There is in my opinion a weakness in the LAA system in that it routinely allows owners, without special training, or oversight to do these air tests. I've certainly flown one or two of their aeroplanes where something went wrong and there were problems that most certainly should have been corrected before signing off a recent air test. BMAA and CAA work slightly differently.
The BMAA is seeking CAA agreement for owners to test fly their own aircraft. Something to do with a Pterodactyl, I believe.
The LAA conditions seem very reasonable to me:
1. Who Does The Flight Test?
The flight test must be carried out by a pilot who has studied the test requirements and is fully capable of carrying them out. Many owners prefer to do the flight tests themselves, and would not risk letting anyone else fly their prized machines. The minimum previous flying experience for the pilot carrying out the test is 100 hours total time including 10 hours either on type or on a similar or related type. Having said this, many pilot/owners with many more hours but out of practise at stalling, sideslipping etc do no feel confident about carrying out the tests, and prefer
to ask someone else to do this on their behalf. If you should be in this position, avoid the local 'ace of the base' whose experience in propping up the bar exceeds his actual competence with stick and rudder. Some busy owners are only too happy to leave the flight testing to the maintenance organisation carrying out the renewal, while some individual LAA inspectors regard it as part of their responsibilities to carry out the flight test themselves. It is up to the owner to talk this through with the inspector when the renewal is being organised, to come to a mutually satisfactory arrangement and fix up the insurance accordingly.