Porchy wrote:
1. Dry hire of a N reg aircraft through UK LTD company where renters also join to become members for a one off fee.
By member do you mean the renters buy a share of the LTD and become part owners (of the LTD/plane)?
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Could one create a LTD which buys an N-reg and then rent out the N-reg? The pilot (cpl) would be hired directly by the renter?
I cannot see why not. If you “own” or “part-own” a plane, and you hire the pilot, that is how most of the bizjet scene runs.
What you can’t have is the pilot supplying the plane, and variations like that.
Peter wrote:
If you “own” or “part-own” a plane
What if a non pilot is a member of a club and/or rents the plane from an owner.
What if the pilot/cpl happens to be the owner of a plane and through a LTD rents out the plane to non pilots and is then hired to fly it.
What if a non pilot is a member of a club and/or rents the plane from an owner.
According to one bizjet salesman I spoke to, about 99% of the owners don’t fly. They get a paid crew.
What if the pilot/cpl happens to be the owner of a plane and through a LTD rents out the plane to non pilots and is then hired to fly it.
A fine line, wouldn’t you say?
I am informed by someone who knows quite a lot about this that the second case in post 14 would indeed be “charter” which needs an AOC.
Thank you, interesting.
So the pilot cannot supply plane and piloting at the same time.
But the pilots wife could own the airplane and rent it to whoever and the pilot could be hired by the renter to fly it. Might work in the UK. Austrian law for instance says one can only rent an airplane to someone who has the required license to fly it.
Anyone has an idea on the regulatory set-up for equity/non-equity/rental of N-Regs that are based in the UK?
I know a bit the requirement for equity/non-equity/rental of G-Regs but no idea how this fits on N-Regs?
Say you want,
Equity: I guess you need a trust as owner for it to be on N-Reg and then rent it tough an LTD to shareholders (they may own shares from 1$ to $1M)? Does it involve UK Dft permission for air work?
Or non-equity/rentals: does CAA public transport category apply?
No clue but generally EASA definition of CAT is if the paying person has no control (eg a passenger of an airline has no executive input on what the plane does when).
In France many flying clubs have N-Reg aircraft in their fleet which they will happily rent to US or EASA licence holders after a checkout.
Some interesting questions have arisen on the back of this year’s insurance renewal for an N-reg SR22.
Some background facts: The aircraft was purchased by two individuals using their English limited company. That company is the beneficial owner, with legal ownership vested in SAC (a typical trust ownership structure for non-US owners). The aircraft is maintained under Part 91 rules (incl. 100 hour checks) and rented to a small number of members on a dry basis. The owners and the renters fly the aircraft for private business and pleasure trips only. Occasionally they engage freelance instructors for the purpose of FAA flight reviews, FAA IPCs and UK IR revalidations. The instructors are paid directly by the person receiving the instruction.
The insurer has been advised by AOPA (not sure whether they are referring to AOPA UK or USA) that N-reg rental is not possible in the UK. Instead the group should be operated on a shared ownership basis. The insurer cannot provide any written statement from AOPA to this effect, nor will it confirm the legal basis on which N-reg rental is not permitted.
To insure on a rental basis, the insurer has requested written confirmation from the owners that they “are permitted to operate the aircraft in a commercially rented capacity”.
We propose to confirm that no approvals are required as the usage does not amount to a commercial operation under either FAA or CAA rules – this is where guidance would be appreciated.
On the FAA side it is my understanding:
- Part 119 requires i) a commercial operators certificate if the aircraft is used for “compensation or hire” and ii) compliance with either Part 121 or 135 maintenance rules
- However we can use certain exemptions to avoid the need for a commercial operators certificate and maintain under Part 91 rules, namely the training flight exemption in 119.1(e)(3). The footnote to the Grannis (2017) opinion of FAA Chief Counsel states that the instructor “must hold a commercial pilot certificate”. This clearly includes an FAA CPL. And logically a PPL with CRI is not within scope of the exemption. But would the exemption include an instructor holding only a UK CPL (e.g. a UK CAA IRE)?
On the UK CAA side I am aware of Art. 252 ANO 2016 and the definition of “commercial operation” in Art 7. The CAA has stated in CAP 1335 that self-fly hire is not a “commercial operation”. Paid instruction in UK airspace to an owner or renter ceased to be an issue with the 2016 ANO and removal of the “aerial work” term (which did include instruction and therefore required DfT/CAA permission for instruction to take place in the UK on an N-reg aircraft).
Any opposing views?
