Permit to Fly in Spain

Design4p wrote:

should I simply continue on a planned trip without the permit to fly in Spain.

This Gulfstream was parked in front of me and belonged to the wayward son of the President of Equatorial Guinea subject to seizure by the World Bank as an ill gotten gain.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2791862/african-dictator-s-playboy-son-forced-surrender-30million-assets-impoverished-people-country-michael-jackson-s-crystal-glove.html
It has been sold now.
Simon

Last time I applied it was a couple of months in advance of the trip. The permission arrived in the week before departure.

That was quite a while ago.

Did you use the contact details from the LAA leaflet?

I know of a german microlight-pilot, who applied months in advance (for a trip further to Maroc) and received the spanish permission the day before departure (I guess he’d have made the trip anyway).

Why is it the most chaotic countries also at the same time have the most rigid and inflexible rules?

I know of a german microlight-pilot, who applied months in advance (for a trip further to Maroc) and received the spanish permission the day before departure (I guess he’d have made the trip anyway).

I am not defending this, just saying that this is totally normal practice in other countries as well. If you fly to the very east and southeast of Europe, or to Asia, or to Africa, that’s exactly what the CAAs do. It’s nervewrecking, but unless you have very good personal contacts, that’s what they do.

My experience of Portugal was similar. Maybe you should apply for an additional week either side of your planned trip dates to give yourself more leeway.

It’s curious that the form is written explicitly for ULM class aircraft. I guess they either don’t know or care about more typical amateur-built types.

I have been flying on a regular basis to Spain for the last 20 years and have never been asked any questions. If they are not going to impound a well-known aircraft for which there is an international warrant they are not going to bother about a light aircraft from the UK.
Spain has excellent facilities for GA, although handling can be steep at some airports. There was some confusion a while back about VAT on refueling. The refuelers would be happy to sell VAT-free fuel to foreign aircraft. They asked whether the flight was public or private and if public they would ask for a number. Any number would do at first then they required an EU VAT number. As far as I know any valid VAT number will do, but there are ways of checking whether it is your business or not.
Simon

I have had that too – the stupid demand for a VAT number. So I give them my firm’s VAT number. It will validate OK, using the public VAT number validation website. I expect every business to be validating VAT numbers because too many bogus ones trigger a VAT inspection.

I still pay the VAT; there is no way to get VAT-free (or even duty-free) fuel nowadays anywhere I have been unless you produce an AOC (Belgrade LYBE is one exception). If you tell them it is a business or commercial flight that used to work to get tax/duty free fuel (especially if you wore the correct commercial pilot uniform) but nowadays they then just ask for the AOC – even in Spain where this worked for the longest time

I have many private reports of homebuilts and Spain and usually the applicant never receives a response, so the usual process is to just fly. Obviously there is always the residual concern whether your insurance is valid because the flight itself may not be legal, because you are planning to conduct a flight in contravention of some law owned by the airspace owner… I know what response I would get if I voiced that in a room full of homebuilders (they would hang me with a tiedown rope ) but you will not easily find a lawyer who says this is bollox.