I meant re validation. I have flown only 1h. During the second year of the licence life, ectually, as of today I am grounded as my licence has lapsed.
Crying in despair I repeat after Hus:
“O Sancta Simplicitas!”
I think I will continue traveling through Europe as an EasyJet passenger …. 
The revalidation scene has changed over the years. I can easily see why almost nobody is doing the ME rating unless they own a twin.
And the IR revalidation has become very aggressive – 7 years off and you have to re-do everything including the exams. Search here for “keeping the JAA IR valid”. I understand this is catching out many European airline pilots who went to work in e.g. Asia or the Middle East and they allowed their JAA papers to lapse, and now when they come back “home” they find themselves shafted. I don’t know if a solution has been found.
MEP Rating:
To get it, you need 6 hours of training, 7 hours theory training + a theory exam (single exam, multiple choice, held at the ATO), and a skill test. Nothing changed from JAR.
To renew it, you need training as required [as determined after an assessment], and pass the renewal test. There is some guidance about how much training might be appropriate depending on how long it has lapsed, including full course after 3 years, but this is a recommendation only and not binding. See AMC1 FCL.740(b)(1).
You are, however, at the mercy of the ATO to have a sensible programme and give you a course completion certificate.
Am i also correct in thinking thst under easa if you mep rateing has expired.by.more than 3 years then you have to complete the whole mep course from scratch?
What exam, exactly, is required here?
It appears that since JAA changed to EASA the Class Rating exam has been replaced with theoretical training to the satisfaction of the ATO. The old JAA exam was an in house exam that really amounted to a Progress Test, albeit a bit more formal.
To add the MEP Class to your licence you will need to go to an ATO and complerte a course of training then take the ground exam and flight test.
What exam, exactly, is required here?
IMC ratings or privileges gained after 7 April 2014 are not convertible to restricted IR on Part FCL licences’ which would suggest that ‘new’ IMCRs obtained after that date will not be recognised on Part FCL EASA licences.
It was recently anounced that the IMC rating would be extended for a further 5 years to April 2019. If you could not put it on an EASA licence there would be no point in continuing the rating!
The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) today welcomed a proposal from the European Commission to allow the UK to continue issuing the Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC) rating for pilots until April 2019. The move follows considerable effort by the CAA and UK GA to support the retention of the rating.
It had previously been agreed that pilots who already held the rating before April 2014 would be allowed to use it indefinitely within the UK and to transfer it to a new EASA Private Pilot’s Licence as an Instrument Rating (Restricted) and this agreement remains.
Praising the move, Andrew Haines, CAA Chief Executive, said: “The IMC rating has proven itself over the years to be a valuable safety tool for UK general aviation – training private pilots to cope with our very unpredictable weather systems. This is a sensible way forward which will aid flight safety in the UK. One of my first commitments to the GA community was that the CAA would argue strongly for the retention of the IMC rating and the privileges and safety benefits it brings. We will continue to make the case for the permanent preservation for the benefit of future generations of pilots.”
There are contradictory statements on the CAA website, that has not been updated, and even the IMC rating privileges on their website are incorrect
Would I be allowed to take my “review” check flight (under VFR) in a twin
No. because as you say you do not have a MEP rating on your licence. Even if you did it would not renew your SEP, they are seperate Class Ratings.
To add the MEP Class to your licence you will need to go to an ATO and complerte a course of training then take the ground exam and flight test. Depending on your previous experience you may get a reduction in the course time.
I asked an experienced instructor/examiner I know (not CAA employee) to look at this and his comments are>
So my take on this that – as a holder of a JAR-FCL UK issued PPL, with an IMCR and an IR on it – I don’t need to do anything apart from keeping the stuff revalidated (PPL every 24 months, IMCR every 25 months, IR every 12 months).
