Peter wrote:
I reckon, accordingly, that very few new people are doing the FAA route these days. Typically, those who went this way were older pilots (who have both money and time ) and they desire a route which can be integrated into their life.
Source? That has always been the case … why would it have changed these days, beyond the lack of being able to do the written course/exam in Europe? There don’t seem to be fewer N-reg GA aircraft around than before … perhaps even more.
The oral/flight exam always needed to be done in the US. I believe the outfits that previously provided FAA IR training to Europeans are still doing so…. such as these guys. They used to have the option of coming to Europe to do training in your own aircraft, but then that entails travel/hotel costs for the instructor on top of the course fee and supposedly the exam location is still the US (PIC doesn’t do the exam themselves, they coordinate/organize a DPE). But it might be cheaper than renting in the US if own N-reg aircraft is available in Europe… one would need to do the math. The big advantage is that one has the licence after 10 full-time days.
The major complication to doing training in the US has been the recently needed (as in within the last 5+ years) TSA approval which is an admin hassle. But that is only necessary for flying training, not if one just wants to do the written exam. A catch might be that an instructor recommendation is needed to register to take the exam. It might even not be necessary if one doesn’t need training, just the oral/flight exam… not sure about that.
Having said all that, I understand that @Nestor just wants to add a 61.75 FAA PPL/IR to his EASA IR. With the BASA there might be an easier way than before to get a full FAA PPL/IR, but I’m not so sure as most of the comments I’ve seen are along the lines ….. the BASA doesn’t really change the status quo, except that after June’22 the derogation option disappears and one will need an EASA licence to fly N-reg if a Europe resident. Of course you UK folks aren’t affected at all anymore by EASA and/or the EASA BASA.
No source, of course. Even finding how many FAA licensed pilots are in Europe and still active is impossible.
There were good Europe based options for the whole lot, up to about 2008. That is when I did my PPL and CPL. IR was in Arizona – done there because the UK option was “unavailable” (various rumours at the time as to why).
In the US, you can do it more or less anywhere. In Europe, you can do the required training anywhere too – the FAA accepts all non US training; only the last 3hrs needs to be done with a real FAA CFI/CFII.
So you don’t actually need TSA approval for training, because you can just fly with a suitably qualified instructor, for no specific purpose, nothing to do with any FAA qualification, log that flying, and the FAA will accept the logbook entries. Been there, done it, several times. You probably do need TSA approval for the checkride, not least because of the aforementioned 3hr requirement.
It is the FAA checkride which has been a hassle in Europe, after 2008 or so. There has been just one guy doing them. Other DPEs, visiting from the US, were gradually blocked, by various means. Due to the litigious nature of this guy’s relationship with just about everybody, we don’t advertise his services here 
But AFAIK he is still out there, with a website which needs a big glass of brandy to read through.
I agree N-regs aren’t going down in numbers, but then the GA community that actually goes places (and most N-regs are used to go places) mostly isn’t young, and quite possibly most N-reg owners are still just flying.
@chflyer
14 CFR part 61.75(d) says :
d) Instrument ratings issued. A person who holds an instrument rating on the foreign pilot license issued by a contracting State to the Convention on International Civil Aviation may be issued an instrument rating on a U.S. pilot certificate provided:
(1) The person’s foreign pilot license authorizes instrument privileges;
(2) Within 24 months preceding the month in which the person applies for the instrument rating, the person passes the appropriate knowledge test; and
(3) The person is able to read, speak, write, and understand the English language. If the applicant is unable to meet one of these requirements due to medical reasons, then the Administrator may place such operating limitations on that applicant’s pilot certificate as are necessary for the safe operation of the aircraft.
The big disadvantage with the 61.75 is that anytime the foreign licence reference number changes, the 61.75 certificate needs to be issued all over again.
I believe the new EASA BASA also describes the steps required to obtain a full FAA certificate, not just a based-on 61.75. It may need a bit more effort, but the advantage being that the above restriction no long applies since both licences exist independently of each other.
Peter wrote:
FAA written exams have not been possible in Europe for some years – here. You have to do that exam in the US.
These folks claim to provide FAA knowledge exams outside the US including Europe.
This is what comes up:
which is as expected; indeed you can do them at Mildenhall which is a USAF base but, reportedly, this is for US serving military only. I will email them to check.
Entering an address in central Europe (e.g. Paris) also returns only military bases: Mildenhall and Ramstein (US). I seem to recall reading that PSI now only does testing at military installations and/or where US military are the implied customers.
For a 61.75 just the EASA license needs to be valid, not a rating (SEP), but I need a current bi-annual FAA flight review, right?
For the IR, with the “foreign pilot exam” added on to the 61.75 on the basis of an EASA IR, do I need to maintain the EASA IR validity (yearly IPC), or just the 6/6 FAA rolling currency?
On a very distant tangent – for a flight to be a FAA cross-country for an IR, just one of the of the “stops” needs to be “at least 50nm from origin”, right? So for a flight EPKP EPKR (64nm) EPRZ (28nm) EPKP (70nm) I can log all of it as XC, not just the two longer legs? I am looking at 14 CFR 61.1 and the BoldMethod page explaining XC time.
chflyer wrote:
The big disadvantage with the 61.75 is that anytime the foreign licence reference number changes, the 61.75 certificate needs to be issued all over again.
While that is true, the big advantage of the 61.75 is that you don’t need an FAA medical.
I think it comes down to “why do you want it?”
If it’s because you are regularly going to be flying N reg aircraft, then you probably should get the full Airmans cert. It’s more durable and maintenance is predictable.
If it’s because once every few years you go on holidays to the US and want to be able to do some flying while there, then the 61.75 makes more sense. There is very little maintenance. You need a BFR, which you’ll do as part of your checkout for rental, and then you’re good to go. No appointment with a doctor needed.
