I think the CAA should put out to tender the whole business of homebuilt aircraft and get some professional company to run the permit system.
Wouldn't work Dawn, for a very simple reason. There are probably about 8 Engineers in the country with the experience and qualifications to run an aircraft homebuilding system. Four of those work for either PFA or BMAA, and the other four are probably all being paid far more, and have more sense than to touch what are incredibly political jobs.
). It seems that the process is handled by a few people who can get carried away with something they fancy rather than good old aero engineering principles.
Absolute rubbish - talk to anybody who has had an aircraft approved through either organisation about how much work they've had to do. The amount of work is enormous, and every project I've had sight of has been one where Francis or Guy has insisted upon some changes BEYOND the minimum safety standards, to ensure that the aircraft was good enough.
But that doesn't change the fact that a lot of these aircraft are idiosynchratic, some were approved before current safety standards were in force, and occasionally designers do their damndest to pull the wool over the eyes of the approving Engineers. On the whole they do a good job.
And I think that the PFA would be the first to tell you that some of their types - a Kitfox or Europa for example - should not be flown by anybody without specific training on the type.
Having said that, I do agree with you that some aspects aren't run well. The average operators manual for a permit aeroplane would be more useful recycled as firelighters, and I include CAA permit aircraft in that - very often the handling advice is "best guess", the performance figures were written by a salesman, not produced by rigorous flight test, and operating limitations are sometimes based upon a rather tenuous basis - what is the X-wind limit in a monowheel Europa for example? As you say, unapproved mods and repairs are rife, as are people being paid to build an aeroplane for somebody - with little or no supervision and without the vested interest to get it right that an owner has. And too many people jump into ideosynchratic permit aircraft without proper training on type.
Nonetheless, we (the Brits) have by far the best system in the world for homebuilt aeroplanes, with huge choice and a safety record which is still pretty damned good. I don't think that we should lose track of that. This is basically down to the professional staff at PFA and BMAA, a few talented individuals at the CAA, and those who support them - it's certainly not down to luck.
G