Maoraigh wrote:
As a “Manufacturer” the comparison is the EAA rather than Piper etc.
The closer analogy to LAA in the context of experimental amateur built aircraft would be the listing of FAA designated DARs, from which you can select any one you prefer
(EAA is not the design or airworthiness authority for any aircraft. Its just a club of like minded and mutually supportive people)
As a “Manufacturer” the comparison is the EAA rather than Piper etc.
I enquired to LAA Engineering about night flying permission for our Bolkow Junior. Instant automatic email acknowledgement. Nothing else for many months so far. Very CAA like.
Maybe we’ll outsource to the French DGAC when we rejoin the EU as a small independent nation later this year?
Ok so we can create the RV10 dreaming club
I think the IOM is regarded as “UK” for practical purposes
It was France, Belgium, etc, which were discouraged.
I actually really like my TB20 for what I do but in another life would buy an RV10 instantly if it could do IFR and not need the various national permits.
My LAA permit machine is based outside the UK and has been since going onto permit, and the LAA have never tried to block it, but getting an inspector in locally here isn’t a problem if we need to do so (and needless to say we never let the permit run out – you can get the permit redone in advance of its expiry, which gives us enough time to find a window in the weather to go and get it done).
It’s not surprising at all that the LAA fleet grows while the certified one shrinks: our entire annual operating costs are less than what a lot of people are paying for just the annual on an EASA reg PA-28.
If IFR was allowed across EASA-land I would order an RV-10 kit the next day!
LeSving wrote:
light exaggeration then and GAMA doesn’t include microlight.
Apparently they also don’t include CS-LSA/VLA even though they are normal category aircraft. E.g. Evektor and its Sportstar RTC is not mentioned.
It’s great to see an area of GA expanding,
It would be very interesting to know if they are effectively fresh to GA or they are people moving from certified to permit. If I was to guess I’d say it would strongly lean to the latter.
The CAA and present percieved attitude amongst the community certainly does them no favours.
You can base an LAA (G-reg, it has to be) plane outside the UK.
The LAA doesn’t like it and tries to block it. I’ve seen one of the letters they send out (posted here and then deleted on request). You have to find an inspector willing to travel abroad and do the Annual there, without saying so. Or you fly back to the UK for the Annual.
The clear impression I have is that those airline pilots who fly GA (often in retirement) are nearly all LAA, with RVs being very popular. And if it doesn’t have a transponder that’s a huge bonus right now
I also think most of the farm strip community is either LAA or UL.
Slight exaggeration then and GAMA doesn’t include microlight. But LAA “operates” only in the UK. It would be interesting to know their " market share" there, if such a thing could be said about homebuilt stuff.