Pilot licensing in the United Kingdom
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Pilot licensing in the United Kingdom is governed by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
There are several levels of licence:
- Private Pilot
- Commercial Pilot
- Airline Transport Pilot
The Private Pilot Licence (PPL) exists in two forms. The UK has a National PPL (NPPL) and also the Joint Aviation Authorities' (JAA) JAR-FCL PPL. The JAA is an EU wide initiative to harmonize the requirements across the European Community. It is said to be the most comprehensive and difficult (read expensive) to obtain in the world. Obtaining a JAR PPL requires a minimum of 45 hours training (against 32 hours for the NPPL), but conveys the ability to fly outside of the UK (as the JAR licence is recognized by ICAO, an international body for aviation standards). The NPPL was brought in as it was felt in the UK that the European JAR PPL was gold-plated and too expensive to obtain and keep current for most private flyers. There are a number of subtle differences between the NPPL and JAR-PPL licenses when flying within the UK, including a less strict medical requirement and a slightly simpler flying syllabus.
Within each licence there will be one or more Aircraft Ratings. These come in two varieties, Class Ratings and Type Ratings, which give the pilot privileges to fly a certain classes or types or aircraft. The very basic aircraft rating usually obtained by PPL holders at their initial skills test is the Single Engine Piston Landplane (SEP) Class Rating. This allows flight of single-piston-engined, non-turbocharged, fixed-pitch propellor, fixed-gear, non-pressurised land aeroplanes weighing less than 5,700 kg (with a few exceptions). Other class ratings include Multi Engine Piston Landplane (MEP) and Touring Motor Gliders (SLMG)—to add these to a licence a pilot has to undergo additional training and pass an additional skills test. Special features within each of these classes includes turbocharging, variable pitch propellers, pressurisation, retractable undercarriage and tailwheel aircraft. To fly types covered by a particular class rating but having one or more of these special features a pilot must undergo 'differences training' to operate that particular feature, signed off in their log book.
Aircraft ratings are type-specific for aircraft weighing more than 5,700 kg, for turbine aircraft and for a few other very complex types. To obtain one of these a pilot must undergo specific training and pass a skills test.
There are also several ratings, such as the Instrument Rating, which can be added onto a JAA licences allowing flight in Instrument meteorological conditions. An IMC Rating is a UK-only rating that permits the pilot to fly in instrument meteorological conditions, but not in class A airspace (making it a simpler rating to obtain then the JAA Instrument rating).
A night qualification is not a full rating. It exists for those countries, e.g. the UK and France, which allow visual flight at night, and obtaining one requires a short course of training with no skills test. Certain JAA countries do not allow visual flight at night and in these countries one must obtain a full Instrument Rating to fly at night.
Note that British glider pilots do not require a CAA licence. Regulation of gliding is through the British Gliding Association and its affiliated clubs. The UK NPPL has close links with the gliding community and a gliding licence can be converted with relative ease.
