[DavidC]

I posted off my FI Rating forms 5 weeks ago by Special Delivery but have not heard a peep yet. I can appreciate they must be very busy with a lot of last minute applications prior to April 8, and it's unfortunate that my straightforward rating addition is stuck in a big intray somewhere.

The CAA's policy to charge £100 for and drastically limit the number of personal visits for licence updates (which I have previously used) was supposed to have increased resources available to deal with the regular postal/online applications.

Although I was issued a temporary certificate allowing me to use the rating when I took my Assessment of Competence, this only lasts for another couple of weeks.

Either the CAA need to extend the 8 week validity period of temporary certificates or significantly improve the turnaround period. I had delayed posting off the forms for a couple of weeks while I sat theory exams, and in retrospect maybe that wasn't such a good idea.

Has anybody else got recent experience of the current processing turnaround times? The March 22nd application date that the CAA mentioned for issuing/upgrading to EASA licences etc by the April 18 deadline assumed 4 weeks turnaround, which clearly isn't being achieved at the moment.

[romille]

Same old! Same old. 18 months ago my conversion to an EASA licence took forever!

[DavidC]

Whether it's just co-incidence or the CAA read this forum, my licence and logbook arrived by courier today. The credit card transaction was dated Easter Monday, so methinks there might be a few folks burning the midnight oil at Gatwick working overtime to deal with the backlog.

They've changed to printing the licences on what looks a bit like velum, slightly yellowish thick paper rather than the original white copier paper. It's one of the security measures to differentiate them from edited copies printed out on a laser printer. The other change is some text on the front page highlighting that LAPL and EIR are purely concoctions of EASA and not ICAO compliant or applicable outside Europe.

Hopefully the 5 week turnaround will reduce as the backlog gets dealt with, helped by a few recent announcements postponing deadlines as discussed in other threads here.

[Paul_Sengupta]

I had a medical renewal yesterday and that also was on watermarked (hold it up to the light!) thicker paper. At least we feel we're getting something substantial for our money now!

[PeteSpencer]

I had a medical renewal yesterday and that also was on watermarked (hold it up to the light!) thicker paper. At least we feel we're getting something substantial for our money now!

Blood cake levels within normal limits, then?

Peter

[Paul_Sengupta]

Blood cake levels within normal limits, then?

My blood is great. I get top marks for it. I got an A+ once!

[Nick Snow]

My CBIR application went off on the 18th May, 2018. Having called them this morning they say it will be with me next week, I make that 10 to 11 weeks! Now, the application was sent back to me, after my examiner overlooked annotating PBN carried out, so I can have PBN added to my rating - not that there was a box or area to do this, it was simply written on. How the hell your meant to know this I do not know. There are other areas on the application where you can clearly see that a PBN approach was carried out as part of the test, but obviously the left hand doesn't talk to the right.

Temporary certificate ran out after 8 weeks, which cant be extended.

Any to think, I am paying for this service.

[cockney steve]

As a total contrast, I applied for a new passport, on line, (old one expired some time ago) -sent a slightly-out-of -focus mugshot, posted old passport to Liverpool.....
10 days later, I have my new passport in my hand, yet, AIUI, this is "peak season" for Passport applications.

If they can do it, why doesn't someone in authority mandate training of CAA personnel by the Home Office, As they would seem to have their eyes on the ball. Likewise Ehics card turned up in a week!
It can be done!