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Centerline Thrust Rating

I live in South Africa and fly a 337. Out here the aircraft has it's own rating, in other words it's not regarded as a twin or a single but a type which is different. You need to get a special rating for it, however if one already has a normal twin rating all that is needed is a conversion to type.

Louis replied The FAA used to give a center line thrust multi ticket for skymasters but they do not anymore. Something that is intresting with the new regs that came out in Aug. '97. You cannot use a Skymaster to take a multi checkride because there is no way to demonstrate everything required for the rating. i.e. Vmc etc. BUT you have to have a multi engine rating to fly one. Hope this helps your argument

At a later date Louis added
As we all probably know, the FAA eliminated the centerline thrust restriction for pilots earning a multi rating in a 337 as of Aug. 4, 1997 with the new FAR part 51 revisions. Well it seems they have reconsidered and this rating/restiction is now available again. I read this in the FAA news letter that came out in April.

Steven Albrecht added
Louis is correct. Here is the latest word directly from the FAA web site. It describes the new FAR SS 61.45(b).

* FAR Part 61 Change

When the new FAR Part 61 became effective on August 4, 1997, one of its changes required that a pilot provide an aircraft for a practical test that could meet all of the practical test requirements for a particular pilot or flight instructor certificate. For multiengine pilot applicants this meant they had to now provide a multiengine aircraft that had a published minimum control speed for the test.

In the past, pilots who used an aircraft for a multiengine practical test that didn't have a published minimum control speed such as a Cessna 337 model would receive an operating limitation on their pilot certificate upon successful completion of their practical test that restricted them to operating only similar centerline thrust aircraft.

The same was true of military pilots applying for a civil certificate based upon their military training in aircraft with no published minimum control speed. They too would receive a centerline thrust limitation. These limitations would remain in effect until the pilot passed a certification test in a multiengine aircraft with a published minimum control speed. FAA has now changed back to its old policy.

The new FAR § 61.45(b) reinstates the policy of allowing pilots to take a multiengine practical test in an aircraft without a published minimum control speed. Pilots will now receive an operating limitation on their certificate upon successful completion of the practical test that limits the applicant to that specific aircraft type (i.e. "limited to CE-336/337 only").

The limitation will remain in effect until the pilot takes and successfully passes a practical test in a multiengine aircraft with a published minimum control speed.

This same change in policy will also apply to other aircraft with operating limitations that don't meet all of the test requirements of the appropriate practical test standards.

Pilots taking practical tests in such aircraft will receive an appropriate operating limitation on their certificates until they take and pass the appropriate practical test in an aircraft without the operating limitation.