SEP rating running out? Revalidate or renew it here.
Your single-engine piston class rating — SEP (land) — is valid for two years (Part-FCL.740). Let it lapse and it must be renewed rather than revalidated. Either way, our instructors build the programme around what you have actually flown recently.
Revalidation or renewal: two different situations
Whether your SEP rating is still valid or has already lapsed, Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011 (Part-FCL) sets out two distinct routes — and two time windows not to be confused.
Revalidation — Part-FCL.740.A(a)
Two routes, whichever suits you. Within the 3 months before expiry: a proficiency check with an examiner. Or, within the preceding 12 months: 12 hours on SEP aircraft, 6 of them as pilot in command, 12 take-offs and landings, and at least 1 hour flown with an instructor.
Renewal — Part-FCL.740.A(b)
Rating already lapsed? Refresher training with an instructor prepares you for the proficiency check with an examiner, who then revalidates the rating.
A current medical
A valid class 2 medical certificate is required to fly the proficiency check — worth checking its expiry date before booking.
From refresher flying to the proficiency check
A conversation with an instructor
Expiry date, recent experience, your last flight, the validity of your medical: this is what pins down exactly what you need, without flying unnecessary hours.
One or more training flights
Depending on how recently you have flown, one flight is sometimes enough; other times two or three dual sessions are the better way to get the reflexes back.
The regulatory refresher
Airspace, changes to the SERA rules, procedures specific to Yvrac: your instructor brings you up to date on whatever has changed since your last flight.
The proficiency check
The final step: a flight with an examiner, who formally records the revalidation or renewal on your licence.
Is your SEP rating about to expire?
One call to the office gets it moving. With an instructor you will work out whether a straightforward revalidation will do, or whether a fuller refresher makes more sense.