Experimental airplanes in Hungary

@jnsv and @C210_Flyer might know about Hungary.

I am sure there is no problem flying an RV in Hungary. The RV must be Europe’s most popular non-certified (non-ICAO-CofA) type.

As regards how long you can park a non Hungarian reg non-certified type in Hungary, there might be some pointers here.

@magyarflyer were you planning to rent or buy an RV locally in Hungary, or fly one over to Europe?

There are definitely pilots here from Hungary but maybe they are not flying homebuilts and cannot find the Hungarian regs. In Europe, such regs are not in a central place. Any airspace related regs are somewhere in the AIP, but parking related regs are in the national laws (they are not related to EASA regs). In some cases they cannot be found and some countries don’t even have regs on the subject (so, if that is the definitive position, you could do what you like). One of the several threads on homebuilt privileges is here and if you dig around there you may find some pointers to summaries of ECAC aircraft privileges.

@magyarflyer
I have done some research about the question you proposed, i.e. operating an N-reg homebuilt in Hungary on the long term.
First of all, here is the relevant information from the AIP:

3.1.1 Aircraft having non-standard Certificate of Airworthiness
Non-standard airworthiness certificate means any certificate or permission different from ICAO or EASA airworthiness certificate.

3.1.1.1 Conditions for permission of flights for foreign aircraft with limited airworthiness
No permission to enter the airspace of Hungary is required for aircraft with a limited certificate of airworthiness or permit to fly issued by the aviation authority of EU Member States in accordance with Annex (Part 21) to Commission Regulation (EU) No 748/2012 and its amendments, validity of which is automatically recognised within the meaning of Article 11 of Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council as amended.
All foreign aircraft with certificate other than stated in para 3.1.2.1.a. (JnsV: I could not find para 3.1.2.1.a.) must obtain permission for entering and/or flight activities within the Hungarian airspace.*
The application must be submitted by the operator at least 5 days before aircraft enters Hungarian airspace with the purpose of the flight, intended destination aerodrome (if any), expected route through the Hungarian airspace to the CAA

The application for permission shall be substantiated by copies of the following documents:

• Certificate of Registration
• Airworthiness Certificate including established operational limitations (if issued)
• Permit to Fly including the conditions (if issued)
• Proof of annual inspection (if issued)
• Differences from the ICAO Annex 6 and 8
• Noise Certificate (if issued)
• Proof of third-party liability insurance
• Air Operator Certificate or equivalent if any
• Congruence RVSM, B-RNAV, Mode-S, ATC, ACAS II, FM immunity
• Licence of pilot-in-command

The permission may be issued with time and/or any other operational restrictions. Duration of the permission will generally be granted for the purpose by the end of the validity of the Permit to Fly.

3.1.1.2 Light aircraft for sporting activities (e.g. LSA, micro lights, autogyro, home-built aircraft, light glider, hang glider and other types of sport flying devices) with National Certificate of Airworthiness or Permit to Fly can use the Hungarian airspace under the following conditions:
Light aircraft

• has individual registry or identification mark,
• has a valid technical certificate (e.g. certificate of airworthiness, permit to fly or other equivalent document) issued by the State of Registry or state of identification, as relevant,
• has a valid third party liability insurance certificate covers the Hungarian territory,
• is not used for commercial flight operation.
• Pilot
• has a valid pilot licence (or other equivalent document) for relevant type of light aircraft required by the State of Registry or state of identification, as relevant,
• has a valid medical certificate (if not part of the pilot licence),
• performs flights by VFR/day in accordance with limitations or conditions specified in technical certificate.

I bolded the parts that I think could be relevant. Basically, my understanding is that para 3.1.1.2 does not override para 3.1.1.1 for homebuilts, i.e. you will have to apply for a permission, which will be granted if you comply with 3.1.1.2 and generally it will be granted for the entire validity duration of the underlying PtF or CofA.

I also looked through the (comprehensive) national archive of laws and government regulations for all instances of “amatőr építésű légijármű”, which is the official term for homebuilt aircraft in Hungarian. I only found references regarding their building and approval process if being done in Hungary and registered with the Hungarian CAA. I also used some other more generic terms to look for parking or other restrictions regarding non-EU aircraft with “non-standard airworthiness certificates”, but I did not find any, meaning that there should be no ban or parking term limit.

In conclusion, I believe that it is possible to base and operate an N-reg homebuilt for VFR flights in Hungary (I am not sure whether IFR is possible at the moment, see the underlined part). You will probably have to apply for a permit in advance, but this generally will be a long term permit, not one that would have to be renewed for each flight. Please also note that any permit issued by the Hungarian CAA will only be valid for the Hungarian airspace, so you would possibly have to get permits for the other countries where you intend to fly (see other threads on EuroGA about this).

To get a definite answer, one should contact the Hungarian CAA directly at [email protected]. This is an official point of contact for them, i.e. you can either ask a generic question, but you can also submit the application for permission this way. They are obliged to answer within a month, but they usually answer more quickly. They provide services in English, so that should not be a barrier.

magyarflyer wrote:

I suspect the theory of laying sleeping dogs alone is working here, no one talks.

This is certainly true, unfortunately, in many cases, but overall I found the Hungarian CAA mostly helpful and apart from a minority of personnel, they genuinely want to help general aviation users.

Many thanks for the great post, JnsV. It does sound like Hungary is a good place to keep one of these.