Some Notes;Volo:Please sign your name, forum rules.in regards to "Which Is better" to claim either is better is fairly ludicrous. the FAA has it's positives and Negatives, So does the JAA.Positives in the U.S. would be;Uniformity, no matter where you are in the United States - Airspace Rules, regulations etc. are the same this creates No possibility of problems, Europe clames to "Be a system" operated under the JAA, but you have each little country with their own rules regulations etc, that to be quite honest it creates a lot of areas in which you will likely find Pilot Errors.to the Validity of an FAA ATPL in Europe, the FAA's ATPL IS Valid in Europe, infact it's valid around the world, So Long as the Pilot in Command is Operating an N Registered Airplane. no American Pilot needs a JAA License to Operate in Europe, He Needs an N registered Tail Number and an Equivelant Rating when making use of the airplane in Europe.If I took a Piper Archer all the way from the United States to Europe with my FAA Private Pilot's License and Instrument Rating, and Observed/Followed the European Regulations for my Country of Flight.......My Certificates are Valid. that N registered Tail Number and the ICAO *Which your JAA is A Part of* Say that I can.In regards to changing a License, lets say a JAA CPL fills out the paperwork, based on currency he can recieve a License, the moment his JAA License expires he's expired, he needs an FAA CPL to continue operating.There is no such thing as "Handing a License Outright in the U.S." and while the JAA is much more Theory based. the ATPL Written isn't all that difficult, passing the Checkride is. Like I said "Practicle" they will test you in Various situations not just perform this maneuver, but something more along the lines of Getting you Lost by flying you under the hood for a bit with no navigation information doing "Simple" things, and then saying pull off the hood followed by;You're listening to the Gaurd frequency when all of a sudden a Notam is issued for reasons of national security all aircraft are requested to land at their nearest Major Airport and then follow required instructions.Where are we going?How long is it going to take us to get there?ican we make it with reserves?Keep in mind when you just got this question - you'd been flying around for 30 minutes in Simulated IFR practicing, maneuvers, you can't use the GPS, you just have to be a pilot and answer all these questions with your head, or a Standard E6B.it only gets harder when you move up; *my Check Airman did this with me on my Private Pilot ride ;)*other things include asking you to do dangerous things where you shouldn't be doing them and seeing if you catch his error and effectively operate as PIC etc. etc.By all means it's a "Practical" Test that makes an FAA Pilot's License worth while. they have "Guidelines" anything they want to do in those guidelines is Fair Game, and they depend on being Tough on you to keep their Check Airman Certificate.Don't Downplay the U.S. as if it's a Joke, it's accepted everywhere in the world nearly Outright besides Europe, and Europe doesn't require much in the way to get the equivelant License.if you have the hours in another country and come to the U.S. you will have to take the checkrides and Written exams to get the License. By which the Checkride is much more difficult *Both Oral, and Practical* you will be asked Obscure questions which you likely wouldn't have thought of that will count against you answered un-reasonably.the CFI Fail Rate is something like 75% Here in the United States. it's by most accounts more difficult than the ATPL, it's Theory, and Pilotage at an un-orthodoxily Strict Level. The U.S. Picks the best teachers, you get much better students that way. only one in Four walks away a Flight Instructor. It's not conducted by a Check-Pilot. It's Conducted by an FSDO With a Fed who will Fail you for Any Reason.Each Country has its Positive and Negative, so does each system. I'm Happy that I never have, nor likely ever Will have to pay a Landing fee in the U.S. for flying General Aviation, and I'm Free to go anywhere in the Country at an Altitude Higher than most any other country *well into the altitudes where Oxygen Is Required* under VFR Flight Rules. Up there I can go faster for Less money, Love the View in my Own Private Home built Expiremental Van's RV-10, and Enjoy the Humming of the Lycoming 540 while listening to Music and not putting too much worry into Traffic *But always keeping an Eye out of course ;)*.Positives and Negatives, don't just say one's better than the other because quite simply it isn't.Ryan.

N reg aircraft based in Europe tend to be business jets, not C152s. American FAA licensed pilots usually fly them for insurance purposes I think.

N reg aircraft based in Europe tend to be business jets, not C152s. American FAA licensed pilots usually fly them for insurance purposes I think.

Regardless, an N-Registered Airplane can be flown in Europe by an FAA Licensed Pilot, so long as he follows the procedures regarding Airspace and Regulations :).

Not that Transition Levels or Altitudes had anything to do with it, but as I recall, You guys had a pretty ugly mid-air in the supposedly "safer" European skies not long ago.

When and where? Most recent I can find is 2002 over Germany caused by a Russian pilot doing the opposite of what TCAS was telling him. You know of another more recent involving commercial aircraft?Iain Smith

When and where? Most recent I can find is 2002 over Germany caused by a Russian pilot doing the opposite of what TCAS was telling him. You know of another more recent involving commercial aircraft?

I'm pretty sure that's the incident he's talking about, but don't be so hard on the pilot. He was in a VERY bad position, and he followed ATC instructions. Any pilot would have been confused- don't think that you are immune.Paul

Is that the one where the Russian airliner was full of schoolkids and it went into a Fed Ex freighter? If that's the one, I think it was largely due to the air traffic controller being on a cigarette break and not at his scope wasn't it?Al

I think it was more complex than that. The ATCO was working 2 positions while maintenance was being done. The maintenance took the "collision detection" system offline.Paul

The real killer for that incident was the fact that a German controller's collision alert went off, but "regulations" prevented him from doing anything about it, ie: talking on the other controller's frequency, and IIRC the phone lines were out as well.

I'm pretty sure that's the incident he's talking about, but don't be so hard on the pilot. He was in a VERY bad position, and he followed ATC instructions. Any pilot would have been confused- don't think that you are immune.

I'm not a RL pilot Paul but I remember seeing a UK TV reconstruction. The air traffic controller at the time was being blamed but he was inexperienced and had been put in an impossible position by his superior who had gone off on a break leaving the rookie seriously overloaded. The Russian pilot on the other hand should not have been flying that plane. He was in the jump seat and because he was more senior in years than the a/craft Captain he bullied the Capt to let him take over. The "proper" Capt and FO both told him he should do what TCAS said but he ignored them both. Those who had known him said that he was an arrogant man.Iain Smith

While the Russian pilot may well have been arrogant, I still see it as something that could have happened to the best of us. It's one of those times you have to make a split second decision, and he did so based on his judgment and experience. No fault there. What's important is that we all learn the lesson from this accident- trust the TCAS.Paul

When and where? Most recent I can find is 2002 over Germany caused by a Russian pilot doing the opposite of what TCAS was telling him. You know of another more recent involving commercial aircraft?Iain Smith

I was referring to the