Rustle - what a load of C£$%.
So lets get this right.
Nearly all the aircraft we fly are made in the States (a Fuji fact). Nearly all of the equipment we use is American (a Fuji fact). Nearly all of the pilots flying GA N reg aircraft in the UK are British. GPS was put there and paid for by the Americans. (a couple more Fuji facts) .. .. .. and you need the Japanese to tell you that! Clever people you know.
So the only difference between aircraft and pilots that qualify for the trials on the basis of having the correct equipment or having an IR or IMCR (and note with an FAA IR they are entitled to an IMCR without further ado) is one has a N painted on the side and the other a G.
What a bright idea to exclude N reg aircraft.
Well rather than the normal protectionist moaning for goodness sake recognise aviation as the one business in which international boundaries should count for very little and embrace everyone.
I said excluding N reg is complete nonesense and I stand by it. In principle it is, and I have not seen one good reason for doing so. That said I accept for legal reasons there may be a genuine problem, BUT that is a problem we have created for ourselves. It makes me wonder if the CAA had written to the FAA for consent that N reg aircraft be included in these trials what response they would have received.