EASA PART-NCO (Non Commercial Operations)

[JOE-FBS]

Part-NCO becomes active from 25th August. CAA says in a linked document from its information notice that all pilots/operators who fly/operate an ‘other-than-complex motor-powered aircraft’ need to familiarise themselves with the relevant:

"Annexes of the Air Operations Regulations in the table below:
<CAA appears to have missed a bit out of the document here, it is on the CAA website page for NCO and is a mighty list to wade through>

As a Part-NCO operator, you also need to know:

the EASA Basic Regulation
Annex l - Definitions
NCO.SPEC*

*NCO.SPEC does not come into force until 21 April 2017."

Those who have to study this nausea for our day jobs would suggest that part-time amateur users have little chance. Well done CAA for providing no guidance at all.

FWIW below is a summary I prepared for my fellow syndicate members of the effects of Part-NCO (for context, we fly an AA5). It was a Word document so some of the formatting will be lost. I'll try to sort it with edits to follow.

Part-NCO is the EASA regulations for operating non-complex aircraft. It is the part of EASA operations regulations that apply to us. Note that if you are looking for this on the EASA web site they make it rather less difficult to find their Acceptable Means of Compliance and Guidance Material than the actual EU regulation. The AMC and GM are not law, the regulation is. The AMC and GM are EASA civil servant interpretations of the regulation and are subject to gold plating. The actual law is Commission Regulation 965 / 2012. It is a very large document. The bit that matters to us is Annex VII NCO. The regulation was passed in October 2012. However, annex VII (i.e. Part-NCO, the bit specific to us) could, at the decision of each national authority, be delayed until 25 August 2016 and UK CAA has done this (Information Notice Number: IN–2013/143). The areas covered are:

• Introductory Flights
• Responsibilities of the commander (nothing surprising in the content of that)
• Documents to be carried. This is very tedious for A to B flights (not A to A) unless CAA has over-ridden it but I have found nothing to suggest it has.
(a) The following documents, manuals and information shall be carried on each flight as originals or copies unless otherwise specified:
(1) the AFM, or equivalent document(s);
(2) the original certificate of registration;
(3) the original certificate of airworthiness (CofA);
(4) the noise certificate, if applicable;
(5) the list of specific approvals, if applicable;
(6) the aircraft radio licence, if applicable;
(7) the third party liability insurance certificate(s);
(8) the journey log, or equivalent, for the aircraft;
(9) details of the filed ATS flight plan, if applicable;
(10) current and suitable aeronautical charts for the route area of the proposed flight and all routes along which it is reasonable to expect that the flight may be diverted;
(11) procedures and visual signals information for use by intercepting and intercepted aircraft;
(12) the MEL or CDL, if applicable; and
(13) any other documentation that may be pertinent to the flight or is required by the States concerned with the flight.
(b) Notwithstanding (a), on flights:
(1) intending to take off and land at the same aerodrome/operating site; or
(2) remaining within a distance or area determined by the competent authority,
the documents and information in (a)(2) to (a)(8) may be retained at the aerodrome or operating site.
…
(d) The pilot-in-command shall make available within a reasonable time of being requested to do so by the competent authority, the documentation required to be carried on board.

So, the items in bold are required every flight, the non-bold ones only on land-away.
Note that the regulation does not say that the charts must be paper.

• Dangerous goods (not as onerous as was first threatened. Essentially for ELA 2 and below it amounts to not being stupid)
• Aerodrome Minima (nothing onerous)
• Fuel minima
o VFR within sight of the airfield, as required plus 10 minutes;
o VFR out of site of the airfield as required plus 30 minutes;
o night VFR and IFR as required plus 45 minutes
• Preparation (nothing surprising in the content of that)
• Passenger briefing (nothing surprising in the content of that)
• Weather (nothing surprising in the content of that)

• Minimum equipment:

All Flights:
If > 1 flight crew, intercom
Seat and belt for each occupant
First aid kit
If operating >10000’, oxygen
One fire ext’ each occupied compartment
Radio A/R by airspace
Navaids A/R
Landing aids A/R
Transponder A/R by airspace
ELT 406 ELT on 1 occupant
Magnetic heading (including deviation placard)
Time (H, M, S)
Pressure altitude
ASI

Add for VMC night:
Turn & slip
Attitude
Vertical speed
Stabilised heading
Indicate inadequate power to gyro instr’
Pitot heat

Add for IFR:
OAT

Add for Night:
Anti-collision lights
Nav / pos lights
Landing light
Instr’ lighting supplied from electrical system
Pax space lighting supplied by elec’ system
Independent portable light each crew station

Add where Over Water or where SAR is difficult:
Life jackets
Distress signals PiC option
Rafts PiC option
Other life-saving equipment PiC option

As indicated above by A/R (as required), national regulators set the rules for navigation and identification equipment to fly in their airspace hence why transponder and ELT carriage rules are not consistent across countries. Another example is that for flight in UK Class A airspace add RNAV 5 equipment and a second pressure altimeter. These requirements are in the UK ANO not Part-NCO.