Good thread!
Do ferrying or being a personal pilot have any formal definition in law
Ferrying is one of the few things which needs a CPL (to get paid for it) but doesn’t need an AOC. Why not an AOC? Probably because most of the flight is outside the jurisdiction of whoever might want to bust you 
If you offered a ferry service within the UK I am sure the CAA would try to get you for something…
A personal pilot… depends on whether the pilot is actually PIC. In many situations he doesn’t have to be. For example you can be PIC in a TBM with just the required papers (a PPL and the TBM Class Rating) but the insurer will stipulate the second pilot (who has a lot of time on type but doesn’t have to be PIC).
Peter wrote:
Ferrying is one of the few things which needs a CPL (to get paid for it) but doesn’t need an AOC.
Peter, did you mean ferrying for hire?
Otherwise, it should be just a normal flight…
An AOC is required for commercial air transport services. As moving a plane from A to B doesn’t equate to a transport service, an AOC is not required.
Peter wrote:
Ferrying is one of the few things which needs a CPL (to get paid for it)
I think the context of the question was ferrying for maintenance or positioning, without being paid. Ultimately (if not paid to do it) this just boils down to doing someone a favour and it’s hard to see how the flight can have any special status which might bring with it extra rules on licensing requirements or rules on who can cover the costs.
Ferrying over long distances is a viable business, presumably because (especially crossing oceans) it is felt to require specialist skills and experience. On paper there would appear to be nothing to prevent a PPL doing it for free (or ‘at cost’), but the commercial operations would attack anyone trying that and as you say the CAA would probably try to do you for something/anything if they found out about it.
For sure you can ferry a plane for somebody for free, on a PPL/[IR]
But in reality practically nobody will do it for free. Maybe once…
As moving a plane from A to B doesn’t equate to a transport service, an AOC is not required.
Doesn’t necessarily follow; for example traffic spotting for a local radio station needs an AOC, over here. I used to know somebody who got one; cost about 20k initially and then 5k/year.
DavidC wrote:
LAPL/LAPL Medical
- Cost sharing on any EASA aircraft
I’m sure you can do glider towing and all the other stuff on a LAPL
