Lapsed SEP rating

You will need to do an LPC (Licence Proficiency Check) with an examiner under the following circumstances:
• If you have allowed your rating to lapse (i.e. not renewed / revalidated it within its validity period),
• If you were unable to meet the requirements for revalidation by experience (12 hours total time, 6 hours PiC, 1 hour with an instructor etc).

If you have never held an SEP rating, but hold a licence and some other rating (e.g. MEP or indeed a 737), you will need to do an LST. The content is essentially identical to the LPC, though the LST will include oral questions related to SEP aircraft.

An LPC is a test, with a pass, partial pass or fail outcome and a test fee. The LPC is a shortened version of the original Skills test and should not take more than 1.5 hours. The test schedule in CAA form SRG1157 is reproduced below:

Not all items in the original test are mandatory. Some aspects of pre-flight planning (W&B, NOTAMS’s , take-off / landing performance, fuel plan) are at the Examiner’s discretion, but expect to be asked to do all of them if you are out of practice. The SRG form does not tell the whole story (you need to consult the Examiner’s handbook as well). It appears that take off is not Mandatory – of course it is! Likewise section 3A – VFR Navigation is mandatory – but it is essentially a short single leg. Please get in touch for more details.

We want you not only to pass the LPC test but also to be competent and thoroughly safe and prepared for your solo flying. We therefore advise pilots to do
• Revision training of all the manoeuvres to be tested
• Familiarisation with the aircraft or local area if they are unfamiliar
• A ground briefing, as a number of rules and practices have changed

A list of what we may cover in the ground briefing is shown below:

The training requirements for SEP / TMG renewals are more flexible than for other ratings. In all cases the instructor (through an ATO, if required) determines how much training is needed.  FCL.740 (b) (2) (ii) allows the training to be done through an ATO, DTO or by an instructor outside an ATO / DTO, provided the rating has lapsed by less than 3 years.

Unlike the initial PPL skills test, both the revision and test itself may be conducted by the same person if they are qualified as an Examiner, although – to ensure objectivity – if you need more than an hour or two of revision, it is better to take the LPC with someone other than the instructor who did the revision work.