Addendum – EASA Part-FCL & Part-MED — Page 553, Lesson 742

Let’s pick this up right where the ATPL(A) experience requirements leave off, because the numbers we just looked at feed directly into what I’m about to teach you. We’ve just covered the 1500 total hours, the 200 cross-country, the 75 instrument, and the 100 night. Now there’s a crucial note attached to that 1500-hour figure, and it’s a classic exam trap. Of those 1500 hours of flight time, up to 100 hours may have been completed in an FFS and an FNPT. FFS is a full flight simulator, and FNPT is a flight and navigation procedures trainer. But here’s the catch — of those 100 hours, only a maximum of 25 hours may be completed in an FNPT. So the simulator credit is capped at 100 total, and the FNPT portion of that is capped at 25. That’s a double limit, and you need both numbers. Then we have the crediting rules. If you already hold a pilot licence for another category of aircraft, you get credit toward these requirements. For a TMG — that’s a touring motor glider — or for sailplanes, you get up to 30 hours flown as PIC credited. For helicopters, you get 50% of all the flight time requirements specified above credited. So half of the 1500, half of the 200 cross-country, and so on. That’s a substantial reduction, but it only applies to helicopter holders. Finally, before the licence is issued, you must pass a skills test. That test demonstrates your ability to perform, as PIC of a multi-pilot aeroplane, under IFR. So the ATPL(A) is fundamentally a multi-pilot, instrument-flying qualification. Now we move to a new rating — 5.17, the Instrument Rating for Aeroplanes, abbreviated IR(A). Let’s start with the general rule, because it defines who may fly under IFR at all. Operations under IFR on an aeroplane shall only be conducted by holders of a PPL(A), CPL(A), MPL, or ATPL(A) with an IR appropriate to the category of aeroplane — or when undergoing skills testing or dual instruction. So the instrument rating is not optional for IFR; it’s a legal prerequisite, and it must match the category of aeroplane you’re flying. The only exceptions are during a skills test or when you’re receiving dual instruction. Now the privileges. The core privilege of the IR(A) is the right to fly an aeroplane under IFR with a minimum decision height of 200 feet, which is 60 metres. Decision height is the altitude at which you must decide whether to continue the approach or go around — and with a basic IR(A), you cannot go below 200 feet on that decision. But there’s an extension. In the case of a multi-engine IR(A), that privilege may be extended to decision heights lower than 200 feet — so below 60 metres — as long as you have undergone specific training at an ATO, an approved training organisation, and have passed the necessary skills test. So lower minima are available, but only on a multi-engine rating, and only with that extra training and test. Then the prerequisites and crediting. To even apply for the IR(A), you must hold at least one of three things: a PPL(A) with a night rating, or an ATPL(A) in another category of aeroplane, or a CPL in the appropriate aeroplane category. And on top of that, you must have completed at least 50 hours of cross-country as PIC of aeroplanes, of which at least 10 hours shall be in the relevant aeroplane category. So the 50 hours is the total cross-country PIC time, and 10 of those must be in the specific category you’re seeking the rating for — that’s the category-specific requirement. So to summarise the shape of this: the ATPL(A) is a multi-pilot IFR licence with strict simulator credit caps and category crediting, and the IR(A) is the rating that actually grants IFR privileges, with a 200-foot decision height floor that can only be lowered on a multi-engine rating after specific ATO training and a skills test. Both have precise hour requirements and category-specific conditions that you must keep straight.