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How to stay FAA current when living out of the USA

Asked by: 5291 views FAA Regulations, General Aviation

I am on a 3 year mission trip and we are living in Malawi Africa. We have been here for 1 year now and have 2 more years before we can come back. OK, I was current when I left the USA last June. I am able to rent a pa-28 or maybe a c-182 here soon. I have received a validation from the Malawian Aviation here saying I can fly here based on my US certificate being valid and current, ( I think that's what it means). There is only one instructor here in Malawi and I believe he is UK trained and current, (not sure though). Well in one more year I will need a biannual to stay current on my FAA certificate. Any ideas on how to do that? I'm thinking that if I don't get my biannual done then the validation from the government here will be invalid. Any ideas for me? Can the UK guy give me my biannual?

Thanks

Mark

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10 Answers



  1. Kris Kortokrax on Jun 14, 2015

    A biannual event occurs twice a year.
    A biennial event occurs once every two years.

    The UK instructor cannot perform the flight review. 61.56(c) requires an “authorized instructor”. That term is defined in 61.1 as an individual who holds a flight instructor certificate issued under Part 61 or a person authorized by the Administrator to conduct instruction under Part 61, 121, 135 or 142.

    You will either need to travel to a place where you can find an FAA instructor or have an FAA instructor travel to you.

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  2. Mark Unruh on Jun 14, 2015

    Thanks, I kinda thought that might be the answer, just needed confirmation. Sorry about the biannual – biennial thing.

    Well I might have to send out an invitation for someone that has a CFII certificate to come visit us! I might could throw in a free trip to a game park too!

    Thanks again,
    Mark

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  3. Luke Abare on Jun 14, 2015

    Hi Mark-
    I am a CFI and currently live in Washihgton state. I also will be coming to Southern Africa in October this year for missions work. My wife and I will be there for a year and a half. If you have access to a plane in Malawi I would be open to coming there to visit and give you a flight review. Please feel free to email me and we can discuss more.
    -Luke

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  4. Mark Kolber on Jun 15, 2015

    Mark, you say you may fly there on your US certificate. Have you check the rules on their currency requirements?

    For example, if their rules allow you to fly there with one of their flight reviews (I don’t know the answer), your only US currency issue occurs when you return to the US and all you would need to do for your first flight is a flight review.

    based on my US certificate being valid and current, ( I think that’s what it means).

    I don’t know what it means either. You might want to find out. In the US, your US certificate is “valid and current” without a flight review. The only thing the pilot is not current for without a current flight review is acting as PIC.

    You need more information than you have to answer your question.

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  5. Mark Unruh on Jun 15, 2015

    Thanks Mark, yes I need more info and I believe I did mean currency, acting as PIC and as in a biennial when needed.

    What they did is they validated or confirmed my certificate and ratings, sent me a validation certificate and told me I am good to fly here now in Malawian registered aircraft. Obviously if the aircraft would be an N number I wouldn’t even need a Malawian validation. I also had to get a medical here which was a lot more intensive then our 2nd class in the states. Had to get an extensive hearing test and do a EKG.

    As much as I understand this validation certificate is that I can fly here in Malawian registered aircraft as long as I am up on my FAA currency requirements.

    I now have some good questions to ask the officer in charge of this and maybe clear up some of these questions. You’ll will have to give me a little time though because this is Africa!

    By the way, I am not sure how to email someone from off a post on this forum.

    Mark

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  6. Kris Kortokrax on Jun 15, 2015

    The FAA issues a certificate based on a foreign license, but limits it to Private privileges. A pilot must get a U.S. flight review prior to exercising the privileges of the FAA certificate. The foreign license or ratings must not have expired. Typically foreign licenses or ratings expire every two years (kind of like our flight review).

    What privileges did they give you on the Malawi license? Did they require you to get something like a flight review from a Malawi instructor? Is there an expiration date on the Malawi license?

    Validity and currency are defined in 61.2. Valid seems to be dependent on not being suspended, revoked, surrendered or expired.

    Currency requires meeting appropriate airman and medical recency requirements of Part 61. This would seem to imply that a pilot certificate would not be current without a flight review.

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  7. Mark Unruh on Jun 15, 2015

    I did not have to take any written test or fly with an instructor here. No requirements whatsoever other then that medical. They gave me my commercial and the instrument rating.
    It is valid for one year from data of issuance. So it expires this August. I have not flown here yet so I am wondering what they will require of me this next time. I also gave them copy’s of my log book and all of my endorsements. Guess I’ll find out soon.

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  8. Mark Kolber on Jun 15, 2015

    Kris’ comment about how one flying on a foreign license in the US requires a US flight review is exactly the reason I asked about =their= currency rules. Even here, the FAA would not do a flight test as part of foreign pilot certification. It would be up to the pilot, if he wanted to act as PIC, to know a flight review was required and to arrange for one.

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  9. Kris Kortokrax on Jun 16, 2015

    Order 8900.1 states in the section dealing with issuing certificates based on a foreign license:

    “Discuss Relevant Regulations with the Applicant. Advise the applicant about the rules and requirements contained in part 61 and in part 91 (e.g., flight review requirements, recency of experience requirements, and required logbook entries). As a point of emphasis, make clear to the applicant that a flight review (refer to § 61.56) must be administered by the holder of an FAA flight instructor certificate with the appropriate ratings before he or she may exercise the privileges of his or her U.S. pilot certificate. The proficiency checks administered by a foreign flight instructor do not count as meeting the flight review requirements of § 61.56.”

    It is the pilot’s responsibility to get the flight review done, but he will know it is required when the inspector issuing his certificate briefs him about it.

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  10. Luke Abare on Jun 25, 2015

    Mark – my email address is lukeabare @ gmail dot com

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