[webdevduck]

I'm seeking advice from the Flyer hive mind please!

I have an NPPL, with an SLMG rating that expired on 30th June this year.

I also have a Part FCL PPL(A) with active SEP and TMG ratings. These were due to expire end of June and July this year respectively, but I had these revalidated for another two years each.

Most of my 12 hours in the preceding 12 months for revalidating the PPL(A) ratings, including the 1 hour with an instructor, were done on a PA28. In the 24 months preceding my SLMG expiry, I do have over 12 hours PIC on motorgliders, however, the only time with an instructor in a motorglider was the skills test to add the TMG rating to my PPL(A), back in July 2021, plus 40 mins refresher training the same day as the skills test.

I now want to do a microlight conversion with a chap who is quite insistent on me going the NPPL route. He wants us to do a skills test to reactivate the SLMG rating, then do the conversion and skills test for the microlight rating.

I'm aware I could send in my NPPL and get a shiny new SSEA rating added, but aside from not particularly wanting to deal with and pay the CAA licensing department unnecessarily, I'm worried they would take the SLMG rating off me because it's lapsed (even though I have the TMG rating on the PPL). It wouldn't be the first time I've lost "privileges" to their licensing department.

Is there any other way I could get by SLMG rating back without doing an extra skills test, ideally without giving the CAA a big wedge of cash, or do I just need to suck it up?

[Bathman]

Why? Just get microlight differences training signed in your logbook. And then fly microlights off the back of your SEP rating.

[russp]

Why? Just get microlight differences training signed in your logbook. And then fly microlights off the back of your SEP rating.

^This

[webdevduck]

Why? Just get microlight differences training signed in your logbook. And then fly microlights off the back of your SEP rating.

^This

That is what I would prefer but the instructor seems insistent on the NPPL route. Maybe it's easier to subsequently sign off towing (it's for glider tugging). I will try and push back on it again, but for various reasons I do want to use this particular instructor.

[Irv Lee]

Have you costed towing rating on your ppl vs the other route with no tow rating?

[webdevduck]

Have you costed towing rating on your ppl vs the other route with no tow rating?

Thanks Irv, I hadn't realised realised I needed a towing rating on a PPL but not on an NPPL. I'd still prefer the PPL route because it's one less piece of paper I need to worry about. Doing it on the NPPL, then I'd have two active licences with different ratings, and be dependant on doing my instructional hour on a motorglider to cover them both - unless I cough up to add an SSEA to the NPPL to harmonise the class ratings on them.

The more I think about it, the extra skills test is the least of my worries. However, with that in mind, I take it there's no way around that?

At some point I'm supposed to buy myself an SPL from our friends at the CAA. I suppose I could include TMG privileges on that as well, then I'd have three different bits of paper to choose from to bimble about in my share-o-motorglider. How many do I need for a full set?

[webdevduck]

We've got to the bottom of it. You can't do a PPL(A) towing rating on a microlight, so I couldn't do it on our club tug, I'd have to go up to Motorglide and do it on their SEP Eurofox.

We also found a way around the TMG skills test. Because I can do an NPPL microlight conversion off the back of my PPL(A), I don't actually need my NPPL SLMG rating to be active.

[cobfamily]

Just bumping this thread as I have a similar question.. maybe someone can point me in the right direction.

I have a UK-FCL PPL(A) with valid SEP and TMG ratings.

I have an NPPL with no valid ratings (have held M, SSEA and SLMG previously)

I would like to bring the NPPL back to life for similar reasons to the OP but can't find any clear guidance on how. I've read that I can use my SEP rating as credit for the SSEA, but I can't see a form with that box to tick. Any ideas? And is there credit for TMG to SLMG?

[MattL]

You will just need to do a GST with an examiner in the relevant class and they can sign up your licence