I used to make flauto dolces for a living (although I would call it more of a "subsistence" than a living).
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just passing through
One thing that has not been mentioned is that if you decide to report him, be sure to actually have flight information.
As in, "on <this> date, he flew <this> aircraft and the weather was IFR" as opposed to "He told me he flew IFR when not IR".
It will require more legwork on your part, but it will also give you a higher chance of getting the desired response.
As to your desire to give the guy a warning, I'd have to disagree. There is no possible benefit.
1) He knows what he's doing is illegal. With him taking and failing the IR checkride there is no way he can claim he did not know he was supposed to have the IR to go fly IFR.
2) He knows that you guys know, per the OP he himself told you.
Keep in mind that if the guy does have his certificate yanked he will likely try to keep flying without it, so you may still have to report him again to keep him out of the sky afterwards.
As in, "on <this> date, he flew <this> aircraft and the weather was IFR" as opposed to "He told me he flew IFR when not IR".
It will require more legwork on your part, but it will also give you a higher chance of getting the desired response.
As to your desire to give the guy a warning, I'd have to disagree. There is no possible benefit.
1) He knows what he's doing is illegal. With him taking and failing the IR checkride there is no way he can claim he did not know he was supposed to have the IR to go fly IFR.
2) He knows that you guys know, per the OP he himself told you.
Keep in mind that if the guy does have his certificate yanked he will likely try to keep flying without it, so you may still have to report him again to keep him out of the sky afterwards.
Gilbert Buettner
Line Up and Wait
If he has his own airplane, it probably will not make any difference. He already demonstrates his willingness to break the rules. You can take away his certificate and he may still continue to fly as always.
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Ari
The FAA's compliance philosophy seems to be kind of a "fool me twice, shame on me" thing. And if you bring shame to the FAA, they can prosecute you and send you to federal prison. That threat is not sufficient to keep everyone on the straight and narrow. But turning a blind eye to someone who is proud of breaking the law and putting himself, his passengers, and strangers at risk of fiery death in the skies has essentially no chance of working.
I knew of (didn't know him personally) a guy who flew for many years with only a long expired student certificate. Owned his own plane, a Stearman, and even gave [paid] rides in it. Seems everybody knew and didn't care as he was well liked and by all accounts a very good pilot... no idea why he never took the checkride. He was described to me as an "old guy", so maybe he couldn't pass the medical.
I'm told that kind of thing is still common in Alaska, but this was in New Jersey (albeit 40 years ago).
I'm told that kind of thing is still common in Alaska, but this was in New Jersey (albeit 40 years ago).
Sierra_Hotel
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Sierra_Hotel
Why would peer pressure do anything for a pilot clearly so willing to repeatedly flaunt the regulations? Make the phone call and skip the waste of time of a confrontation.
ETA: quoted the wrong person
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Kenny Phillips
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One little aside: an FAA "emergency" revocation, unless one is caught fueled with alcohol or drugs, takes months, and sometimes over a year.