Reasons not to go Permit.
If you go back in time to the 90’s (I started power flying in 91) the main reasons not to go permit were lack of over flight and limited to 2 seats. LAA owners were told endlessly that this would never change and the critic would never switch. Roll on to present day and we have over flight, we have 4 seat aircraft. Now we are told we need IFR and Night. The official position of the LAA is that these restrictions should be lifted for suitable aircraft and I agree with that, but how much effort should we put in? Should we go all out, spend what it takes and win, or should we take it very slowly. Will IFR / Night make a huge difference to our membership numbers? What is the impact on our hard won privileges to use uncertified parts? My personal opinion is that IFR / Night is almost irrelevant and this is from a pilot who passed his IMC and night back in 1992 and has used both a lot.
The IFR argument
Lets look at some numbers. Back in 1990’s around 15% of pilots held a current IMCR. That number is now rumoured to be around 10 – 12%. Many Permit machines spend significant time touring Europe and the IMCR is not valid in Europe. Under UK rules VFR on top was only allowed with an IMCR. In Europe VFR on top was allowed on a basic PPL. The new EASA licences have VFR on top included. VFR on top was one of the biggest advantages for the average IMCR holder.
If the LAA gets IFR use it will come at a cost. It is probable that all aircraft will have to be individually cleared for IFR. The equipment will need to be certified and installed professionally. This equipment is likely to be quite wide ranging and will remove most of the cost savings that the LAA fleet generally enjoys. We may well end up with a class of aircraft which are LAA C of A at considerable disruption to the LAA engineering day job and very little relevance to the average pilot (the 90% with no current IMCR). Many c of a aircraft in the typical 180hp class may theoretically be capable of IFR flight but the equipment in them has long since fallen behind what is required. Back in the 90’s most training aircraft were IFR capable, now most are not. Would the majority of LAA resources not be better used in clearing more aircraft types to fly under the UK LAA system and wait till the need for IFR grows to a worthwhile level (or not).
Night is somewhat different. The recent study that gained us over flight showed that LAA machines were 2.5% less likely to suffer critical mechanical issues than C of A machines (over the 20 years studied). Night VFR is imminent and your average LAA builder could wire up and get approved the necessary lighting in next to no time. Individual aircraft could be cleared with standard inspector oversight and the large fleet of factory built aircraft, like the bulldog etc already have all the necessary lighting etc. I am very sceptical that Night clearance would bring any significant new members as most PPL’s only use it to revalidate on the few weeks a year when the local licenced airfield stays open to do Night qualifications. Back in the 90’s there were many brave souls who used to land on strips with a few lights from cars, but I have not seen or heard of this done for many years. Is the Night qualification being widely used in the UK? What is the wisdom of the forum on these points?
Rod1