Primarily for general aviation discussion, but other aviation topics are also welcome.
By patowalker
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1861925
Shoestring Flyer wrote:
Miscellaneous wrote:
PaulSS wrote:I am looking forward to the 600kg rule being made law and being able to carry more fuel :thumleft:

Indulge my ignorance, if you would. Is my understanding that the 600kg will only apply to new builds mistaken? Will it now be retrospective? :thumright:


Yes that is as I understand it! There will not be automatic upgrades to 600kg on anything currently flying in the UK.
Whatever weight your MAUW is under the current system will stay exactly the same.
600kg will only apply to new factory built microlights or amateur built micro's Permitted post legislation.


Yes, but present non-microlights which meet the new definition will be able to be re-classified as microlights.

I will probably have my homebuilt 480kg Eurostar re-classified, as microlights have free access to more foreign airspace than homebuilt non-microlights flown on a UK NPPL or LAPL.
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#1861926
Thanks for the link @patowalker, I see Paul's case may indeed be 'simple'. :thumright:

patowalker wrote:Yes, but present non-microlights which meet the new definition will be able to be re-classified as microlights.

I will probably have my homebuilt 480kg Eurostar re-classified, as microlights have free access to more foreign airspace than homebuilt non-microlights flown on a UK NPPL or LAPL.

Assuming you did not have a microlight licence, would this change necessitate addressing the licence issue to enable you to fly an aeroplane you have, presumably, been flying for years? :?
#1861930
I guess the good news for @PaulSS is that having his aeroplane signed off should be as simple as it can be, given the same aeroplane is already approved for 560kgs.


Yes, that is what I am hoping/assuming. The good people at Eurofox have already put in lots of work to ensure the process should be as simple as possible. All the newer 'Foxes have the stronger spars etc, so are exactly the same as the LAA version. I believe an inspection will be required to check everything complies, some new limitation stickers applied and then it should be able to be re-certified with a higher MTOW.

Certainly not 'automatic' but very close to it......fingers crossed :thumright:


Assuming you did not have a microlight licence, would this change necessitate addressing the licence issue to enable you to fly an aeroplane you have, presumably, been flying for years? :?


If the CAA can squeeze some £££s out of you for doing so, I have no doubt they'll try :roll:
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By Paul_Sengupta
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1861943
Miscellaneous wrote:Assuming you did not have a microlight licence, would this change necessitate addressing the licence issue to enable you to fly an aeroplane you have, presumably, been flying for years? :?


You'd need differences training! :D
#1861945
Paul_Sengupta wrote:
Miscellaneous wrote:Assuming you did not have a microlight licence, would this change necessitate addressing the licence issue to enable you to fly an aeroplane you have, presumably, been flying for years? :?


You'd need differences training! :D


So licensing is nowt to do with the aeroplane in this case, it's because it has an A on a piece of paper, rather than an M. :roll:
#1861949
What I can`t understand is, if a current microlight has a ballistic chute installed, the weight automatically goes up to 472.5kg
so why cant a microlight that has no chute be rated to 472.5kg?
Would make quite a difference for someone my size, not particularly overweight, but 6`4" tall
By patowalker
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1861961
Miscellaneous wrote:Thanks for the link @patowalker, I see Paul's case may indeed be 'simple'. :thumright:

patowalker wrote:Yes, but present non-microlights which meet the new definition will be able to be re-classified as microlights.

I will probably have my homebuilt 480kg Eurostar re-classified, as microlights have free access to more foreign airspace than homebuilt non-microlights flown on a UK NPPL or LAPL.

Assuming you did not have a microlight licence, would this change necessitate addressing the licence issue to enable you to fly an aeroplane you have, presumably, been flying for years? :?


I do have a microlight licence, and it is ICAO compliant, apparently. :D

Image

Image

I also have an NPPL (SSEA), so sorting licencing should not be an issue.
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By russp
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1861963
Paul_Sengupta wrote:
Miscellaneous wrote:Assuming you did not have a microlight licence, would this change necessitate addressing the licence issue to enable you to fly an aeroplane you have, presumably, been flying for years? :?


You'd need differences training! :D


If you currently fly on a PPL / LAPL you'd need differences training

If you currently fly on a NPPL (SSEA) you'd need a new microlight class rating which would require a GST pass.
#1861964
Dman wrote:What I can`t understand is, if a current microlight has a ballistic chute installed, the weight automatically goes up to 472.5kg
so why cant a microlight that has no chute be rated to 472.5kg?
Would make quite a difference for someone my size, not particularly overweight, but 6`4" tall


It's a dispensation to allow safety equipment to be fitted so that there is no weight penalty and hence barrier to fitting it.
Strictly speaking the weight limit is still 450 kgs, to which may be added a ballistic chute of up to 22.5 kgs.
So really you are not supposed to be able to say, "My microlight has a ballistic chute fitted that only weighs 12.5 kgs, so I can put an extra 10 kgs of load in it." But everybody does, naturally.
This point was mentioned in the BMAA FAQs that was linked to earlier - basically it's not just MTOM, it's balance too and the chute has to be approved such that it doesn't mess up W&B.
Last edited by lobstaboy on Fri Jul 30, 2021 11:12 am, edited 1 time in total.
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#1861966
PaulSS wrote:.. before they changed it from SEA to SEP, many of us would ‘revalidate’ our PPLs using Hawk hours :)
..


ah, but did one of those hours have to be with a Hawk colleague who happened also to be a CAA/EASA civil FI ? If so, they were presumably much in demand among colleagues :)

[My original UK BoT PPL said only 'SE landplane, MTOW <12,500 lb', without making any distinction between P T and J. This meant I could have flown a Gnat if someone would have lent me one, but no one did :( . Oh and no mandatory 'differences training' for 'complex' either, and 'powered weightshift's were still unregulated if they even existed outside some madcap types in the US :wink: ]
#1861969
russp wrote:
Paul_Sengupta wrote:
Miscellaneous wrote:Assuming you did not have a microlight licence, would this change necessitate addressing the licence issue to enable you to fly an aeroplane you have, presumably, been flying for years? :?


You'd need differences training! :D


If you currently fly on a PPL / LAPL you'd need differences training

If you currently fly on a NPPL (SSEA) you'd need a new microlight class rating which would require a GST pass.


Correct, but only if the manufacturer/importer or kit manufacturer chooses to re-certify the existing design as a microlight.
Nothing is going to change automatically.
#1861978
@kanga
ah, but did one of those hours have to be with a Hawk colleague who happened also to be a CAA/EASA civil FI ? If so, they were presumably much in demand among colleagues :)


No, this was when it 5 hours in 13 months (or whatever it used to be). No EASA around to trouble us then. There was no mention of flying with an instructor etc. It was more a case of the Hawk hours counting towards keeping the licence current (don't recall 'revalidating' and 'renewing' being around then). I used to get the 'experience stamp' in my logbook done at Compton Abbas when I nipped there to fly a Cessna or similar. Jet Provost and Hawk both counted as they were single-engine aeroplanes with a MTOW < 5700 kgs. Then the spoilsports put a 'P' on the 'SE' :(

Yep, no P, T or J. Wasn't it just A for singles and B for multi, or am I just getting confused with gliding licences (minus single/multi.....obvioulsy)?
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#1861979
patowalker wrote:I do have a microlight licence, and it is ICAO compliant, apparently. :D

I wasn't questioning your own situation, simply considering the ridiculousness of the scenario I described. :D

This thought simply 'amused' me. :lol:
patowalker wrote:That'll be a laugh. Differences training to fly the same aircraft. :D
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