the operating manual needs to say something about IFR
anything not prohibited in the TCDS or reference documents including the POH (if there is one) is allowed
I had something similar in mind, but as said, I am not sure about it. I thought if a plane is not limited to VFR only in the POH, it is allowed to fly IFR (provided the equipment requirements are met), opening up a lot more planes to fly IFR (obviously not in anything more than ‘light-IMC’).
(Thinking of all the [older?] PA28s, C172s, etc where there may not have been a limitation by the manufacturer)
MikeWhiskey wrote:
I *thought * if a plane is not limited to VFR only in the POH, it is allowed to fly IFR
That is correct. The problem is that with all aircraft that that are not type-certified for IFR (such as all VLAs), you WILL find that restriction in the POH…
There are also airspace based restrictions.
A given country can say e.g. “no IFR in homebuilts”. Or they can allow it with a permit. This is what catches out the RV for example, which is fully IFR in the US but generally isn’t in Europe (regardless of registration).
Some people who got homebuilts approved for IFR under the UK LAA scheme (all G-regs of course) discovered this. IIRC, France was ok but Germany wasn’t.
Some homebuilts have “VFR only” in their permit, some have not even if the same type. It probably depends most on their country of registration. And it is generally very difficult to move a homebuilt from one reg to another; in some cases you have to dismantle by at least 51% and reassemble it!
Lots of past threads e.g. this search digs out plenty.
Silvaire wrote:
IFR in something like a 1946 Cessna 120 with one nav/comm is thereby completely legal – and I know somebody that trained for their IFR rating in just such a plane.
In Europe, you can in theory fly IFR using pilotage without any navigation equipment at all. Of course you have to be in sight of the ground and not in PBN airspace. Also you have to be very quick figuring out headings from the charts if ATC gives you revised clearance – so not really feasible but in principle possible.
Certifying an RV would just make it cost the same as any other Certified Aeroplane.
Its not just the kit purchase price anyway, its the DIY build, maintenance and non-certified parts/avionics etc.
In Europe, you can in theory fly IFR using pilotage without any navigation equipment at all. Of course you have to be in sight of the ground and not in PBN airspace. Also you have to be very quick figuring out headings from the charts if ATC gives you revised clearance – so not really feasible but in principle possible.
You must have an IFR GPS; apart from INS (or a KNS80 with antenna filters 
) that is the only means of complying with the BRNAV requirement. In the US, homebuilts flying IFR must have the certified avionics. It cannot be done legally otherwise.
The above probably doesn’t apply for IFR OCAS (the regs are a bit vague) but then nobody cares about that anyway One thread on required equipment for IFR is here.
Certifying an RV would just make it cost the same as any other Certified Aeroplane.
Its not just the kit purchase price anyway, its the DIY build, maintenance and non-certified parts/avionics etc.
A lot of that depends on how one accounts for one’s time, or whether one can wangle someone else to do maintenance for them, maintenance facilities, whether comparing with a certified N-reg, etc, but one thing is for certain: lots of parts would cost a lot more, starting with the engine which (for an IO540) would cost about 10k more, according to reports.
In Europe I would argue that Part 23 certification is pointless unless you also go for IFR, simply because sidestepping the issues with international permits deals with only a part of the problem. The other big part is that you don’t get decent access to airspace unless you file IFR in the Eurocontrol system. Under VFR, you never have any enroute clearance, except for the bit you just got ahead. Under IFR, you just cruise along… and ATC works with you (well, mostly mostly). A certified VFR-only plane is just a good potential VFR tourer but you still get loads of hassle, as I well know from my early VFR trips. Very few people do long VFR trips so the market for that is negligible. And if you don’t cross borders, or cross the ones where there are agreements, you don’t need a certified one.
Yes, many people do long VFR flights. Look at all the RV and fast ULs like WT9, JMB ! Hundreds are sold every year in Europe !
Between those and certified IFR, only remains the old fleet (Robins, Cessnas, Pipers, etc…)
My guess is that in Europe IFR requirements for home builds vary from country to country
I was told to get a certified engine, prop and avionics in order to obtain IFR clearance for my RV14. Once the aircraft would be declared “IFR capable” by my local CAA I see no reason why an IFR cross border flight would be impossible/illegal.
Europe is just too small a market to warrant an US Company to achieve certification here.
Particularly if in the US you can fly without it.
Peter wrote:
You must have an IFR GPS; apart from INS (or a KNS80 with antenna filters ) that is the only means of complying with the BRNAV requirement. In the US, homebuilts flying IFR must have the certified avionics. It cannot be done legally otherwise.The above probably doesn’t apply for IFR OCAS (the regs are a bit vague) but then nobody cares about that anyway One thread on required equipment for IFR is here.
You must have an IFR GPS (or INS, or KNS80) only in PBN airspace and I did write “not in PBN airspace”. Not all controlled airspace in Europe is PBN airspace and of course none of uncontrolled airspace. E.g. controlled airspace below FL95 in Sweden is not PBN airspace.
My point was not to say that it is realistic to fly IFR by pilotage, my point was that in this case EASA actually has lower minimal requirements that the FAA.
