REMINDER: Sailplane Licenses and Ratings Conversion

From 30 September 2025 it will be mandatory to hold a Part SFCL SPL licence to fly Part-21 Sailplanes.

Sailplane Instructors and Examiners wishing to exercise privileges must ensure they hold a valid Flight Instructor or Flight Examiner Certificate with the correct privileges.

All pilots whose recommendations were sent to the CAA by 30 June 2025 are guaranteed to have their licence issued by the CAA by 30 September 2025.

BGA Basic Instructors who applied before Friday 5 September 2025 will shortly start to receive their certificates issued by the CAA following legislative changes to the Sailplane Regulations.

Applications submitted after these publicised dates will be assessed on a first-come, first-serve basis and may result in pilots being unable to exercise privileges temporarily.

Any remaining holders of existing British Gliding Association (BGA) Gliding Certificates should contact the BGA directly regarding conversion to a Part-SFCL sailplane licence (SPL).

Pilots that hold either a LAPL(S) or UK-issued EASA SPL will have their licences reissued as a UK Part-SFCL SPL when they next apply to the CAA for a sailplane licensing service, or if they apply to the BGA to add additional privileges to the Part-SFCL SPL.

An updated version of the Sailplanes Regulations is now available on the CAA Aviation Regulatory Library Sailplanes | UK Civil Aviation Authority.

For further information, see our dedicated Sailplane webpages.