Light Aircraft Association

PPL(A) went out of validity last July as I had a medical problem. I now have my JAR Medical but can't work out what I need to do to get revalidated. Ken Bishop

If it's the old UK-issued PPL(A), you will just need to renew your Group A rating, as the licence itself doesn't expire. You need to check your logbook to see if you did the required 12 flying hours (6 hours P1), 12 take-offs and landings between this time in 2008 and when your medical expired, and a 1 hour training flight with an instructor to renew the rating on experience.

If you haven't done the hours, you will need to have a "proficiency check" with an examiner - it's a flight test, but not as extensive as the original skills test the licence needed. This might work out a cheaper option than topping up the hours to 12 if you did any between March and June last year.

If it's a JAR-PPL(SEP), and the licence itself has not expired, the same sort of thing apples as above. If you have had the JAR licence for 5 years or more and it hasn't been renewed, you need to renew the licence itself as well, which is just a matter of money, as you have the medical.

There's a bit more detail at http://www.bluerobin.flyer.co.uk/jarreval.html

It makes no difference if it's a UK PPL or a JAR PPL. If the class rating (SEP land) has expired, it can't be revalidated, you must do a renewal instead.

This means doing an abbreviated licence skill test with an examiner. Until that has been done, you can only fly as Pu/t with an instructor or P1 solo under the supervision of an instructor.

NPPL has slightly different arrangements

I was trying to differentiate between type of licence and rating, and an expiring JAR-PPL licence but not very successfully.

As Ken appears to be in the Hartz mountains (or is that just wishful thinking?), does this make any difference to how he can revalidate a rating on a UK PPL?