FAA to JAA Conversion?

So, i'm still a little confused here... What countries and companies recognize the JAA license? Also, is there a difference between the JAA license and the "European CPL?

I'm interested in converting and flying for Aviation Sans Frontiers. They require either a French CPL/ATPL or a European CPL/ATPL.

Can someone clarify this?

Thanks!
 
JAA has been replaced by EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency). There is no longer a JAA. If someone is referring to a European license, they mean to say "EASA license". A French CPL means an EASA license issued by the French DGAC.

The list of EASA member countries:
Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Slovak Republic
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Netherlands
United Kingdom

Basically, get a license issued in one of the above mentioned countries and you will be able to fly a French registered airplane for Aviation Sans Frontiers.
 
As a UK guy who trained in the US, I'm never converting, to the JAA/CAA the Instrument rating is like the equivalent of the ATP, as only airline pilots tend to fly IFR (There is an IMC rating for everyone else). They re-examine you yearly. They also make you take the test in an aircraft with full window blinds (no hood allowed) for e.g.

Despite the FAA upping the ATP to fit in more with ICAO standards, it is still far less hassle than the EU equivalent, unless you have a commercial job offer already in the bag?

There is some interesting info here. http://www.peter2000.co.uk/aviation/jaa-ir/index.html

It used to be the ABC rule, where depending on A (country on pilot certificate) B (country of registration of aircraft) and C (country being flown in) if you had 2+ out of the 3 the same you were good to fly. flying a G Reg aircraft on an N-Reg Cert in France isn't possible, at least when I was going to attempt it. I would expect a lot of paperwork also for the private flyer.

Alex.
 
ahw01 said:
As a UK guy who trained in the US, I'm never converting, to the JAA/CAA the Instrument rating is like the equivalent of the ATP, as only airline pilots tend to fly IFR (There is an IMC rating for everyone else). They re-examine you yearly. They also make you take the test in an aircraft with full window blinds (no hood allowed) for e.g.
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I did the conversion and I didn't see much of a difference between the EASA instrument rating and the FAA instrument rating. The IMC rating was a UK specific rating which is going away with the implementation of EASA, which is still being issued to UK license holders as a Restricted Instrument Rating. There are talks of getting the IR(R) integrated as an Enroute only Instrument Rating under EASA regulations.

If you have an FAA or any other ICAO instrument rating and you want to get an EASA IR added to your EASA CPL or PPL, you only have to pass the written exams and the flight test after training (minimal training as determined by the school).

The 15 hour training requirement quoted in the link was a UK specific rule during JAA. Under EASA, the rule is "training as determined by head of training of the ATO." Back when I did it, it was 15 hours so I did 10 in a sim and 5 in the plane and did he checkride.

As far as the screens for the simulated instrument... Yeah those are excessive but if you go to Spain they won't even require you to wear any view limiting device so I bring my own.
 
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would this work for somebody who is already a citizen of a EU Country? (Italy to be specific)
 
elmetal said:
would this work for somebody who is already a citizen of a EU Country? (Italy to be specific)
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Yea, you have to have the right to work in the EU to make having an EASA license worth it. ie passport, "green card" equivalent, etc
 
Skåning said:
Yea, you have to have the right to work in the EU to make having an EASA license worth it. ie passport, "green card" equivalent, etc
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The question is, what's the job market like compared to here though for someone with 1500/500?
 
elmetal said:
The question is, what's the job market like compared to here though for someone with 1500/500?
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Well its crappy over there. Bottom line. The eurozone economy is still behind ours in the upswing so unless you know someone senior over there who can hook you up I would say it's rather tough. Also...the current trend over there is for you to pay for your own type rating, lots of zero to hero guys do this and so companies now mostly expect you to have a type. The "majors" like KLM, Air France, LH, all have cadet type programs they hire from and are locals only kinda thing.

I personally would like to fly for (top choices) Norwegian, CargoLux, Virgin Atlantic, SAS, or some other company that is somewhat stable. Unfortunately like I said the economy sucks and there is a surplus of pilots over there, and suckers willing to buy types waiting behind them.
 
Skåning said:
Well its crappy over there. Bottom line. The eurozone economy is still behind ours in the upswing so unless you know someone senior over there who can hook you up I would say it's rather tough. Also...the current trend over there is for you to pay for your own type rating, lots of zero to hero guys do this and so companies now mostly expect you to have a type. The "majors" like KLM, Air France, LH, all have cadet type programs they hire from and are locals only kinda thing.

I personally would like to fly for (top choices) Norwegian, CargoLux, Virgin Atlantic, SAS, or some other company that is somewhat stable. Unfortunately like I said the economy sucks and there is a surplus of pilots over there, and suckers willing to buy types waiting behind them.
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Sweet. Thanks man. I'll keep pursuing over here until things look better over there.
 
elmetal said:
Sweet. Thanks man. I'll keep pursuing over here until things look better over there.
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That's my plan too. Knocked out the 14 written exams and am locking down my next step, doing a checkride in an ERJ sim in Europe to get the ATPL and type. It is a tough process but I hope it'll be a little insurance in case anything happens over here. Oh and most distance courses and ones offered in the US are for a UK CAA license, and if you want that you have to do your initial Class 1 Medical exam at Aviation House at Gatwick. So get ready to shell out £348 for that (plus it takes a whole day!)
 
Skaning pretty much nailed it. My plan is to build time in the US until things pick up as well. If things never really pick up, I'll stay in the US with my expensive piece of EASA paper.

Notice that Skaning left out the legacies like British Airways and Lufthansa in his top list... Those companies seem mostly unattainable due to their seemingly preference for cadets.
 
Oh it shouldn't be difficult to do once you jump through all the hoops, but I prefer 66HIT over being re-examined yearly. You can interview for Virgin without the EASA Cert, they are sympathetic, it depends on experience, but if it's a career aim, best to knock that stuff out.
 
ahw01 said:
You can interview for Virgin without the EASA Cert, they are sympathetic, it depends on experience,
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It used to be possible to be issued a UK ATPL valid for G- registered aircraft only based on experience, but with the implementation of EASA, this is no longer possible.
 
I meant you can interview first and convert later, but yes EASA are closing doors, which is ironic given how much training the US does for EU based airlines.
 
Vinced said:
So, i'm still a little confused here... What countries and companies recognize the JAA license? Also, is there a difference between the JAA license and the "European CPL?

I'm interested in converting and flying for Aviation Sans Frontiers. They require either a French CPL/ATPL or a European CPL/ATPL.

Can someone clarify this?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

You can just convert to a French CPL license, which is pretty easy compared to the whole JAA Frozen ATPL process.
 
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