View Full Version : What's with the India (India, India) Registrations?
I was digging through the CAA register for Pitts' the other day (see the other thread)... and noticed rather alot where it looks like a case of the more India's in your reg, the better.
Didn't seem to be any kind of single operator's sig or anything. Everyone's got one, or so it seemed.
Possible reasons:
1. Less registration 'mess' on your - I is the most minimal letter. In fact, combine it with latitudanal strip pattern, to almost entirely eliminate the reg. Ideal for when you are practising at 250 ft, directly over the houses of the people that complained about you last time.
2. Aerobatic pilots are egotists. 'I' is their favourite letter.
3. The IAC associates a difficulty multiplier against each I. The more I's, the more your overall score will automatically be increased.
British National Champion of India Registrations is Brian Lecomber, with the unbeatable Pitts S2B - 'G-IIII'. Rumours that he's getting CAA approval for an additional 'I' are unconfirmed.
flickoff
8th Apr 2002, 18:38
Look here Paulo old chap. Pitts Pilots are as a bunch even tempered chaps. We leave the ego stuff to the plastic easter egg drivers.
The reason some of us have as many IIIIIIIIII's as possible is so that it fits on the tail and is still a legal size. If You are being sponsored by Joe's Crab Shack and have that on the fuselage, the only place left is the tail, if you want to keep it legal. I believe the CAA got arsy originally when all the IIIIIIII reg's where initially applied for, but all seems OK now.
And yes. I have a Pitts will a load of I's in the reg. Not four tho' I'm not that good.:D
stiknruda
8th Apr 2002, 21:15
Totally concur with my old mate FO.
The late and well missed, Geoff Masterton was the Rothman's team engineer and a prolific Pitts builder. In my early Pitts-ing days explained to me that the India registrations were well sought after because you could easily fit the reg in legal size on the tail and leave room for the sponsors logo.
FO can't be all that bad as he has three India's!
Stik
Aaaahh... now I knew there had to be a practical explanation. I best go have a look again for a spare 'India' registration, for when I join you lot. :-)
Out of interest, what's the process for getting out of sequence registrations? Is it just a case of asking and form filling?
Hairyplane
9th Apr 2002, 13:03
An out of sequence reg is easy to obtain.
Check an index or contact the CAA to see if your chosen reg has already been allocated and then cough up £200 to reserve it. The CAA will send you a form on request.
A pity indeed that the registration can be changed but not transferred.
Can anybody explain why this is so?
G-SPOT died with a Partenavia that ended up in a smoking hole I believe. A pity that something like that can't be resurrected.
There are some crackers around.
G-SPIN and G-LOOP are OK, G-EWIZ is great, and G-LITZ... well, it most certainly has had the paint job to fit the reg. One of my favourites.
distaff_beancounter
9th Apr 2002, 14:30
Apparently, the CAA refuses to register anything that it considers rude .... so that rules out most of the usual four lettered words, that are used by pilots :D
But I do recall some years ago, that the former champion jockey, Willie Carson, registered his personal runabout as G-WILI.
His old friend & rival jockey, Walter Swinburn, then registered his Cessna T303 as G-PUSI, & always tried to park it next to G-WILI, at the race-courses, preferably in full view of the TV cameras! ;)
Ivchenko
9th Apr 2002, 19:05
Anybody remember G-UCCI, sure it was a Pitts, about fifteen years ago, painted up like one of the Gucci handbags?
Rattus
9th Apr 2002, 19:58
The CAA used to be quite prudish, I think they had a chap whose sole job was scrutinising the new allocations for "unsuitable" combinations.
There was a photo doing the rounds a few years ago of Terrier G-ARSL, its registration doctored with bits of black tape by the Rearsby apprentices. Dove G-ARSI suffered a similar fate. Its owner was so upset that he re-registered it.
The builder of a FW190 replica applied for G-FOCK. This was granted on condition that it did not appear on the aeroplane!
Nick :D
stiknruda
9th Apr 2002, 21:02
G-UCCI is alive and well and now masquerades as another India India registration Pitts and can be recognised by its puce and banana yellow livery.
My fave used to be G-ONAD!:)
Stik
Wycombe
9th Apr 2002, 22:15
....unfortunately G-SEXI has recently ceased to be also
AAIB Bulletin (http://www.aaib.detr.gov.uk/bulletin/mar02/gsexi.htm)
treadigraph
10th Apr 2002, 08:02
Sadly G-SPOT was a Partenavia Observer (P-68 with a see-through nose), so I guess the registration was well intentioned!
I remember seeing an excellent Italian Tiger Moth at one of the Tiger Club's Redhill displays a few years back - I-BANG!
waldopepper42
11th Apr 2002, 09:28
Brian Lecomber really is the 'I' champion having, I believe, at one time concurrently owned G-SIII, G-HIII, G-IIII and G-TIII (Pitts and Extras). Not quite sure what was on his mind! :)