Yasser’s Flying Blog

I got my Credit Card type US Private Pilot Certificate in the mail yesterday!! I’m so excited to finally do some fly away trips around the US!

I did my Biennial Flight Review today. I did a flight to Santa Monica to Ontario (another major airport).

Ontario had two runways in Parallel. I was cleared to land on the right runway alongside a Southwest Airlines Airbus A320 which was landing on the left on the runway. It was a fascinating experience!

My Flight Review went well and now I have officially completed my transition from an Australian Pilot to a US Pilot.

woohoo! I nailed my night flight from Santa Monica to Long beach via the LAX mini-route and I’ve been cleared for Solo.

The flight was pretty uneventful and the conditions were perfect (Cool air, calm winds, no turbulence, and clear skies).

All that remains now is to have my BFR (Biennial Flight Review), fill out some paperwork (Aircraft questionnaires, rental agreements etc.), and I can finally rent a plane and fly anywhere in the United States!

I thought since I’ve officially gone through the whole process now that I would post a summary of my experience of converting an Australian Private Pilot License to a United States Private Pilot Certificate.

First of all, Technically there is no additional training required to have a US Private Pilot Certificate, as the FAA will issue you a license based on your current Australian license. ie. You’re technically still flying under the rules of your Australian license. The difference between the two however is minimal.

Probably the biggest difference is that in Australia, a private license is typically issued with DAY VFR rules. In order to fly at night, you would require a Night VFR rating. In the United States, both DAY and NIGHT VFR are standard as part of your Private Pilot Certificate.

In Australia in order to qualify for Night VFR, you would typically require at least 10 hours dual training and a flight test. In the United States, to be cleared for night flying requires just 3 hours of total night flying which must include a minimum of 10 takeoffs and landings.

STEP 1 Verification of License:

The FAA requires a verification of license before issuing a US PPC.

First you must file form 452 with CASA and pay the $50 fee for CASA to release the information. On the form enter the details of the FAA Airmen Certification Branch:

“Federal Aviation Administration
Airmen Certification Branch, AFS-760
P.O. Box 25082
Oklahoma City, OK 73125-0082″

Fax or email the form to CASA, you can scan it and email to clarc@casa.gov.au

It takes about 5-7 days for CASA to respond to the form and debit your credit card. It might be a good idea to give them a call after a few days of lodging the form. Once you have confirmed that they payment has been made, then you can move onto the next step…

Second you must file the verification of foreign license form from the FAA’s website.

Enter the details of the Flight Standards District Office that you intend on picking up your US license from. You can find your nearest one on the FAA website.

Mail the form to the Airmen Certification Branch at the Oklahoma address above.

Once the branch has received the form, the will immediately contact CASA and request verification of the license. CASA takes just one day to respond to the request and a few days later, you will receive the letter in the mail from the Airmen Certification Branch that your license has been verified as current and you may now make your appointment at the Flight Standards District Office that you requested on the form. If it takes longer than a week, I would give the Certification branch a call to check up on it.

This whole process took less than 2 weeks for me.

Call your requested FSDO, and tell them you want to make an appointment to obtain your US Private Pilot Certificate based on your foreign license. When you visit the office, you will meet with a testing officer who will look over your license, medical, and logbook, and then issue you with a temporary US Private Pilot Certificate on the spot! It is valid as long as your current Australian PPL and medical are both valid .

You will receive your permanent credit-card style one in the mail within 3 months, but feel free to fly using your temporary one.

STEP 2 Check rides and Biennial Flight Review

So you have a US license but unfortunately that doesn’t mean you can go out and get a plane and off you go!! …

The rules are very similar in the US to Australia but that said there is still a lot to know and you will likely need a few check flights with an instructor before you are cleared for solo flying.

For me, this was a pretty big deal as I was used to flying in rural Australia and now all of a sudden I need to learn to fly in Los Angeles!

I had to learn to read US VTCs and various charts, understand the various airspace rules here, radio communication with ATC pretty much all the time, mostly navigating by GPS and VOR rather than compass, and basic US air law.

Be prepared to spend about 5-10 hours with an instructor before you are actually cleared to fly in the US.

Once the instructor is happy with the way you’re flying. You will then be subjected to a Biennial Flight Review which is an FAA requirement. To act as Pilot in Command in the US, you must have had a US Biennial flight review within the past 24 months. The Biennial Flight Review is a formality and consists of a one hour ground and one hour flight component. Once approved, you’ll get a sticker in your logbook and you’re ready to go!