GA Experimental flying
There's a lot of ideas being thrown about at present in the UK about experimental flying on light or microlight aircraft / SLMG. The basic premise is that people who want to be able to experiment with changed engines, instruments, flying controls, etc. should be allowed to. The concept is quite widely supported, but when you get down into the detail it starts to get very complicated - what sort of operating restrictions should apply?, who should be allowed to fly (or fly in) the aircraft?, how much evidence from uncontrolled experimental flying could be accepted towards subsequent approval?, should the limits of experimentation be agreed in advance with a "grown up"?, should first flights be conducted by a qualified TP?
My own views are that the idea is sound, but such flying should be limited to named crew and airfields, and the range of experimentation agreed in advance by a competent person with the authority to say yes or no to what is done (such as the PFA's Chief Engineer for example). I think that this is broadly the way the FAA work, but suspect that what it says in their documents and what actually happens, may not strictly co-incide.
Does anybody have any thoughts or experiences of an experimental system within GA, and how it does, could or should work?
G