New European regs may dramatically increase the number of private instrument pilots, but will force FAA license holders resident in Europe to be dual-qualified.
European IFR changes
It may surprise U.S. pilots to know that much (perhaps most) private instrument flying in Europe is done in U.S.-registered aircraft using an FAA-issued pilots certificate. But the times are a-changing. The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is now the sole authority across much of Europe, enforcing by law what was an amalgamation of voluntary agreements between countries.
Key Takeaways:
- New EASA regulations will require European residents flying U.S.-registered aircraft in Europe to obtain EASA pilot licenses and instrument ratings, ending the previous practice of solely using FAA certificates.
- A primary goal of these EASA reforms is to simplify and increase the accessibility of instrument ratings for European pilots by streamlining the traditionally rigorous and less common European IR training syllabus to be more comparable to the FAA's.
- While posing a burden for existing FAA license holders, a proposed "credit" system may offer some relief, and the article highlights that despite significant differences in training and testing approaches, neither the FAA nor European systems are proven to produce demonstrably superior or safer instrument pilots.
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