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New EASA regs for Annex I (previous Annex II)

Just came over this thing from EAS

Funny reading about who is for and against different things (if I only knew who is who in this EA bureacracy …) Anyway, it seems experimental aircraft will be defined all over as at least 51% amateur built or at least 300h. Probably won’t mean a single thing in a practical sense, but this or 300h does indeed open up for some creative thinking at least

Then there is the 600 kg MTOW for microlight. Seems nobody agrees other than EAS and the European Parliament. But it seems 600 kg will be the new limit in most of Europe.

[ local copy ]

The elephant is the circulation
ENVA ENOP ENMO, Norway

That is actually quite an interesting doc for various other areas.

The 600kg figure seems to generate a large amount of political excitement One previous thread here

300hr is much more practical than the more usual 3000hr time to build a very basic kit, it seems. That will make homebuilts more accessible because so much more can be factory built. Basically you will spend 300hrs doing the instrument panel layout and choosing the colours Currently, many homebuilts are either “assisted” by someone or they don’t get finished.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Peter wrote:

That will make homebuilts more accessible because so much more can be factory built

Almost every single thing can be factory built. In the US there are very specific rules of what this 51% is. It only covers the airframe for a start. You cannot simply purchase a factory built aircraft and fiddle with the panel for 300 h. The panel (except the structural parts) is not part of the 51%, neither is engine installation and other systems installation.

When you look at it a bit closer, this EASA regulation is meaningless. It doesn’t define what this 51% actually is, and it doesn’t define what 1 h of build time is. A professional builder will use at most 1/10 of the time compared with a fresh amateur builder for instance. Nevertheless, I guess this thing is some kind of standard that can be used to define aircraft that benefit the ECAC recommendation about free movement in Europe at least.

Peter wrote:

That is actually quite an interesting doc for various other areas.

Of course. EAS covers all kinds of flying, from model aircraft to IFR in biz jets. The focus is of course on recreation and sport, and most private pilots in Europe are member, in some way or the other through local (national) organizations. EAS is a part of FAI. It is by far the most influential pilot organisation in Europe regarding rules and regulations, both on national level and EU level.

The elephant is the circulation
ENVA ENOP ENMO, Norway

LeSving wrote:

Then there is the 600 kg MTOW for microlight. Seems nobody agrees other than EAS and the European Parliament. But it seems 600 kg will be the new limit in most of Europe.

Thank you LeSving for this info.

I asked around a bit at Aero if this 600 kg thing would materialise and, if so, when. Consensus seemed to be that if it happens, it won’t be before (end of?) 2018. Let’s hope this thing gets resolved sooner than later, although I understand the pro’s and cons of increasing the limit, as discussed on this forum too.

So it looks I still need to keep myself on a diet for a while to keep flying UL with someone else on board then..

If some countries would permit the increase and other would not, what would this mean for traveling across countries or even stationing a foreign reg UL in a country is a question that pops up in my mind.

Last Edited by aart at 19 May 13:30
Private field, Mallorca, Spain

I reckon that sellers of ULs should include a recipe book

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

It will anyway only apply to factory new ultralights, not those already in the field. Any decent, factory-built touring ULM costs 100.000€ when equipped and taxes paid. Some of them even 150.000 or 200.000. The uptake will be quite minimal (as it is today), still everybody and his dog gets so excited about this move. A pipedream for most ULM pilots.

Mainz (EDFZ) & Egelsbach (EDFE), Germany

Peter wrote:

I reckon that sellers of ULs should include a recipe book

Why would they. Many fly ULs over the max weight, that is a tradition. If the limit goes up to 600kg, it will be filled with options.

United Kingdom

boscomantico wrote:

A pipedream for most ULM pilots.

Probably, to some extent. But it also means stuff like the Carbon Cub SS becomes available

It’s a big hit in the US apparently. This is also a perfectly good airplane for PPL’ers with it’s 180 hp Titan 340.

The elephant is the circulation
ENVA ENOP ENMO, Norway

It will anyway only apply to factory new ultralights, not those already in the field.

Bosco, are you sure of that? There are various UL types flying that have been designed with a higher MTOM than 472 kg (FK14, Bristell etc) if only because they are marketed in the US as an LSA. I think it would be logical that they would be allowed to be flown at MTOM upto that design limit.

Private field, Mallorca, Spain

How could I be “sure”?
Increasing MTOW on existing airframes would still require the involvement of the manufacturer. And manufacturers have zero interest in that. After 10 years of very low sales numbers, they are seeing this development as their unique chance to get their sales going again.

Mainz (EDFZ) & Egelsbach (EDFE), Germany
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