FAA IR to UK IR Offer

Rate One Aviation are offering a package by which a pilot could get a UK FCL IR in three days at a cost of £2000.  Note: this is not guaranteed. If your piloting skills have not remained quite as sharp as they once were, you many not reach the required standard. It also assumes that you can demonstrate that your FAA IR is current, although we could help you arrange a BFR and or IPC if necessary.  For information about what is required for the conversion please see this page in our Ratings section. 

This is how it works:

Well in advance ROA provide learning material, so that you arrive with us as fully prepared as possible. This means that you are clear about what is required. We would provide a remote briefing before arrival to ensure this has all been understood and that you are clear about what will be required.

You bring your own aircraft to Gloucester.  You meet your own landing, approach, fuel and accommodation costs. This will be a pretty intensive two or three days and we strongly advise you stay locally, not to fly in and out on a daily basis. You will need to provide all the required documentation in advance by email, which is checked by an instructor to ensure all is legal. This would include Aircraft documents, EASA licence ratings, FAA IFR currency, Medical, 50 hours IFR PIC etc. 

Day One

On the first day you fly with one of our highly experienced instructors for, within reason, as many hours as you wish. The objective is to familiarise you with the UK IR Skills Test profile. This will be pretty intensive and tiring. Most pilots can only benefit fully from two flights totalling about three airborne hours but your instructor is dedicated to you for the full day so it’s your choice; the aim is to make the best use of your time, 

On the evening of day one and the first part of day two we help you deal with the not inconsiderable administration needed. This ensures that both you and your aircraft meet CAA skill test standards in respect of documentation, details such as  agreeing speeds for the test profile, pre-test criteria such as performance and weight and balance calculations, how to enter an EXM callsign in the transponder.

Day Two

On day two you will have an approximately two hour flight which will be an exact replica of a skill test. This will be formally supervised by an actual examiner. They will not take on or revert to the instructor role. At the end they will debrief you in exactly the same way as would happen on the actual test. You will pass, fail or get a partial pass, together with a detailed explanation of any errors. 

Day Three

What comes next is up to you. We will have booked and paid for a skill test with the CAA. It may be that if everything has dropped into place you can continue on to the test the next day. Alternatively, we will advise you of what additional training might be advisable to reach skill test standard. You can take this advice or reject it. Extra training will be at our published rates – see the Prices page on this website.

If you decide to go for the test and hope it will all be OK on the day, that’s fine. We are not required to recommend you, as we are without own candidates going for their initial IR skills test.  However, we suggest that this is not an entirely risk-free strategy. Firstly, you waste money on the test and secondly there is a limit to the number of attempts you can make before you will have to have further tests supervised by a CAA Staff examiner.  They are absolutely fair, and there is no discernible difference between Industry and CAA examiners, but of course that’s not how it feels as you are meeting them after several less than satisfactory test attempts.