Has anyone written down the exact process for converting a European PPL/IR to the FAA standalone PPL/IR, via a BASA?
Peter, I wrote this summary after a German friend came and stayed with us to get his standalone FAA Private and Instrument Rating via the FAA process earlier this year. I’m not sure it documents the exact process in its entirely because I wasn’t involved with the IACRA preparations to document his German license, but otherwise it should be fairly complete. There was no flying or testing with the DPE and the price to him for the paperwork done was minimal.
Hmmm… sure, though not very practical unless you specifically want to do that, in that specific environment, etc 
I was paying c. 1000 USD in 2008 or so, in the UK. Oh and GBP 800 for the UK JAA IR test in 2011
It is probably accurate to say that this whole topic is less and less relevant since
Has anyone written down the exact process for converting a European PPL/IR to the FAA standalone PPL/IR, via a BASA? And is there no BASA route for UK issued papers post-brexit?
Peter, the BASA allows a standard US private/instrument/multi to be obtained without doing practical tests.
The US DPEs are now running an out-of-control gravy train with prices often exceeding 1500 USD per test (plus aircraft hire). It’s ironically cheaper to now train for an EU PPL at a French aeroclub and convert to a US private under the BASA!
The admissibility of European training is massively self evident in that myself and many others I know have used it towards FAA papers, but there are still people out there who say it is illegal.
People stay in or come to the US for flight training hours as well as pilot certificates, motivated by the economics – a regulatory dictate to do so is not required. I don’t think most people in the US could or would conceive of a situation in which 61.41(a) (2) as quoted in the first post wouldn’t be true, and it reads pretty clearly. Foreign training hours done in any ICAO signatory country are valid for FAA pilot certificates, without the requirement for other additional treaties.
There is also this one ,61.51 (j) (2), in relation to logging FAA flight time in foreign registered aircraft. It’s allowed by FAA for aircraft having a C of A issued by an ICAO signatory country.
I suppose it varies a lot by country, but there certainly are FAA instructors (CFI & CFII) available in Europe, and most will also have EASA papers. I did both my EASA revalidation and FAA BFR (sic) in one flight last week.
Right – but my drift was that no “BASA” is needed. Neither myself nor the hundreds/thousands of other European pilots who did XYZ in the US were making use of any “BASA”. The US simply accepted non-US training with non-US instructors. Only specific endorsements needed FAA instructors.
A “BASA” is for license/rating conversion or validation. My para above deals with somebody taking their European logbooks to a US school, getting training as required but with full acceptance of their logbook entries and then finishing off with a US checkride to get standalone US papers.
This also worked in Europe before DPEs were finally blocked. Again, no “BASA” involved. That is how I did my FAA PPL and CPL. The IR was finished off in the US.
I have no idea why this should be Swiss-specific.
Because Switzerland has a separate BASA agreement with the US/FAA from EASA. The AC covering this for EASA is AC_61_143.pdf
Yes. I have been discussing this with a specialist recently.
I am not great at decoding convoluted regs but I think a fair summary would be exactly as you state (and has been thus for decades, evidenced by my own experience of a US paperwork chase since 2003, not to mention the thousands of European pilots who went to the US to get their PPLs, IRs, etc) but “required endorsements” still need an FAA instructor. So e.g. the logbook signoff stating that you are ready for a checkride, or ready to sit an FAA written exam, etc, the last 3hrs (within 60 days) before a checkride, these all need an FAA CFI/CFII.
Here is my FAA IR writeup from 2006.
Search for “Why FAA?” and that is the position in practice. Doesn’t look like anything has changed.
I have no idea why this should be Swiss-specific. Maybe somebody in the Swiss CAA wanted a CYA agreement? The FARs have always accepted non US training.
However, I wonder if the FAA wants to change things so that they will accept training only from specified countries?
I just got the FAA AC 61-144 in my inbox. It only applies to pilots with Swiss EASA licenses as far as I understand it, but the EU probably has an agreement with the FAA as well. The document contains this sentence: “10.1.5 If a person receives flight training outside of the United States from an EASA Part-FCL flight instructor, under § 61.41(a)(2), that person may credit the training toward the requirements of an FAA private pilot certificate or rating”
Is there any update on this? All I see is hearsay.
Someone said here the FAA Chief Counsel ruled on it. This is really surprising because it runs totally counter to standard US-based FAA training practice where existing European training, cross country time, etc, none of it with FAA instructors, is fully accepted.
