Does St. Maarten have its own aviation government?

[ktsai91]

What aviation government controls the island of St. Maarten in the Caribbean, if they have one?

 

[swisspilot]

The Dutch side (where the intl airport is) is under the CAA of Aruba, the French side is under the French Govt, so it`s JAA.

All the French Overseas collectivity are under JAA-JAR and most of the time if you want to do anything in aviation you have to be French.

 

[ktsai91]

I see, thanks for the help swisspilot! BTW, do you have a link to both of the aviation government websites? The CAA of Aruba and JAA or JAA-JAR? I can't seem to find both websites.

 

[A Life Aloft]

I see, thanks for the help swisspilot! BTW, do you have a link to both of the aviation government websites? The CAA of Aruba and JAA or JAA-JAR? I can't seem to find both websites.

Department of Civil Aviation

Sabana Berde 73-B
Oranjestad, Aruba
Phone: ++297-583-2665
Fax : ++297-582-3038
Email:

AFTN : TNCAYAYX

 

[swisspilot]

I see, thanks for the help swisspilot! BTW, do you have a link to both of the aviation government websites? The CAA of Aruba and JAA or JAA-JAR? I can't seem to find both websites.

What do you wanna do? If you are interested in a Pilot license then Arubas CAA will give you an Antilles one, if it is for aircraft registration than the story is different. This is the link for the French side: http://www.developpement-durable.gouv.fr/-Secteur-Aerien,1633-.html

 

[ktsai91]

I was only just curious, that's all. BTW, is there an English version of the website you just gave me? I can't read French.

 

[swisspilot]

I was only just curious, that's all. BTW, is there an English version of the website you just gave me? I can't read French.

I doubt it, the only thing at the DGAC that is in both French and English is the AIP.

 

[Pépé le Pilot]

Tell us what you want to do and we'll help out with the French part (I'm French, and I believe swisspilot, although swiss, speaks French as wellirate

 

[ktsai91]

I was wondering if sport pilots in the U.S. can fly all the way to St. Maarten without a medical. The Bahamas recently let sport pilots in with a driver's license medical, so I was wondering, if it's the same (though very unlikely I believe) in St. Maarten. If not, I would want to find out what are the pilot medical standards in St. Maarten and if they're less stringent than in the U.S.

But as I told you before, I was just curious. I'm really not planning to fly all the way to St. Maarten.

 

[Pépé le Pilot]

I was wondering if sport pilots in the U.S. can fly all the way to St. Maarten without a medical. The Bahamas recently let sport pilots in with a driver's license medical, so I was wondering, if it's the same (though very unlikely I believe) in St. Maarten. If not, I would want to find out what are the pilot medical standards in St. Maarten and if they're less stringent than in the U.S.

But as I told you before, I was just curious. I'm really not planning to fly all the way to St. Maarten.

Here's for France : you can legally fly a N-registered aircraft with FAA issued license and medical. I'm not sure about the validity of the sport pilot license. There's no such thing in France, you either get the ultra light or regular private so I doubt you'd be able to do anything with a sport pilot license. And just like in the US, if you get a temporary license based on a foreign license you have to get a local medical.
This is pretty much standardized. JAA and FAA medicals are similar. Be aware that I paid 220€ for a 1st Class FAA in France.

 

[swisspilot]

I was wondering if sport pilots in the U.S. can fly all the way to St. Maarten without a medical. The Bahamas recently let sport pilots in with a driver's license medical, so I was wondering, if it's the same (though very unlikely I believe) in St. Maarten. If not, I would want to find out what are the pilot medical standards in St. Maarten and if they're less stringent than in the U.S.

But as I told you before, I was just curious. I'm really not planning to fly all the way to St. Maarten.

I didn`t even know you could fly an LSA internationally, pretty cool, well Bahamas gets some good profit out of GA and they really support it, when I use to live in Florida they would support most aviation events. Most of the Caribbean is not really GA friendly as much Bahamas is, there are few airports on each island countries, and most of the traffic are airliners or big corporate birds, some don`t even have a GA ramp and you have to park by local taxi-charter companies. Keep also in mind that lots of limitations apply to VFR traffic. An other problem is MX.

The pilot medical standards of St. Maarten probably apply only on local licenses, I`m not sure for the Antilles license but for a JAA 2nd class it will take as much as for a FAA 1st class.

Try to get in touch with some LSA association, AOPA, EAA or ask this guys http://www.pilotpub.com/

There are places in the Keys that rent planes and do escorted flights, ask them too they have good knowledge about aviation in the Caribbean.

 

[dasleben]

I was only just curious, that's all. BTW, is there an English version of the website you just gave me? I can't read French.

Google Chrome. Page comes up in French, and a little taskbar pops up asking if you want to translate it. Click yes, and the entire page translates quite well into English. It's extra fancy.

 

[swisspilot]

Here's for France : you can legally fly a N-registered aircraft with FAA issued license and medical. I'm not sure about the validity of the sport pilot license. There's no such thing in France, you either get the ultra light or regular private so I doubt you'd be able to do anything with a sport pilot license. And just like in the US, if you get a temporary license based on a foreign license you have to get a local medical.
This is pretty much standardized. JAA and FAA medicals are similar. Be aware that I paid 220€ for a 1st Class FAA in France.

Any idea if it`s possible to get a French CPL based on a FAA CPL? not a frozen ATPL, just the French CPL.

I really just need it for a short time, max 6 months, unfortunately it has to be French, they won`t take the Swiss CPL.

 

[Skåning]

Any idea if it`s possible to get a French CPL based on a FAA CPL? not a frozen ATPL, just the French CPL.

I really just need it for a short time, max 6 months, unfortunately it has to be French, they won`t take the Swiss CPL.

I heard a rumor that you dont have to take two of the JAR exams (ATPL) to attain a Swiss ATPL compared to the rest of the JAR countries. Is this true? I heard they were communications related, but required separate exams for the Radio Telephony license. I'm taking a residential ATPL theory course now, so just curious, thanks!

 

[swisspilot]

I heard a rumor that you dont have to take two of the JAR exams (ATPL) to attain a Swiss ATPL compared to the rest of the JAR countries. Is this true? I heard they were communications related, but required separate exams for the Radio Telephony license. I'm taking a residential ATPL theory course now, so just curious, thanks!

If you hold an ICAO CPL IR, you only take 12 exams, no radio License or English proficiency test if you are converting from a FAA license.

There is no ground school requirement, you study at home the question banks, you take a simulation at the flight school and you get signed up.

There are no time requirements, you take the test when you are ready (even with couple flight hours in Europe), first the ME CPL then the IR and if you want it the SE.

When done with everything you will have to transfer the license to the EU country you live or will work in, the Swiss aviation authorities won`t allow you to keep it if you don`t live in Switzerland.

 

[SteveC]

I was wondering if sport pilots in the U.S. can fly all the way to St. Maarten without a medical. The Bahamas recently let sport pilots in with a driver's license medical, so I was wondering, if it's the same (though very unlikely I believe) in St. Maarten. If not, I would want to find out what are the pilot medical standards in St. Maarten and if they're less stringent than in the U.S.

But as I told you before, I was just curious. I'm really not planning to fly all the way to St. Maarten.

ktsai, what is your status in regards to getting an FAA medical?

 

[ktsai91]

I didn't apply for an FAA medical because I think I couldn't pass it.

 

[swisspilot]

I didn't apply for an FAA medical because I think I couldn't pass it.

Is that based on you personal opinion? have you tried to ask questions in the "Ask A Flight Surgeon"section?

 

[SteveC]

Is that based on you personal opinion? have you tried to ask questions in the "Ask A Flight Surgeon"section?

I want to know what's the quickest and best course of action I should take when getting a medical certificate. I have ADD, OCD, some depression, and PDD (a disorder where I have touble making and interacting with friends). The medications I currently take are disqualifying. I take 3 mg of Risperdone, 40 mg of Prozac, and 10 mg of Adderall. I have been on medications for depression, OCD and ADD for many months now (medication for ADD is for a few years as far as I remember). Anyways, I feel that I'm coming out of my depression, my OCD symptoms has significantly reduced, and I feel much better than I was months or maybe a few years ago. I had asthma for many years, and I only had one asthma attack in my life that was several years ago. I rarely use my inhaler. What's the next step in getting my medical certificate? BTW I don't know how could PDD be a potential threat to safety.

Does anyone know if I need a medical certificate to be a sport pilot? I was not so sure if I needed one and I heard you can use your driver's license instead. I also heard that there's some kind of catch 22 in this. Can anyone help me on this?

If I can't fly a plane, can I be able to fly an ultralight instead?

Does having a learning disability prevent you from getting a medical certificate? I have one for many years along with depression, OCD, PDD, and ADD. Can I fly if I have a learning disability?

Since I have a lot of disorders and since I'm getting medications for it, I just wondered why are some medications disqualifying for me? For example, why does Prozac, Risperdone, and Adderall are disqualifying? Do they make you feel better? Would you let a person with OCD and depression fly without his medication? I wouldn't.

I have another question about medications. Because I have depression, OCD, ADD, and PDD I want to know which way is faster for me to get a medical certificate? Get off Prozac, Risperidone, and Adderall, then wait 3 months? Or, immediately switching to Saint John's Wort? If I do switch to St. John's Wort, do I have to let my psychiatrist know that I'm using a different medication? Can St. John's Wort be used without a prescription?

Hey, I'm back. I've keep worrying that I won't pass the medical exam because I have depression, OCD, ADD, and PDD (a social disorder where I have trouble making and interacting with friends). Even though I feel much better than last time, I'm still on medications, and my psychiatrist says that I won't start tapering off all the medications until 6 months later which stinks. Anyone can help me on this please? I want to get a medical certificate so I can fly. I'm so worried that my dreams of flying will be ruined forever just because I have those mental disorders! What should I do? I'm 17 by the way.

Since getting a medical certificate looks like an uphill battle for me, it seems I have no choice but to resort to flying to Light Sport aircraft. If I have a Sport Pilot Certificate, what kind of Light Sport aircraft can I exactly fly? Am I restricted to flying ONLY ultralights? Or is there other kinds of aircraft similar to a Cessna 172 that I can fly?

You know, I was thinking of instead of treating all of my disorders with medication, I was thinking of treating them with therapy. Of course, I will talk to my psychiatrist about it. Just wondering, is doing therapy much better than taking medications because it'll avoid the automatic disqualification of taking medications that are disqualifying? Should I have done therapy from the start when I was diagnosed with all these disorders to avoid getting disqualified with medications?

You know, sometimes I want to become an AME and hopefully try to change the rules of aviation medicine, especially in psychiatry. Sometimes, I want to make people's dream of flying come true. If I do plan to go to ERAU, are there any majors over there that specializes in psychiatry like Human Factors and Psychology for example? Do I need to go to medical school to become an AME?

Just wondering, is depression, OCD, ADD, and PDD considered dangerous to sport pilot? Could I self-certify if I have these disorders? I think in many cases, my disorders are mild nowadays compared to what I was a year ago.

Update: My mom plans to send me to a social skills group for my PDD problem in January. I'm excited for it! Finally, I'm getting therapy! My depression has been getting better, a little down here and there but nothing to worry about. OCD, still here and there but improving. Finally I get therapy. I've noticed that I don't have to do some OCD rituals anymore like putting on and off my shoes. I have been focusing hard in school lately. I got A's and B's so the ADD problem is getting better as well.

I have good news for myself. The good news is that I should be off the medications by this summer at least. I'm currently at a stable but not maximum dosage. She says that she'll start lowering my meds by spring and be off by this summer. However, my mom thinks it's not a good idea.

However, I don't know what materials I should provide in my documentation once I'm off the meds. Anyone can help me on this?

Those were all in 2008. I didn't read through 2009 and 2010 so there may well be further updates.

:dunno:

 

[Pépé le Pilot]

Any idea if it`s possible to get a French CPL based on a FAA CPL? not a frozen ATPL, just the French CPL.

I really just need it for a short time, max 6 months, unfortunately it has to be French, they won`t take the Swiss CPL.

No I think you'll only get PPL-IR based on your FAA COMM INST. I think there is no straight reciprocity of the CPL license between FAA and JAA...