Learning to fly, or thinking of learning? Post your questions, comments and experiences here

Moderator: AndyR

#1910835
Hi,

REALLY confused :(

Aiming to look at learning to fly in France this year (NPPL Microlight). I was on Citalopram for mild anxiety until Dec last year - now no meds and not seeing a doctor. I drive in the UK with a full license.

I've reached out to a couple of AME's and the CAA who seem to point me in the others direction for advice. Can I self declare? Do I need a Class 2 med as a belt and braces approach to cover me in France? Any help or advice would be much appreciated.

P
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By Dodo
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1910992
This answer may well be complete rubbish, but since no-one else has answered definitively, I can tell you that as a long retired UK AME I don't know either. The CAA guidance always used to be that it was up to the applicant to know what medical they needed to apply for.

But, the general rule for training for a UK licence outside the UK back in my day used to be that you needed the medical that was valid for training in the state of training (for going solo) as well as whatever medical the state of licence issue required (which you subsequently needed for licence issue).

Doe that help? Probably not. What does the training school say? If they teach for the UK NPPL then I would hope they know what is required.

If you do find you actually really need a UK Class 2 then I would suggest applying early as whilst a history of previous medication for anxiety is not disqualifying it is likely that reports from your treating doctor(s) would be required and the assessment process can be somewhat drawn out.

have you seen this page https://ffplum.fr/pratiquer/medical But my French is not good enough to translate it definitively, I don't know if it is up to date and nor do I know whether UK issued medicals (as opposed to EU issued medicals of any sort count). Good luck.

Perhaps someone who really does know the answer will come along in a bit. There are some fluent French speakers, and both current UK and EASA AMEs on the forum.
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By Flyin'Dutch'
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1911173
From your post it isn't clear if you want to learn to fly at a French school?

If so you need a French UL medical issued by a French doctor, or an EASA Medical by an AME, although not explicit in the document Dodo posted, probably best with France as SOLI.

A UK CAA medical or UK issued GP declaration is no good.

If your aim is to learn to fly at a school in the UK, to then fly in France, you need, to Fly in the UK to follow the information given here: https://www.bmaa.org/information-librar ... g/the-nppl

Note what it says about flying outside the UK.
#1911970
I am going through this process in the UK under similar circumstances. So this is for a UK PPL and my experience to date.

What became clear is that individual cases are assessed on their merits and one size does not fit all.

CAA have a template that your doctor can follow to produce a letter giving their evaluation of your current mental health. Search CAA and anxiety, or ask your AME. You GP may charge you for this.

Take your class 2 medical with your AME and share this letter with them. He will then share your letter and physical results with the CAA via the portal. He will likely then have to refer you for an additional CAA assessment.

This is all done through the portal.

You will be offered an appointment where you will be evaluated by a CAA psychiatrist. He/she will then give their recommendation for the issue of the certificate. There is an additional cost for this appointment.

This is my recent experience. But you may find different.
#1911976
Hi Thanks for all the info. From various responses I seem to have found the way forward. Primarily as your note says, letter from GP, Class 2 Medical with AME and go from there. I've been off the medication for some time now, so as the flowchart indicates I should be OK.

The world of aviation keeps surprising me the more I get involved with it... :)
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By Dodo
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1911989
Well done for going ahead with all this.

A UK issued Class 2 is a useful medical certificate for a variety of reasons, but are you absolutely certain it is of any use for learning to fly a microlight in France, whilst training for a UK licence, as per your initial post?

Remember the UK is no longer a member of EASA.
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By Irv Lee
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1911995
@Dodo Complicated by microlights never being in Easa, never mind the UK being out of it now.
I am pretty sure when nppl came out, 2002, there was a ban on training for it outside UK, but that might well have been just ssea, which was all i was focussed on. Whether that dissolved with time, i don't know
#1912006
You can certainly train for the microlight nppl outside the UK. There are schools run by British ex-pats in France, Spain and Portugal.
Assuming it's one of these that the op refers to, then I'd definitely ask the school what is required.
Edit to add: given the medical history outlined in the op, I'd say its OK to self declare (for under 2000kgs not being treated for psychiatric illness is required)
This leaves the question of whether a self declaration is enough to learn ab initio in France. I can't see that it will be, but the school will know.
Also see here
https://www.caa.co.uk/general-aviation/ ... te-pilots/
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