As a feedback to my post a while ago… I now know of 2 pilot friends that received warning letters from our FOCA, and had to stop flying their F-reg UL around here.
They could of course trailer, or base their mighty craft, to France, but having to drive 2+ hours one way to do so is a hassle none of them considers.
And sadly enough, they had to stop flying…
Amazing, and bad news.
For decades there has been practically zero enforcement in this area.
Very sad they had to stop flying… hope there will be an alternative for them? Don’t they have a LAPL or higher, so they can change to certified aircraft or easily obtain a UL license in another country, which might be closer compared to France?
On the other side: Either you have rules and enforce them, or just cancel rules. For me, this is just a logical and more or less fair step from FOCA. Especially if they just send warning letters and do not directly send (heavy) fines. In the end, we’re talking about Switzerland here, where rules in general are consequently enforced.
