[akg1486]

(I'm Swedish)

Really? Given your English I had you down as a Brit living in Sweden. I guess the typed word doesn't tend to have an accent though.

You're too kind. I've been using English for work on a daily basis for 30 years. If you heard me speak, you'd probably guess that I'm North American.

I joined the Forum when I worked for a year in Berkshire: I joined to find a flying club (and I found Irv Lee and the club at Popham) but stayed for the vast knowledge available here.

[iantruckers]

This sounds absolutely awesome, I didn't that there were clubs like this that you could join where you can all fly together and look after each other. I'm getting really excited at the thought of flying together in Europe. Why didn't I go in for my PPL earlier???? Thank you so much for all the inspiration and encouraging comments. Ian

[Rob P]

I can still recall the excitement of my first club flyout to France, I was teamed with a student I'd never met, became a flying buddy and is still a friend thirty years on.

Coasting out for the first time, trying to keep my voice neutral when calling "Brest Information". You never lose the buzz, even years on.

Rob P

[akg1486]

You never lose the buzz, even years on.

I agree. Don’t know where we'll go this summer, but it’ll be awesome.

[akg1486]

This sounds absolutely awesome, I didn't that there were clubs like this that you could join where you can all fly together and look after each other. I'm getting really excited at the thought of flying together in Europe. Why didn't I go in for my PPL earlier???? Thank you so much for all the inspiration and encouraging comments. Ian

This forum is a great opportunity to find PPL-pilots in your area if you don’t meet anyone at your own school/club.

[TLRippon]

The truth is there aren't that many clubs who do group European fly outs, there are a few but it is a total ball-ache to organise, tends to be led by aircraft owners and costs a bloody fortune if you rent.

If you are working on your LAPL, then finish it. Then you can follow the path to PPL if you wish. Brexit has messed up the ability to fly in Europe with a LAPL , until two weeks ago you could. now you can't. You may be able to in the future but it is doubtful as international travel requires an ICAO compliant licence which a LAPL isn't.
Once you have the licence you can then follow the upgrade path to a PPL if you wish:
10 hours of additional training, 4 of which is supervised solo including the PPL QXC and 5 other flying hours. You will have already done the PPL level theoretical exams while doing your LAPL as they are the same. Then you do a PPL skills test, which you will find is almost exactly the same as the LAPL test so you shouldn't have any problems.

If you are good, you could find this is a way to get through a PPL with no need for additional training hours over what it would have taken you to go from abinitio to a PPL and be able to fly on your own within the UK from as little as 30 hours while you upgrade. Once you have your LAPL you don't have to stop flying under its privileges while you carry onto the PPL.

Had I had access to this route while doing my PPL, I would have jumped at the chance to be able to break out on my own after just 30 hours and a skill test while carrying on to PPL. I bet most PPL's would.

The LAPL rating is no longer a viable touring rating outside the UK but it is a valuable tool on the way to PPL.

[GAFlyer4Fun]

A full PPL will enable you to obtain an FAA 61.75 licence (a paperwork exercise) and fly in the US.

Never got around to doing that myself. Out of curiosity how often do you have to do FAA paperwork exercises (or other stuff?) to keep that FAA 61.75 licence going?

[Paul_Sengupta]

You don't.

You just have to do a BFR out in the US if you haven't done one in the last two years to be able to fly.

[Iceman]

@GAFlyer4Fun, it’s a paperwork exercise that’s done just once. This gives you an FAA licence that is based on your foreign licence, so as long as you maintain the currency of your foreign licence and medical, your FAA is also valid. A bit like the hour with an instructor every two years, you have to to a BFR with an FAA instructor every two years to keep an FAA licence current. This would be done as part of a rental checkout in the US. On my first BFR in the US, we also went through the relevant regulations, airspace, RT, etc.

There is a guy in the UK who can issue you with your FAA licence, otherwise you meet an FAA guy in the US. There is a number of FAA instructors in the UK who can do your BFR.

Iceman