Addendum – EASA Part-FCL & Part-MED — Page 553, Lesson 744

I want to walk you through the addendum on EASA Part-FCL and Part-MED, and we're starting with the Instrument Rating, the IR. This is the rating that lets a pilot fly solely by reference to instruments, and the rules here are strict, so let's take them piece by piece. First, the training requirement. Before you can even sit for the Instrument Rating, you must have received a course of both theoretical knowledge and flight instruction at an ATO. ATO stands for Approved Training Organisation — that's a training school that EASA has formally approved to deliver this training. The course itself may be either integrated or modular. An integrated course is one continuous, structured program from zero to the licence. A modular course is built up in separate blocks that you complete over time, often alongside other flying. Now, the theory. You must sit an examination of theoretical knowledge in these subjects: Air Law, Aircraft General Knowledge – Instrumentation, Flight Performance and Monitoring, Human Performance, Meteorology, Radio Navigation, and IFR Communications. IFR stands for Instrument Flight Rules — that's the set of rules for flying in weather conditions where you navigate and control the aircraft by reference to instruments rather than by looking outside. Then comes the practical side. You must pass a skills test in accordance with Appendix 7 of Part-FCL. Part-FCL is the EASA regulation covering flight crew licensing, and Appendix 7 is the specific schedule that defines exactly what manoeuvres and procedures the examiner will test you on for the IR. Now, validity. An IR(A) — the (A) means it's the Instrument Rating for aeroplanes — shall be valid for 1 year. That's the maximum period your rating stays current before you must do something to keep it alive. Revalidation is where the detail really matters, and there are several rules here. First, an IR(A) shall be revalidated within 3 months immediately preceding the expiry date. So you can't revalidate it six months early; the proficiency check must fall inside that three-month window right before the rating expires. Second, there's a critical rule about failing. Should an applicant fail the IR proficiency check before the expiry date of the IR(A), he or she may not exercise the IR privileges until the proficiency check has been passed. In other words, a failed check immediately suspends your right to fly on instruments, even if the rating hasn't expired yet. You can't keep flying on the old rating while you wait to retake the check. Third, if the IR(A) has actually expired — meaning you let it lapse without revalidating — then refresher training at an ATO is required before you may take the proficiency check again. So an expired rating forces you back into training before you can even attempt the check. Fourth, there's a longer-term rule. If the IR(A) has not been revalidated or renewed within the preceding 7 years, the holder will be required to pass again the IR theoretical knowledge examination and the skill test. So after seven years of inactivity, it's not just a proficiency check — you start over with both the written exams and the full skills test. And fifth, there's a rule about the equipment used for revalidation. An FNPT II or an FFS may be used for revalidation, but each alternate proficiency check must be performed in an aeroplane. FNPT II stands for Flight Navigation and Procedures Trainer, level two — that's a flight simulator-type device. FFS is a Full Flight Simulator. So you can do one proficiency check in a simulator, but the very next one must be done in a real aeroplane, alternating back and forth. You can't do them all in the simulator. Now let's move to section 5.18, which covers Class and Type Ratings. This is a different set of ratings — these qualify you to fly a particular class of aircraft, like single-engine piston, or a specific type, like a particular airliner model. First, the circumstances in which class or type ratings are required. Holders of a pilot licence shall not act in any capacity as pilots of an aircraft unless they have a valid and appropriate class or type rating. Note the phrase "in any capacity" — that means as pilot-in-command, co-pilot, or any other piloting role. There's one exception: this requirement doesn't apply when you're undergoing skills tests, proficiency checks, or receiving flight instruction. So a student under instruction, or a pilot being tested, doesn't need the rating yet. Then, the requirements for the issue of class or type ratings. Theoretical and flight training must take place at an ATO — again, that Approved Training Organisation. And there's a timing rule on the skills test: the skills test must be passed within 6 months after the commencement of the course, and also within 6 months preceding the application for a class or type rating. So there's a window on both ends — you can't let too much time pass after starting the course before you take the test, and the test must be recent relative to when you actually apply for the rating. That's the core of this section — the training, the exams, the skills test, the one-year validity, and the detailed revalidation rules for the IR, plus the class and type rating requirements.