PFA Type - ULM / JAR-VLA on a foreign reg

[italianjon]

Hi All,

I'm looking into building an aircraft with a friend of mine and we're looking into what to build.

We both have different requirements of what we want out of a plane, but there are some around that meet both; the issue is not many are on the UK's PFA approved list.

So, I have family abroad, and was thinking about the possibility of registering the plane abroad to that address, in a country where it is approved by their PFA equivalent. Although it will be based here in the UK and flown probably with regularity to France, Belgium and Holland.

Has anybody tried this before? What are the pro's and con's of doing so? Is it even possible?

Cheers

Jon

[Rod1]

Rule is you can only have it based in the UK for a very limited time, I think 30 days. After that you need special permission from the CAA, which is very hard to get. What aircraft are you looking at? There are big changes coming in the next 12 months.

Rod1

[italianjon]

Thanks for the reply...

We're looking at various models at the moment. The Alpi Pioneer 330 seems to come out favourite, but only the Pioneer 300 is on the PFA list. Another one we're looking at the Tecnam P2002 JR, but only the JS is on the PFA List. The last one of our front three is the Dyn Aero MCR R180, again not on the PFA approved list.

It is a shame because there are so many beautiful aircraft our there, but when you really really look at it the PFA list does seem very limited at present!

Cheers

Jon

[Mark 1]

A type will only go on the list after somebody has taken one through the process. The LAA won't pre-emptively approve a type.

If it's a reputable kit manufacturer and similar to a model that's already approved, then there shouldn't be too much formality in getting it accepted.

Best thing is to put the idea to the LAA and see what they say. Completely new types need to undergo fairly extensive examination, which limits the number that they can cope with.

As Rod says, changes are afoot which could facilitate a more Europe-wide permit approval.