P-STAR

[snapped]

A friend of mine is taking some time to get their private lic. and was wondering how long the p-star exam is good for?

[StickShaker]

You can tell this "friend" of yours it's good until the 1st day of the 60th month following it's issue.

[OW]

I believe that should read the first day of the 61st month following its' completion. (ie. good for 60 full months).

[N8]

StickShaker and OW,

Did you guys know that off the top of your head or did you have to look it up? I can keep info like that in my head for a few days, but if I don't remind myself every once in a while it's gone.

[OW]

I did not look it up, so I could be wrong, but since the recency requirements state that if you do not act as pilot in comand for five years you must write the P-Star exam and do a flight review, it seems logical.

The student pilot permit which is valid until the expiry of your medical is therefore valid for 60 months from the date of your medical (Cat 4 only required for Student Pilot Permit).

It seems logical that the P-Star exam, which is required for issue of a student pilot permit be valid for the same period.

All current flight instructors should know that information.

[N8]

Good logic OW.
I wish I had a memory that can store the thousands of little numbers that "all current flight instructors should know".
I'm happy just to know where and how to look it up.

[OW]

Knowing where to look it up is far more important than memorizing the numbers!

[I'd Rather Be Flying]

I would agree that the written exam (P-STAR) is valid until the first day of the 61st month. The actual permit validity changes depending on what it is for. For example, the SPP for a glider pilot is valid for 60 months, and for aeroplanes it is valid for 24 months (if you're under the age of 40).

If your AIP is current and up-to-date, check out LRA 3-1 and beyond. You should find the answers there.

Cheers!

[Right Seat Captain]

I was under the impression the SPP's expiry was the same as the current medical the student has. That would make sense for the glider, which lasts for 5 years, PPL/RPP 5 years if under 40, 2 years over 40. That way when the student obtaines a new medical once the last expired, he must bring in his new medical to an authorized person to get a new SPP. Since they aren't fully licenced yet, they aren't authorized to decide if their medical is valid or not.

In terms of the PSTAR, I was under the impression you have 2 years once you write the exam, to obtain a Student pilot permit, like all other exam validity periods, ie you have 2 years from writting the Commercial Written exam to conduct the flight test (I think the CARs word it as to conduct a flight test, you must have written the exam within the previoius 24 months)

[I'd Rather Be Flying]

Of course, most of the validity periods depend on the medical date and category.

[StickShaker]

Yes, I got the wrong answer off the top of my head. Another good example of why one should call Transport Canada with these questions.

[OW]

A Student Pilot Permit is valid for 60 months regardless of your age. Anyone with a medical certificate need only turn it over to verify that.

I honestly don't know how long you have between writing the P-star and having a Student Pilot Permit issued (I do issue Student Pilot Permits), but I would suspect that if it took you two years to progress from writing the exam to getting a permit issued, you have some serious problems to deal with that are much more important than the expiry time.

[Aeros]

A couple of points to clarify.

CAR 400.03 (1) states that the examinations required for the issue of any permit licence or rating are valid for 24 months. Consequently, after writting the PSTAR exam you must apply for the SPP within 24 months.

If you are looking at using the PSTAR exam to satisfay the recency requirements of CAR 401.05, after not actin as PIC or co-pilot in the past five years, you must have completed both the flight review and the PSTAR in the 12 months immediately prior to your flight.

[Right Seat Captain]

Thanks for the reference, I was just about to go look for it.

[N8]

A friend of mine is taking some time to get their private lic. and was wondering how long the p-star exam is good for?

See what you started snapped?

Would you like to rephrase your question to "...wondering how long the student pilot permit is good for?"

[OW]

I guess we could keep this thread going for just a little while.

When a Student Pilot Permit is issued it is valid until the expiry of the current Medical.

If you get your medical in, say, June of 2004, and you don't get your Student Pilot Permit issued until March of 2005, your SPP will only be valid until July 1 2009. This is the first day of the 61 st month after your Medical Exam.

Renewing your Medical does not change the expiry date of your SPP.

Also, since your SPP expiry is based on a valid Medical Expiry date, you are not required to carry your Medical Certificate with you while flying on a Student Pilot Permit.

[N8]

Also, since your SPP expiry is based on a valid Medical Expiry date, you are not required to carry your Medical Certificate with you while flying on a Student Pilot Permit.

Note to my students: You will carry your medical with you at all times while flying! I don't want to hear any "Awwww, but OW said..."

[Right Seat Captain]

A friend of mine is taking some time to get their private lic. and was wondering how long the p-star exam is good for?

See what you started snapped?

Would you like to rephrase your question to "...wondering how long the student pilot permit is good for?"

The answer still surfaced! 2 years!

[N8]

"...wondering how long the student pilot permit is good for?"

The answer still surfaced! 2 years!

I'm not so sure of that.
I "think" once the permit is issued, it's good for 5 years.

[OW]

Hopefully we can soon lay this to rest. Being in the position to issue SPP's, my understanding is that the expiry date of the SPP is the expiry date of the current medical held at the time of issue of the SPP. Since the only medical requirement for anSPP is a CAT 4 (Which is valid for five years regardless of your age) the SPP can not be valid for more than five years, but may be valid for less than five years if your medical has been valid for more than a day.

Are we there yet?