planes which have non-CAA-approved addons fitted (e.g. aftermarket turbos, different types of wingtip lights, but I can't think of any example which has a safety issue)
Or a negative safety issue...what about ballistic parachute systems, which were freely available on certain FAA types, saved lives, yet were not allowed in the UK....how mad is that? I dunno if its changed at all now....
The problem with GA in Europe, is that its treated in a special way ("ooh no sir, you can't possibly change that light bulb, without filling in forms 1020,1030,1050, in triplicate, then applying to the CAA, waiting 10 monthsm, then paying a large fee, then get a CAA approved engineer to charge you £10,000 for it"), when all it really is is a form of transport to many. Would be great if I could commute to work by plane, but unfortunately unless I get that £500,000 / week job as an F1 driver, its not going to happen. Whereas, if I lived in America, there is a real possibility that I could commute to work by aeroplane, indeed many *normal* (ie. other than the very wealthy) people do (live in Santa Maria, work in Santa Barbara, and its a quick 15 minute hope over the mountains....beats driving). And as stated, there is not a difference in pilot skill / aircraft airworthness between this side of the pond and the other.
Maybe if Private GA wasn't so costly due to regulations, then maybe people could afford the Mode S transponder
Right off my soap box....
EA
