Hey all! 

 

Was reading a little while ago about aviation in general when I stumbled upon a couple of lines that mentioned that there are a handful of people who are certified to fly absolutely any aircraft they find themselves in. I can't for the life of my find any other information, nor can I actually find the source. For my peace of mind, does anyone have any further information about this, or am I day-dreaming about things again?

 

Regards,

Aamir

There is no license with the FAA.

 

Your PPL is a certificate. From there you get ratings. IFR, CPL, CFI, CFII, ME, etc. Then you have endorsements. High performance (200+HP), complex (retractable gear/constant speed prop), jets, etc. 

 

Then you have type ratings. Most planes up to twin engine turbines don't require one. Past that they do.

 

I know there are ferry fliers out there that can literally fly anything. Whether there's some official FAA designation for these guys besides them simply having a ton of time in type, I don't know.

 Bill Bedford, the Hawker test  pilot,broke his leg shortly the the first tethered hovering trials of the P1127 - later the Harrier. He got his pilot's licence endorsed to cover only tethered hovering in order to flight it with one leg in plaster.

 

in 1960 when in those days the test pilots used to fly Hawker's historic aircraft with no endorsements, but I doubt that would be possible now.