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Ab Initio PPL in my own N reg airplane

Hello,
i’m in the position of owning a N reg airplane and not having the PPL licence; I did this way since I would prefere to learn on this specific aircraft; I have asked various schools in various european countries but the answer varies greatly…..some say it is not possible, while others say it is no problem and we can do the training and exams in whichever european jurisdiction you want; can you recommend somebody that could teach for the PPL on a privately own N reg?
Thanks for the help

Czech Republic

It’s possible to do PPL dual hours in N-reg with EASA instructors

It’s not possible to fly solo in N-reg (you will need an “FAA student solo” certificate and it’s not valid unless you are doing an FAA PPL + EASA PPL with CFI & FI in EASA ATO)

You need FAA PPL or country PPL to fly N-reg solo outside US and EASA medical and EASA FI solo authorisation is not enough…

Paris/Essex, France/UK, United Kingdom

Presumably you are after a European PPL, not an FAA PPL. That is no problem. FAA 61.3 allows an N-reg to be flown on a license issued by the owner of the airspace.

Note that to fly an N-reg outside the country which issued your license you need an FAA PPL. This can be standalone (see below) or it can be a 61.75 piggyback.

Also see here and here.

If you are after an FAA PPL:

This search should give you tips on the issues.

Basically you have to embark on an EASA PPL and do the solo portions within that.

However, there are countries where nobody will care what you do. When I did my FAA PPL (as a conversion from the JAA PPL, the logbook entries for which were accepted wholly towards the FAA hours, which is correct) in 2004, in the UK, nobody gave a damn about whether I had a valid license already. I was flying a rented N-reg PA28, operated by an outfit which was shut down for alleged illegal paid training in 2005 (the instructors did not have JAA CPLs which were required back then for paid training) Also, the UK based FAA AME issued me with a Student Pilot Certificate which nobody told me was invalid outside the US but which the said UK outfit accepted.

I am Czech but have no idea what is possible there.

It’s not possible to fly solo in N-reg

Is that really true if doing a Euro PPL ? The solo portions are flown “on the license of the FI” and why would 61.3 not apply there?

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

yes Peter you are right, at the moment I’m after the EASA PPL (which i will later use to get the FAA licence as piggiback) I have just sent another round of email asking informations about the feasiblity trying to find somebody willing to do so, because most by hearing N reg just run away…..which I don’t really understand, some even ask to change the aircraft registration and register with the governing body as training airplane in the specific ATO……which it sound nonsense to me really…..so if anybody can recommend anything all suggestions are welcome

Czech Republic

It could be possible to fly N-reg solo on the “EASA FI licence” with an EASA medical but one has to seek FAA opinion on this….for sure, it won’t work if FI holds LBA PPL and it’s N-reg while flying in Belgium airspace/ATO

PS: while ago we checked with DGAC/LBA if it’s ok to send student solo in D-reg while doing PPL in France and the answer is yes, so I presume it’s for FAA to clarify if “FAA solo certificate for the student” still applies when flying on “EASA FI certificate of the instructor”

Last Edited by Ibra at 06 Jun 13:02
Paris/Essex, France/UK, United Kingdom

Peter wrote:

The solo portions are flown “on the license of the FI” and why would 61.3 not apply there?

No, solo flying by student pilots is usually done pursuant to an exemption in national legislation. The US regulation at 14 CFR 61.3(a)(1)(vii) requires a pilot licence which may include a LAPL.

London, United Kingdom

register with the governing body as training airplane in the specific ATO

That is a European thing; a plane used for training normally needs to be “put on the school’s fleet”. Most schools don’t like doing it, even though it is usually trivial.

for sure, it won’t work if FI holds LBA PPL and it’s N-reg while flying in Belgium airspace/ATO

That is an irrelevant complication; it is normally accepted (unless you live in Luxembourg) that your PPL training will not be abroad. In the UK it is not even allowed at all.

while ago we checked with DGAC/LBA if it’s ok to send student solo in D-reg while doing PPL in France and the answer is yes

That is valid just for France and a D-reg, both of which are EU. That is a grey area; European CAAs are generally trying to avoid schools using foreign reg planes but hope that nobody will dig too deeply into the legality of banning it…

The US regulation at 14 CFR 61.3(a)(1)(vii) requires a pilot licence which may include a LAPL.

Or the Student Pilot Certificate if in US airspace. That suggests there is no way to do an ab initio PPL (either Euro or FAA) in Europe, in an N-reg, and this is due to the solo portions. That is what I always believed. Well, if you care about the flying being legal

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

The legalities are well explained above.

The position of a given school is their choice, and if any school tells you regs forbid them from training you on your N-reg then just go elsewhere since they don‘t seem to be very competent regarding regulations.

I do recurrent practice/training here in Switzerland with a club school on my own plane… no problem. They just asked me to sign a form authorizing use of my aircraft (could be any registration) for training in the framework of the school‘s operations. I also had to indicate how the aircraft is insured. This via a standard form for all schools in the Swiss Pilot School Association, under which many/most schools operate. It‘s a common practice.

Last Edited by chflyer at 07 Jun 06:32
LSZK, Switzerland

That suggests there is no way to do an ab initio PPL (either Euro or FAA) in Europe, in an N-reg

My understanding yes due to FAA rules

PS: some NAA in Europe are happy for somone to do supervised solo in N-reg in some “rare historical aircraft”, it works better if you are a prince somewhere while the instructor and school are properly insured

Last Edited by Ibra at 07 Jun 07:43
Paris/Essex, France/UK, United Kingdom
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