JAR/VLA versus Microlight
I've just returned from the Aero 2003 event at Friedrichshafen and was amazed at the vibrancy of the light aircraft market in Europe. All sorts of sleek 2-seat Rotax/Jabiru powered composite aircraft with some terrific performance claims. A lot of the designs had previously been built to the 450kg limits for microlights and are now being certified to JAR/VLA standards with increased MTOW. I believe the Germans now allow 472 kgs for microlights which allows a more realistic load for pilot, pax and fuel. My query is has anybody tried to get one of these JAR/VLA aircraft approved in the UK? None of the maufacturers I spoke to was in the slightest bit interested in the UK due to the perceived roadblocks put up by both the CAA and PFA. Perhaps I'm being naive but as we are European I would have thought I could buy a
WD Fascination and fly it on the UK register on the back of the German JAR?VLA certification. Any comments or feedback would be really helpful