Originally Posted by
seattlepilot
Starting my process with bristol.
Great choice!
Originally Posted by
PeopleMover90
All I'd have to do is the 14 written exams, to convert?
You have to do the 14 written exams plus a "license skills test" for the aircraft in which you have a typed rating. You can do this on an approved simulator. You have to go through a TRTO (type rating training organisation)
Originally Posted by
PeopleMover90
And I can do them through somewhere here in the US (I've heard Florida) or would I need to go to Europe?
If you already hold an ATP, you do not need to do a course, you can self certify to take the exams, and you can take the exams in Florida. They are held once a month at the Holiday Inn in Orlando, Florida.
CAAi - USA
Originally Posted by
PeopleMover90
I'm also slightly confused about why the countries matter so much, aside from fees
Let me put it this way... as an example, the hiring gouge for NetJets Europe says that they won't hire anybody with a Spanish license... too many problems dealing with the authority (if that is true or not, I don't know). Compared to many countries, the FAA is actually very efficient and streamlined. I hear people complain about the FAA, but until you have dealt with the licensing authorities in some countries, you don't realize how frustrating it can be to work with real incompetence. Another example... I know a Dutch guy with a Dutch license and he has a lot of time flying the Caravan. He is also a class rating instructor, and in Spain, they would not let him teach in the Caravan even though the regulations said that he could. He called the Dutch authorities and they went ahead and printed on his instructor certificate "Cessna Caravan" even though information like that does not get printed on your license, but they did it just for him because the Spanish authorities were giving him such a hard time.
Sure, there are guys flying all over Europe with licenses from all countries... but if you are waiting 4 months for your license renewal to come in the mail, that is 4 months of lost income. In Europe, you do not get a temporary license like you do in the US. In Europe, the rules for license "renewal" and "revalidation" are completely different. I have heard of cases of guys in some countries getting a type rating and adding it to their license, and when they get their license, there is a mistake. By the time they get the mistake corrected, their type rating is already expired... seriously. So it does matter which country you use.