Polite discussion about EASA, the CAA, the ANO and the delights of aviation regulation.
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By Dave W
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1827309
I've contacted the BMAA about this but thought I would also ask here.

I am trying to get my brain around changes to "Going Foreign" post January 1st (and when I think I've got it, I'll share with you all via a cunning plan that is developing).

One question that I am trying to address is the status of the NPPL with Microlight Rating for flying to France.

Pre-1st Jan, the situation was described in the NPPL FAQs as:
www.nationalprivatepilotslicence.co.uk/faq wrote:Q Can holders of the NPPL with Microlight rating fly abroad like holders of the pre - NPPL Microlight Licence?
A
The NPPL is a day only UK VFR licence and confers no automatic rights to fly abroad. However the UK PPL (A) Microlight was a sub-ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) Licence which also conferred no automatic rights to fly abroad. While the French have given a blanket exemption that allows UK microlight pilots to fly in France provided certain conditions are met, (see the BMAA Website at http://www.bmaa.org for details), all other countries require you to obtain permission in advance.


So there is a possible logic that says "Since it is a Country to Country agreement, nothing to do with EASA licence recognition, nothing should have changed and so the French blanket exemption (with conditions) still applies."

But does it? Does anybody have definitive information one way or the other?

If you do have information, I'd be very grateful if you could quote chapter and verse (a link would be perfect) and/or provide me with a pointer to such rather than simply make a statement. Thanks very much.

(Note that my query is solely about this licensing issue. Issues regarding flying aircraft types abroad are a separate subject for me to address.)
By patowalker
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1827476
The BMAA has said that France has agreed to recognise the UK NPPL and accept G reg microlights in their airspace. That may be so, but until the decision has been announced in the Journal Officiel and/or an AIC, G reg microlights will require permission to fly in France. See here.

No permission is required to fly UK microlights in Germany, because its legislation covers all foreign microlights. No permission is required to fly homebuilt microlights in Belgium and the Netherlands, because theirs covers amateur built aircraft registered in ECAC member states.
By patowalker
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1827480
Re licencing. This can't always be separated from the microlight itself, because rules are written to indicate that the documentation (including the licence) which is legally required in the country of registration is accepted by the country visited. This is why UK microlighters get away with a PMD in most countries.