That would be great, thanks!
will send address by PM
Maoraigh wrote:
I have a BFR test, legally given to me
An FAA flight review is not intended to be a test and the instructor and pilot can decide on relevant content that serves the individual pilot best, to include a discussion (1 hour) and flying session (1 hour) . I try to do something different every time, often with a different instructor.
Chapter 3 of Advisory Circular 61-98B provides some advisory information and includes the statement ‘The CFI should tailor the review of general operating and flight rules to the needs of the pilot under review.’ This FAA document explains what FAA thinks is generally effective.
Silvaire wrote:
in Europe you’d often talk to ATC because the airspace is so complex you want them to clear you through it, but the actual traffic density is so low you need to announce yourself, maybe twice, just to wake the guy up.
That maybe true in some parts of Europe, but it isnt in other parts, and there are areas that are surprisingly busy. For example I would have said that Farnborough is busier than many areas in the States much of the time. Flying down the east coast of Florda to the Keys at the weekend on a good day I would have said the traffic level was about the same as Farnborough on a poorish flying day also at the weekend. Despite the long periods of silence the exchanges were as clipped and “punchy” as the more busy frequencies in the area. I guess the controllers jsut all come form the same school ;-).
One thing to be sure to check is if the place you’re renting from requires renters insurance. Many FBOs can’t get very good insurance cover for their planes (too many crashes) so require customers to carry their own insurance. All very nice for insurance companies, of course, when they have 40-odd policies effectively covering the same Cherokee 140 worth $20k :-)
I don’t know where you get renter’s insurance from for people not resident in the United States, but I presume someone sells it.
Also I have never been asked by an FBO for my pilot certificate, and I’ve been to some fairly fancy ones!
AOPA US – https://www.aopa.org/ – offers Renters Insurance with an email link for enquiries.
It would be worth asking there first if they insist on a ‘permanent’ US address; or are happy with a ‘temporary’ one?
Renters insurance for foreigners is an very grey area since they all appear to insist on US mailing addresses and won’t send correspondence overseas. I’ve been assured more that once that the accommodation address route is legit, but am always left with the feeling that the brokers are trying to conceal your true identity from the underwriters.
A further issue is the value indemnified, since these very cheap ($200-$300) premiums are not enough to cover a major 3rd party claim or indeed the value of the hull which can be millions and should be charged at a percent or two.
On the positive side, I have heard of a case where the payout covered the owners deductible in a write off situation, and no questions were asked about a fake address that was used, and the fbo’s insurer pickup the rest.
There seem to be other areas of US insurance that will not cover foreigners, the use of airport courtesy cars being one. Rental car yes, but not courtesy cars.
If anyone knows an answer to the courtesy car conundrum, I’d be pleased to hear it. Regarding renters insurance, it does not remove the need to have a very clear discussion about the exact nature of the insurance in place on the airplane and who benefits, something some fbo’s seem very reluctant to do.
I’ve always taken the view that in the limit, I’d better be able to buy them a new airplane if I have to. But the courtesy car case is much worse, since as a foreign driver, wrong side of road etc., you could easily end up with a $1m law suit be ing prosecuted by one of those blood suckers who conveniently advertise on huge hoardings at traffic intersections in Las Vegas – “Hit by foreign driver? Leave it to us!”
What’s the theory on why you would not be insured while driving an FBO courtesy car, assuming the owner of the car has insured it? AFAIK all US car insurance policies cover licensed drivers other than the registered owner, if they have the owners permission to drive the car. Having researched the issue in relation to letting foreign drivers use my cars I found that non-resident foreign national drivers are considered legally licensed for driving within my state, just like out of state licensed drivers, and that is unaffected by what car they are driving or where and to whom it is registered. So my car insurance is valid for non-resident foreign licensed drivers.
The issue with ‘Hit by foreign driver?’ as per the billboard typically means being hit by a Mexican driving a car with no (US) liability insurance. They usually disappear after the incident, so if as a US resident you have uninsured motorist coverage your lawyer goes after your insurance company to maximize the payout, armed with your limited evidence of the incident. In the unlikely event of the foreign driver being traceable and having some US assets they’ll go after those too. A non-resident foreign national with no US assets is of about zero interest to a lawyer and the police won’t do anything unless there were injuries.
Re needing a ‘permanent’ US address for aircraft renters insurance, this is one of those concepts that doesn’t really translate. We don’t have registered addresses, the post office will deliver to anybody at any address and so on. The insurance company can’t prove where you live or don’t live, because nobody except the IRS once per year (and the USCIS in real time for resident foreigners) has official government records on where you live, and those records aren’t public. When moving I’ve told the state driver licensing people of my address change and they record it for mailing purposes but they don’t update the address on the license itself until it periodically expires. I suspect its a non-issue for renters insurance, the company just wants somewhere to send the paperwork.
WRT renter’s insurance, agree with @Silvaire, however not so sure WRT the courtesy car. While I haven’t really researched it, the fact is that showing my insurance card (for one of my US-registered vehicles) at a rental counter removes the necessity of buying insurance, as my insurance – and that’s me as a person, not one of my cars – carries the insurance. It seems to a hybrid model, a bit like in France.
However, despair not. There is a UK insurance company that will insure you globally for various excess charges. I used them for years (never had a claim, though!), I think they a re called insuranceforcarhire.com or similar, Google is your friend.
FWIW, in the UK, insurance works on the basis that unless something is specifically excluded, it is included. I was told this by a former business partner who was in the insurance business. So if there is no “foreign” exclusion, you should be covered. I can’t see how insurance in the USA could work any differently in this respect, because not being so would make most policies worthless due to some technicality. An if the broker is lying then it is down to his professional liability insurance to pick up the bill 
but I suspect the broker knows exactly how far he can push things…
Aveling wrote:
A further issue is the value indemnified, since these very cheap ($200-$300) premiums are not enough to cover a major 3rd party claim or indeed the value of the hull which can be millions and should be charged at a percent or two.
The thing is hulls which can be worth millions aren’t rented out, and with the typical FBO rental the FBO does have insurance on the aircraft but the deductible (excess) is very high – high four digits or low five digits. The renter’s insurance is typically covering the deductible. The FBO wants you to have it so if you bend the plane and cause $5000 worth of damage (which won’t be covered by their own insurance due to the high deductible) you’re going to cover it.
From the insurer’s point of view, they may have 20 student pilots all paying $300 renter’s insurance so they can all fly the same Cessna 150 or Cherokee 140, so not only do they have a payment from the FBO for their fleet, they also effectively have $6000/year worth of renter’s insurance covering the same plane. Sweet deal for them!
