Licence, Rating & Revalidation FAQs
Document clarification and privilege information
• I got my licence about 2 years ago. How do I go about getting the rating revalidated?
You need to source a NPPL Revalidation examiner at a local school. Alternatively, the BMAA Pilot Licensing Administrator can perform this function for the cost of postage.
The examiner will review your logbook hours, and, when satisfied, sign off your rating for a further 24 months. You can use hours flown in SEP or TMG (providing you hold those ratings on your NPPL and they are current) to keep your Microlight rating current or vice versa. Be aware, on the NPPL you must revalidate prior to the expiry date of the rating. Even one day after this date will require a General Skills Test to be passed to renew.
• I’ve just received my NPPL with operational limitations back from the CAA, but it looks as if they have issued it without limitations! Should I send it back?
A NPPL with operational limitations will not be titled as such. The limitations will usually be printed discreetly in the ‘Remarks’ Section XIII of the document in the form of a CAA document reference. The document passage that is referenced will explain the relevant operational limitations in detail.
• I changed my address on my licence with the CAA, but after receiving the updated document, i've noticed that my Microlight rating has been moved to the back of the licence, in the 'Ratings previously held' section. What does this mean?
This means you cannot utilise the rating at all until it is reissued as an active 'Rating to be revalidated'. Unfortunately, this can only be done by the CAA; a Microlight instructor or examiner is not entitled to simply renew this by writing in a new rating box.
The reason it has been moved to the 'Ratings previously held' section, is because when you changed your address (or other) details, you did not provide evidence of Microlight rating currency to the CAA. The CAA will simply operate on the information they have been provided with, even if it sometimes means issuing an essentially worthless document.
Knowing this, you must always ensure that when you change details on a licence for any reason (adding FRTOL, changing address/personal details, adding rating or removing operational limitations), the CAA is provided with evidence of rating currency, either in the form of a logbook page scan with GST sign-off, or the ratings revalidated on the licence document/associated rating page.
You must hold a UK or EASA licence with a valid Single Engine Piston rating, and undertake control type differences training on the Microlight type you intend to fly with a Microlight instructor entitled to give instruction on that type. When the instructor is satisfied, they will sign off the training in your logbook. This will then give you the privileges to fly the Microlight type on your SEP rating, for as long as the SEP remains current. If you hold the SEP on a NPPL, you can choose to either fly on differences training or use the differences training to apply for an additional Microlight rating to be added to the NPPL.
AOPA has confirmed that 3-axis Microlight flight time is now acceptable towards revalidation of SEP/TMG/SLMG Class Ratings included in national UK and Part-FCL (EASA) pilot licences.
