Passed my FAA Commercial

[Scudrunner]

Thought I would share that I got busy or more like the opportunity to write my FAA Canadian commercial conversion exam today.

Multiple guess 40 question exam.

Now my goal in all of this is to one day do a full ATP conversion for the sake of opportunities or option down the line.

Bonus is my company offered to pay for my conversion (medical, exams, study material etc) so hey why not. Not that terribly expensive either.


It is pretty straight forward gotta submit your Canadian licence and such to the FAA for validation.
Get a medical, write this exam and then sit down with an examiner to do the paper work.

The alternative for a TC ATPL would be to pay the 6K USD and do a full conversion which involves class and simulator time with FAA licence noob getting their frozen atp. Last guy I knew who went down with 15k hours. the instructors after day one in the sim basically signed him off and he sat by the pool for a few days kind of like you got more time then all of us and them combined and it shows.

I think last time I wrote an exam was my ATPL in 2005. Much easier on a computer and the FAA published all their questions.

[Nark]

Congrats!
Swing by KUES and I’ll get you the tailwheel and high performance endorsement!

The FAA certified pilots here lack a huuuuge depth of knowledge, all because they don’t need to learn anything. They just memorize the answers to pass the test.

It’s a little alarming teaching a 1500+hr FO how to fly an instrument approach, outside a controlled airfield. (Well it’s class E, which is, but isn’t.)
Swinging a 140,000lbs airbus from base to final at midnight isn’t the best time to teach them how to cancel IFR, or teach the 3:1 rule of thumb.

[Squaretail]

Thought I would share that I got busy or more like the opportunity to write my FAA Canadian commercial conversion exam today.

Multiple guess 40 question exam.

Now my goal in all of this is to one day do a full ATP conversion for the sake of opportunities or option down the line.

Bonus is my company offered to pay for my conversion (medical, exams, study material etc) so hey why not. Not that terribly expensive either.


It is pretty straight forward gotta submit your Canadian licence and such to the FAA for validation.
Get a medical, write this exam and then sit down with an examiner to do the paper work.

The alternative for a TC ATPL would be to pay the 6K USD and do a full conversion which involves class and simulator time with FAA licence noob getting their frozen atp. Last guy I knew who went down with 15k hours. the instructors after day one in the sim basically signed him off and he sat by the pool for a few days kind of like you got more time then all of us and them combined and it shows.

I think last time I wrote an exam was my ATPL in 2005. Much easier on a computer and the FAA published all their questions.

Congrats on getting the license! The worst part of the process was getting an FAA medical. They really have a bee in their bonnet about some things. Fortunately you also don't have to go into a FSDO for an interview anymore, they can do it over a teams or zoom or whichever. When I did my tests I bought the Gleim online study course, it helped me pass easily, and I'm not that smart so it must be ok.

Having an FAA ticket turned out to be a good deal for me, I'd tell anyone who is thinking about it to go get it. Not that expensive to do the conversion.

[Scudrunner]

Nark , funny enough I finally got a layover in PWK not that far from you, used this chance to book the exam.

Squaretail, yup I ordered the Gleim course and it definitely helped. I originally thought just go do it until took a free online exam and got 46% going in totally cold. Going to get my instrument conversion as well when I’m down on recurrent in November. Should be all done by December.

[Colonel]

Congratulations! Good to keep your options open.

As Nark points out, you will need CFI logbook endorsements for high performance, complex, tailwheel and at some point, high altitude, unless you’re a really old fuck like me that gets grandfathered

[Nark]

I have no reservations throwing my name in a dudes logbook for a high-performance.
Tailwheel, less so because I don’t want to be the a-hole that contributes to higher insurance rates for me down the road.

Another useless endorsement is high altitude.
Also, the BFR is a joke. 1-hour flight + 1-hour ground , no specific topics, but whatever the CFI thinks is best.
(I’m not against recurrent training, just that there is a regulation with no structure).

Lots of silly rules.

Anyway, back on topic: I’d like to waste some $$$ and get my TC APTL and booklet

[Slick Goodlin]

I’d like to waste some $$$ and get my TC APTL and booklet

I heard the booklets had a real quality problem over the last couple years. Some were bad enough to be considered invalid. Mine’s being renewed right now, hope they’ve figured their crap out.

[Colonel]

get my TC APTL

I think it's pretty easy via the IPL:

https://tc.canada.ca/en/aviation/refere ... 001#toc6-3

Mine’s being renewed right now

My booklet has been expired for almost a year now. They seem to be ignoring my application for renewal. I phoned TC and they said no one cares, there's a permanent exemption. Alrighty then.

https://www.pilotmd.ca/wp-content/uploa ... 3-2023.pdf

[Squaretail]

Squaretail, yup I ordered the Gleim course and it definitely helped. I originally thought just go do it until took a free online exam and got 46% going in totally cold. Going to get my instrument conversion as well when I’m down on recurrent in November. Should be all done by December.

LOL I did the same thing. There's just enough little differences between TC and the FAA rules to throw you for a loop if they're not fresh in your brain. Especially when you're answering multiple choice. The instrument conversion was as easier than the CPL conversion, again, the online course is worth it to pass the test on the first go. There's a test place at Great Falls that was good to deal with if that's close to you. I dealt with a Jon Honemann out of Helena if that helps you out. He was very helpful in the process.

[David MacRay]

Helena is a nicer city but they don’t have a Sonic Drive Inn.

There’s National Guard F-15s based in Great Falls too. Don’t get too close, the MP will come over with his M-16. I thought that was unnecessary but I guess he thought it was.