Flight Crew Licensing — Page 79, Lesson 127

Right, let's get into the licensing structure. We're starting fresh on Flight Crew Licensing, and this is the backbone of your entire career, so I want you to hear this properly. First, the licence types. There are three levels of licence issued, and I want you to note the exact names. We have the Private Pilot Licence, the PPL; the Commercial Pilot Licence, the CPL; and the Air Transport Pilot Licence, the ATPL. There's also a fourth one listed here, the Multi-crew Pilot Licence, the MPL. Now, a crucial point about how we refer to these: licences are referred to by type and category. So a commercial pilot licence for an aeroplane is a CPL(A). The letter in brackets tells you the category of aircraft. Now, let's talk about ratings. Ratings are the privileges attached to your licence that let you fly specific aircraft. We start with Aeroplane Class Ratings. These are established for aeroplanes that are certificated for single-pilot operation. That means the aircraft is approved to be flown by just one pilot. The class ratings comprise four categories: single-engine, land; single-engine, sea; multi-engine, land; and multi-engine, sea. So the class is defined by the number of engines and the surface it operates from. Then we have the JAR-FCL Class Rating, which adds more specific ratings. These are: all touring motor gliders; each manufacturer of single-engine turboprop land plane; and each manufacturer of single-engine turboprop sea plane. So for these, the rating is tied to the manufacturer of that specific type of turboprop. Next, Type Ratings. This is where it gets specific to the individual aircraft. Where required, a type rating will be issued after you satisfactorily complete a type rating course for that appropriate type of aeroplane, and you must demonstrate the necessary pilot skill in that type. There's an important condition here: if a type rating is issued that limits you to act as co-pilot only, the rating must be endorsed as such. That means it's written on the licence that you can only act as co-pilot in that type. Also, there is no limit to the number of type or class ratings you may hold at any one time. However, the authority suggests that you should not hold more than can be maintained safely, simultaneously. So the limit is practical, not regulatory. Now, what are the criteria for establishing a type rating? The JAR-FCL criteria are fourfold. First, the airworthiness type certificate. Second, the handling characteristics. Third, the certified minimum flight crew complement. And fourth, the level of technology. These are the factors that determine whether an aircraft needs its own type rating. Then we have the divisions, which tell us exactly when a type rating is required. It's required for each type of multi-pilot aeroplane. Or, each type of single-pilot multi-engine aeroplane fitted with turbojet or turboprop engines. Or, each type of single-pilot single-engine aeroplane fitted with a turbojet engine. Or, any other type of aeroplane if considered necessary by the authority. So you can see the pattern: the more complex the aircraft, the more likely it needs its own type rating. Finally, we have the ICAO Variations. This is where ICAO, in Annex 1, specifies its own type ratings. ICAO specifies type ratings for each type of multi-pilot aircraft; and each type of single-pilot operation helicopter; and helicopters certified for single-pilot operation, if not covered by a class rating. So ICAO's list is slightly different from the JAR-FCL list, and you need to be aware of both.