Since you guys are talking about making some trips up to Canada, I thought you might be interested in some further information on FCC radio station licenses.

For flights within the US, it is no longer necessary to have FCC radio licenses. But for international flights, you are technically required to have both an Aircraft Radio Station License for the aircraft, and a Restricted Radiotelephone Operators Permit for yourself.

The FCC has an info/forms web page at http://wireless.fcc.gov/aviation/fctsht4.html which attempts to describe the whats and wherefores of Aircraft Radio Station Licensing, but it's a little confusing in some respects. The first caveat is that it refers to form 753, which is obsolete. All aircraft station AND operator licensing is now covered by form 605. Follow the link to form 605 and instructions on the FCC site, or go directly to http://www.fcc.gov/Forms/Form605/605main.html.

The second issue is that even after reading the instructions, it is still easy to get confused as to which parts are really needed to apply for these licenses. The quick answer is, use schedule C of form 605 for the station license; use schedule E for the operator's permit. You need to file a copy of the main form 605 with each of the two schedules; one main form and two schedules are not sufficient. Schedule F is the temporary (more on that later).

The fee for the aircraft station license is $100, and it must be renewed every 10 years. The fee for the restricted operator permit is $50, and it is valid for life. Links to the fee schedules are included on the form 605 web page, or go directly to form 1070Y.

But do you really NEED these silly things? Neither Canada nor the US requre a station license for operating domestically, and customs agents on both sides never seem to ask for them. In Canada, the Pilot's certificate has been combined with the radio operator's permit, so up there they don't even think of them as separate. In fact, the US FCC appears to be the only agency that cares about them, and they don't have agents at border crossings anyway. Bottom line, there's VERY little chance of ever running into trouble for not having either of these licenses when crossing the US-Canada border.

So say you've never made an international flight, and just want make a nice day trip to, say, Vancouver BC. Is it worth the $150 for one border crossing to get all these stupid licenses that no one will check for anyway? On the other hand, do you want to take a chance (small as it is) that someone WILL check, and if you don't have them you'll end up in who knows what sort of trouble?

There is an out. Form 605 has another schedule, schedule F, "Temporary Operator Permit for the Ship, Aircraft, Restricted Radiotelephone, Restricted Radiotelephone-Limited Use, and GMRS Radio Services". This is a permit that can be used in lieu of the permanent ones, while you're "waiting for your applications to be processed". Fill one of these babies out and date it less than 90 days before your trip, stick it in your plane and go. On the off chance that someone asks for your radio licenses, you're covered. Either way, you DID send your fee in like you're supposed to, and are just using the temporary while you wait for the permanent one to get there, right?