A call by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) for a less complex UK private pilot's licence (PPL) has got the full backing of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Said an AOPA spokesman: "If everything falls into place, the new licence could be available early next year."

AOPA's chief executive, Martin Robinson, welcomed the CAA's 'huge initiative' in backing its call for the new licence and said: "This could kick-start the UK flying training industry, which has been in serious trouble recently, back into good shape.

"We are very pleased at the speed at which the CAA has reacted to our proposals and the fact that they have listened to outside voices.

"Flying schools in the UK have been suffering, with student numbers down and because of cheaper competition form the USA and other places. This will help give them back a competitive edge."

The CAA's head of flight crew licensing, Ron Helder, said: "The detail could prove devilish and we urge the industry to come to us now with pragmatic suggestions that we can get to grips with in a scheme which we think is already sound, logical and rational.

"We will do everything we can to promote it speedily through our system and will do nothing to delay it.

"There are some of us within the CAA who believe that the PPL should never have been included in the JAR in the first place as the JAR is really aimed at the commercial pilot and commercial considerations."

Said an AOPA spokesman: "It would need a minimum of 30 hours of flying time and its own set of rules on what a pilot needs to show in flying skills and theoretical knowledge and probably have a medical test like those used for drivers, in which case it would be a world first."