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UK Civil Aviation Regulations

These are published by the CAA on our UK Regulations pages. EU Regulations and EASA Access Guides published by EASA no longer apply in the UK. Our website and publications are being reviewed to update all references. Any references to EU law and EASA Access guides should be disregarded and where applicable the equivalent UK versions referred to instead.

Convert a sailplane towing rating held on a BGA gliding certificate

How to apply for a conversion

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If you have a BGA Gliding Certificate with sailplane towing privilege you can convert this rating to a Part FCL licence.

If you hold an existing UK issued Flight Crew licence which has not already been converted to a Part-FCL licence, then the conversion process will take place when you apply for the sailplane towing rating.

Ratings will be granted for aeroplanes, TMGs or both according to the information that you provide. When applying please confirm whether you are applying to tow gliders in an aeroplane, TMG or both.

Who can apply

It is now mandatory to hold the Sailplane Towing rating on your licence in order to tow sailplanes .

To take advantage of our conversion requirements to add a sailplane rowing rating to your licence without completing a full training course, you must have been exercising the privileges before 8 April 2018.

Conversion of these privileges usually applies at the time of licence conversion (to a UK Part-FCL licence).

Pre-Requisites

The sailplane towing standards in the UK, established by the BGA, are competency based. These are considered equivalent to those of Part-FCL, particularly in respect of the flying experience and theoretical knowledge requirements.

See the Comparison Tables in Section 4 of CAP804 for details.

  • The differences shown in the Comparison Table are reflected in the conversion requirements.
  • Ratings will be granted for aeroplanes or TMGs according to the information you provide.

A Part-FCL Sailplane Towing Rating will be granted to pilots who:

  • Have qualified to tow through a BGA gliding club, and show logbook evidence of the following:
    • at least 30 hours of flight time as PIC and 60 take-offs and landings in aeroplanes, if the activity is to be carried out in aeroplane, or in TMG, if the activity is to be carried out in TMGs, completed after the issue of the UK licence.
    • at least 10 flights as PIC towing a sailplane in an Aeroplane at a BGA Club. The Sailplane Towing Rating will be restricted to Aeroplanes only.
    • at least 10 flights as PIC towing a sailplane in a TMG at a BGA Club. The Sailplane Towing Rating will be restricted to TMGs only.

Once the Sailplane Towing rating has been endorsed onto a Part-FCL licence, you cannot begin towing until you meet the requirements shown in FCL 805(e), Section 4. If you don't meet these requirements, you must first complete the missing tows with an instructor.

Validity period

The sailplane towing rating is non-expiring (it has lifetime validity).

How to Apply

If you hold a UK National/JAR licence and need to convert to a UK Part-FCL licence, please apply using online application form SRG 1104.

If you are applying solely for the sailplane towing rating, please use online application form SRG 2157.

You will need to upload the following supporting documents as part of the application:

  • A copy of your UK licence including certificate of revalidation pages/logbook pages showing the rating endorsements
  • A copy of the relevant pages from your logbook
  • Evidence showing the conversion requirements have been met, as set out in CAP804

Guidance on documentation

All documents should be uploaded with a different filename clearly stating the content of the file attachment (for example Passport, Licence copy etc.)

Submitting documents with the same filename may result in the loss of information in the system and added delays to the application assessment.

For questions relating to paperwork, such as how to obtain certified copies of documents, please refer to guidance on documentation.

Cost

Please note: if you need to convert your licence to a UK Part-FCL licence, there will be an additional charge on top of the rating fee.

Accessibility

If you have a disability and require assistance with submitting your application online, please do not hesitate to contact our support team on 0330 022 1972 (Monday-Friday 08:30-16:30).

Contact us

If you have any questions please contact our licensing team:

Email fclweb@caa.co.uk (preferred)
Phone 0330 022 1972 (Mon - Fri 08:30 - 16:30)

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