well;)

[@mu2995]

@@FlyWirescottperdue yes that’s correct, that why I wrote US resdient. Out of memory there was also a limit up to one year even the residency is in US, but that might be a EASA requirement.

[@FlyWirescottperdue]

@@mu2995 That would be for a special purpose issuance. Can't be renewed.

[@fuuswag9835]

Thank you soo much for this!! Been struggling to find information. Im a Brit based in London, and have been thinking to do my training in the US, and then either convert or see if my hours there would carry over here

[@FlyWirescottperdue]

A better path would be to get your licenses in the US. Convert them to EASA in France and then convert those to UK. The Uk doesn’t respect US licenses.

[@Andre.D550]

Congratulations Scott. That was informative and interesting! 😎

[@41istair]

FYI, If YT still offers a post-upload blur option, you may want to do so on the FedEx envelope, including the barcode.

[@gzk6nk]

I don't think it's the same now, but back when I enquired about getting a US private pilot licence for when I visited the 'States. I think it was free, and you just had to present your UK PPL to the FAA and they give you a licence! Then you need a check ride. I think there may be a fee involved now from FAA and maybe CAA as well as there's a form to be processed by both authorities.

[@FlyWirescottperdue]

It’s very close that still.

[@davidjones8680]

Well done Scott. I hope you have an enjoyable time flying here in the UK.

[@mikedash3968]

Scott, Next time you are in the UK pay a visit to Fowlmere near Duxford ex US P41 base also has a small museum. I currently fly a RV 14 out of EGMA. Not as expensive as you intimate if you operate in and out of unlicensed airfields. I’m in the middle of getting my 14 IFR /Night and Aeros approved under the auspices of the LAA not the CAA!

[@davejones542]

Well done Scott

[@SubTroppo]

For those thinking of doing this I recommend finding a Fuller's pub in London or surrounds and drinking a couple of pints of London Pride, or if you are really keen to go through the procedure order the stronger Fuller's ESB and your mind might be radically changed about the whole shebang and it will be much cheaper. nb Both of these beers are not served chilled so summer imbibing is probably not to American tastes.

[@vintagepairdisplayteam910]

Great summary Scott! Worth noting the license MUST be carried with you when you fly, the RATING lasts 2 years and requires 12 hours in the second 12 month period to include an hour with an instructor. Also DO NOT CUT THE LICENSE TO FIT THE BOOKLET 😂

[@FlyWirescottperdue]

Good call!

[@MC75448]

@@FlyWirescottperdue I just recognized your Bonanza on my feed. I have some pictures of your plane flown in our formation at Beech Party this October. Would you like me to send them to you?

[@FlyWirescottperdue]

@@MC75448 Thanks Monica, It was probably my old A36. I didn't go to the Beech Party last year.

[@MC75448]

@@FlyWirescottperdue Oh that makes sense, I remember meeting Frank but not you. Well, your old bird still flies and looks great. Thanks, hope to see you around!

[@DJ99777]

Very interesting and detailed video as usual. I thought it was difficult to achieve anything licence wise in Australia. Now I know where we inherit some of our bureaucracy from.

[@MrSfredrik]

Come and visit Sweden also, it was only about 4 hours flight and then 25 minutes circling to wait before you could land in Duxford (in opposite direction, in a Mooney). It is much less bureaucratic and better organized in Sweden (and most of Europe) than the UK, but also less traffic. I got the FAA license during the Sun n’fun last year (saw you there) and it was more easy, but not the IR rating though.

[@FlyWirescottperdue]

Would love to come to Sweden at some point and check out GA flying!

[@nancychace8619]

Congrats on your new license. Pretty cool. You've certainly got more energy than I've got to go to such lengths. Count your blessings. I once visited with some family of friends that had traveled to the States from the UK. It was a friendly family visit, but I could barely understand them - that crazy British accent! Ever hear of a Bulova Accutron Spaceview? Might appeal to your "geeky" side. Their Caliber 214 was regulated by a tuning fork, and was the first wristwatch with a transistor. It hummed. Was said to be accurate to within 1 second per month, and was used in 46 NASA missions. 🙂 Fly safe - take care.

[@FlyWirescottperdue]

Thanks Nancy I believe you've gotta keep moving, so I do;) I used to have a Bulova Accutron. It broke and I wrote to the President of the company and they replaced the watch!

[@nancychace8619]

@@FlyWirescottperdue You're right, you have to keep moving. Easier said than done sometimes if anything is out of whack. Lol! You used to have an Accutron. To my limited knowledge they are supposed to last a very long time. Do you still have it?

[@FlyWirescottperdue]

@@nancychace8619 No, It didn't last through my stint in the Marines.

[@FlyWirescottperdue]

@@nancychace8619 I dont' have it anymore, it didn't survive bootcamp.

[@nancychace8619]

@@FlyWirescottperdue Lol! I probably wouldn't have either!😄

[@StpBks]

I loved your story. Are you going to try for an EASA conversion and fly Europe? How about gliding in the UK.? I understand the British Gliding Association (BGA) has a different path for licencing glider pilots.

[@FlyWirescottperdue]

Thought about it, but probably not. Going to do a little flying in the UK.

[@louissanderson719]

When are you coming to the UK to fly? The weather is terrible here atm, especially by Goodwood.

[@FlyWirescottperdue]

Went in October of last year and in June this year. It will be next year before I go back.

[@meznaric]

You don't need a UK license to fly in the UK so long as you're not resident in the UK and you're flying an N-reg aircraft (which are not very difficult to find in the UK). You can do this with your FAA licence.

[@FlyWirescottperdue]

Yes, I know. What happens when the airplane I have access to is G-registered?

[@meznaric]

@@FlyWirescottperdue You can fly G-reg aircraft up to 28 days per year by getting your FAA license verified (so long as it's not a commercial flight). You can do this as many times as you like but it's limited to 28 days in a calendar year. Plus you can fly N-reg aircraft whenever you want (no time limits). This is assuming you don't intend to be resident in the UK (residence changes everything).

[@FlyWirescottperdue]

@@meznaric Thanks, I believe I mentioned this in the video, but there is a restriction on the size and HP of the airplanes you can fly. So, it's not all that useful. But thanks for pointing it out.

[@mutthaam2396]

Somewhere, Guy Gibson is smiling.

[@spdaltid]

Oh no! Flashback to converting my ATPL to UKCAA in the 80's.... one step forward, two back 🙃

[@SimonAmazingClarke]

Great video Scott. Very interesting to see the UK flying from the American viewpoint. I don't know if you still can. And that's if you can find one. But I remember coming across the fact that you can fly an N registered aircraft on your US licence. I don't know if that is still true.

[@FlyWirescottperdue]

It is true. I can fly an N-resgiserted airplane in the UK up to the limit of my license. If you live in themUK you must have a UK license to fly the airplane. And frankly, for the FAA standpoint you must also have a FAA license to fly the airplane.

[@SimonAmazingClarke]

@FlyWirescottperdue Thanks Scott.

[@TerribleFire]

Airspace in the UK is insane.

[@andrewagner2035]

Greetings from Cape Town. It all sounds very complicated. Come fly around in southern Africa sometime.

[@FlyWirescottperdue]

Now that could be fun!

[@hunterbruce1064]

Yes , indeed

[@markbowen3638]

How does the UK compare in difficulty to the US in obtaining a licence? Is it more regulated and / or more expensive?

[@FlyWirescottperdue]

Yes on both!

[@markburch1582]

Your not wrong. When I got an FAA licence on the back of my UK CAA PPL it was a straight exchange via the CFI at Upper Heyford. As an ex RAF Air Traffic Controller at RAF Honington supporting both up F111 at Lakenheath and transport at Mildenhall I was able to operate from the aeroclub at Lakenheath. Great fun mixing withF111 and very different to a typical UK airfield! Great days back then !

[@ZubairAhmed-ib6ve]

how long did it take for you to get the license

[@FlyWirescottperdue]

Two trips and about 6 months working on it.

[@ZubairAhmed-ib6ve]

@@FlyWirescottperdue What was the cost for converting from faa to ukcaa and will u still have faa along with ukcaa

[@jeffshafer9079]

How strict of them. The RAF never paid such respect to Germany in the 40’s!

[@WarblesOnALot]

G'day Scott, Yikes, So, all you need is a backpack full of Cash - to steadily throw at the long lineup of Fee, fee, fee, FEE collectors, and have about half a year to wend one's tortuous way past the legions of Monty Pythonesque Beaurocrats, Officials, Commissioners and Secretaries competingwith each other to not quite disclose ALL of the information required to proceed to the next step (Shakedown) in the "process"....? You're a very patient sort of a person, to have made it through such a system. I hope you manage to fly around in British Airspace enough for that bit of stamped & signed paper to be worth all that cost and effort, and apparent shuttling back and forth across the Atlantic every time another Fee (Bribe..., Backsheesh...?) needed to be slid over the table... There used to be a trueism in the 1970s here, asserting that there were as many people working at the Dep't Of Transport as there were Aeroplanes on the VH - Register, each Beaurocrat being assigned to one Airframe ; tasked with generating so much paperwork that nobody would ever have time-out from the requisite pen-pushing to ever actually Fly the Aeroplane... Which thus ensured that it could not possibly crash. Therefore safeguarding the DOT's international reputation for administering the Safest General Aviation Skies on Earth. As much as anything, that's why I got into Minimum Aircraft & then Ultralights...; back in the olden dayze we had a LOT Less Beaurocratic oversight, paperwork & hoop-jumping to contend with. But that's all Bin-rectificated. And these days it's hard to tell the difference between a Recreational Aircraft Association of Australia registered Plastic Parrot (Jabiru) and a General Aviation registered Cessna 152.... One will have "25-****" for it's Registration (after Air Navigation Order 95.25...) & the other will be branded "VH-***"....; whereas the original ANO-95.10, which was written around my first Aeroplane - the bastards ABOLISHED it entirely, about 15 years ago...., without even a "Grandfather" Clause to allow existing old Aeroplanes to continue operating. Grrrr...! One of the nice things about Anthropogenic Global Warming..., is that it'll get rid of a hell of a lot of troublesome officious Citibred Beaurocrats ; from what I can see (!). Such is life, Have a good one... Stay safe. ;-p Ciao !

[@Joe_Not_A_Fed]

Wow. So complicated...and probably expensive. All those layers of bureaucracy and fees. From what I understand, that is just life in the UK.

[@R5DW]

It's not all like that, plus it keeps TNFlygirl types on the ground

[@BenCarpendale]

If you so desire, you could flip that on it's head. An example: Passport control in America, British citizens have to get an eTA to fly into the US and that's if they haven't recently flown into Cuba, else you have to get a full visa, all this when the UK allows US citizens in visa free? Wow. So complicated...and probably expensive. All those layers of bureaucracy and fees. From what I understand, that is just life in the US. You see how misjudged you can get by analysing and scrutinising once slight part of a country's foreign policy?

[@therealxunil2]

"convert" suggests that you did not retain your US license. Is that the case?

[@FlyWirescottperdue]

I still have it. The process is called conversion, I didn't chose it.

[@johnfitzpatrick2469]

I think the U.K should grant recognition and make the process of GA licensing less expensive. (name withheld to protect the innocent) 🙃🌈

[@TechnikMeister2]

Not with the daily toll of GA accidents in the USA. The FAA should adopt the UK or CASA (Australian) system. Then maybe the quality of pilots might improve. In both those countries, flying is not a right but a privilege granted to those who really need to do it. From scratch, getting a PPL in Australia is a $25k cost and takes over a year due to the hours required.

[@Bobm-kz5gp]

Why!!

[@twentyrothmans7308]

Good weather and cheap avgas.

[@ronmoore5827]

Barry Schiff wrote an interesting article about obtaining a Jordanian pilots license. He happened to be with King Hussein and mentioned that he would like to obtain a license but that it was a difficult process. Hussein told him he could have it for him shortly. When Schiff asked how he could get for him so quickly he looked at him and said, “Barry, I am the KING “.

[@classicraceruk1337]

The problem with the language barrier between the USA and the U.K. is Americans cannot speak English neither do they understand that the FAA rules are not valid in the U.K.

[@mannypuerta5086]

For the record, I really like England, its museums, its cars and its airplanes. I even enjoy the pub banter with the Brits, who I respect and admire. They stopped using Lucas refrigerators, so cold beer is now available. I understand your reasoning, but engaging in pay as you go, socialist self-flagellation at this stage of my aviation timeframe is very unappealing. Bloody ugly pro-cess, as they would say in England. My backcountry, freedom loving 185 would look at me like I was a dog beater. Also unnecessary when flying there in the past with various airlines (thankfully). What’s funny is that I was given an Iranian pilot’s license, with a type rating, when flying for Iran Air in the 70’s. The flying included trips to Europe and the U.K. (along with the usual, scheduled ME routes) and no training or testing for licensing certification was required other than the usual GS, sim and aircraft flight training. Always admired the controllers going into Heathrow. They were top notch. Cheers…

[@ss442es]

I would like to go visit Blechley Park to see where all the incription magic and battle plans were played out out. I would like to see the British WW2 aviation exhibits and some other things but I have little use for the British ham fisted control of aviation through your wallet. I have a number of Pilot friends who fly the Airbus and I always enjoy asking them if they ever get tired of the airplanes calling them "Retard," "Retard", "Retard." every time they cross the numbers?

[@francispaul5621]

Thank You