Airline pilot in Europe or other international destination

[Kalikiano]

My wife and I have been looking at international gigs as a way to live overseas for a couple years. I have just barely 30 hours of TT towards a PPL so I dont know much but how are JAA regulations and flying in europe compared to the US?

 

[doug_or]

Re: Airline pilot in Europe or other international destinati

pprune.org is pretty much the hub for that kind of stuff. Realistically, Europe is right out unless you have EU citizenship. Most overseas airline jobs are looking for people that already have airline experience. There are far fewer flight school and small aircraft operators (canceled checks at night kinda deals) due to the high cost of G/A flying, so you'll find fewer entry/lower level jobs.

 

[wzgrza]

Re: Airline pilot in Europe or other international destinati

Its a different ball-game over there. EU citizenship for the most part is required, although there have been some exceptions in the past, for example RyanAir. But that is quite rare. pprune.org is a good website to check out on European flying.

If you are serious about flying in Europe and have the EU citiz. then you may want to also consider just getting a JAA license from the start, as later its a pain in the ass to convert, and converting from a JAA to FAA license is much easier then the other way around. Something I wish I would have done when I was doing my training.

 

[v1valarob]

Re: Airline pilot in Europe or other international destinati

My wife and I have been looking at international gigs as a way to live overseas for a couple years. I have just barely 30 hours of TT towards a PPL so I dont know much but how are JAA regulations and flying in europe compared to the US?

Im a UK citizen and have looked into how to convert all of my stuff to JAA. Its a huge pain in the ass.

The easiest way to do it is to get all of your licenses in FAA first. Its cheaper that way. The cost to fly a plane in europe for even an hour is insane in comparison to what we pay over here.

For your commercial license you can go down to one of many florida schools who have examiners on site and will test you to JAA standards and then you will have your JAA commercial. However this DOES NOT include instrument privileges. To get your JAA instrument you will have to physically fly in Europe for 15 hours, and then take a checkride over there. This is where the chunk of the cost comes in. Think something like $300 an hour to fly a Cessna around.

Ok, so now you have your JAA Comm w/ instrument privileges. However in JAA land this is not competitive. You must have whats called a Frozen ATPL. Its pretty much like getting your FAA ATP prior to meeting the hour requirements, and then once you get your hour requirements its becomes unfrozen. However in JAA land, for your ATPL you don't just take your written, oral and practical. You take 14 written essays on theories that range from meteorology to aerodynamics and whatever else they come up with. Your required to have something like 700 hours of ground school prior to taking these tests. Basically it means you will have to have a year of ground school before being allowed to sit these exams. There is a school in florida which will let you do an distance learning self study ground school. However they still build in 6 months of study for 1 module, and you are required to do 2 modules. So its still a year of studying. Once you are ready to sit these exams, you must physically sit the exams in Europe.

Ok, so now you have your JAA ATPL Frozen. However your STILL not competitive. Most airlines require you to get your type rating on your own dime. So now you have to go pick a type, and hope someone will pick you up.

Basically, its not worth it. The easiest way (at least for me) is to go through this loop hole of having time in a multi crew aircraft:

ATPL Conversions
If you are converting a non-JAA ATPL the number of ground and flight tests you need to complete depends on your experience. High Time Pilots
If you are very experienced you should you should apply to the CAA for a formal assessment using Form SRG 1103.
The qualifying criteria are:

• more than 3000 hours total time on aircraft of more than 30,000kg AUW
• more than 1500 hours pilot in command on aircraft of more than 30,000kg AUW
• type rated on an aircraft of more than 30,000kg AUW
• more than 500 hours total time on the aircraft above
• able to complete a flight test on the same aircraft

When you have completed the assessment form you need to send it or take it to the CAA with your original licences and log books. The CAA will tell you that you need to pass two written exams, Human Performance and Aviation Law, and pass a flight test on the aircraft you are rated on. The flight test is referred to as a skills test, it is part handling check and part IR renewal check.

Experienced In Two Pilot Operations
If you don't meet the criteria above but have

• more than 1500 hours on two-pilot aircraft,
• are type rated already and
• have more than 500 hours on type

you need to pass all 14 ground exams but don't need to attend a formal groundschool course. You may take a skills test on the aircraft you are rated on or you may choose to take two separate tests, a skills test for license issue and an IR conversion.

None of the Above If you fall into neither category above for whatever reason but still hold an ATPL you must complete an approved course of ground training and get your application form signed by your training provider before you sit the full set of ATPL exams. The length of the course can be reduced at the discretion of the Head of Training.
You need to complete two separate flight tests.

• A Skills Test
• An Instrument Rating

The skills test is a handling check flown on a complex aircraft, defined as an aircraft with retractable gear and a variable pitch prop. There is no formal training requirement before the test but you should anticipate 5 to 10 hours to get used to the profile and the aircraft.
If you hold an ATPL you must, by definition, also hold an ICAO IR. This needs to be converted to a JAA IR. The training requirement to convert is a minimum of fifteen hours, up to ten of which can be flown in a simulator.
Under some circumstances the CAA will allow ATPL holders who are currently flying a two-pilot aircraft and type rated but without 500 hours on type to take a single flight test on type.

These are some schools I have found that can aid in conversions:

http://www.bristol.gs/default.asp

http://www.flyoft.com/

http://www.naples-air-center.com/index.php?view=74

Who says you need PPRune ;D

-Rob