Links 22/03/17

Aircraft Construction

AC43.13-1B - Superb FAA reference material on standard aircraft practice.

Matronics lists - Excellent archive of email groups about light aircraft.

Matronics FTP site - FTP portal for downloading archives for off-line reading.

SL-360 Build - Pictorial of a Superior (Lycoming clone) engine build. Great stuff

Gyro Systems - An interesting article about Gyroscopic Instrument errors.

Mode S - Info on Mode S transponders

Regulation (UK)

European Aviation Safety Authority (EASA)

The European equivalent of the US FAA. It was set up primarily for the Airbus programme. Its purpose is to produce common European Standards for regulating aviation. It replaces the now defunk JAA, but unlike JAA has the power to regulate rather than advise national authorities .Unfortunately Instead of simplifying things it has increased beaurocracy and red tape for GA. This has increased costs for pilots and certified aircraft owners with no demonstable improvement in safety over the previous regimes. The CAA has stated the UK will remain part of EASA after BREXIT again primarily for the benefit of Airbus.

Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)

The CAA is a company the UK government uses to regulate UK aircraft and airspace. It is a cost-plus organisation required to return a 6% profit to the exchequer each year. Now subservient to EASA and EU law, its remit is slowly be assimilated by EASA. A recently established "GA Unit" within CAA has made considerable progess in removing some of the regulatory burden for GA aircraft and pilots within it's own remit. It is also lobbying EASA to do similar for GA aircraft.

G-INFO

The online UK aircraft register. The CAA places information about aircraft, owners even their address in the public domain. Burglars and junk mailers love it!

Light Aircraft Association Ltd (LAA)

A member's association, now also a company delegated by the CAA with responsibility for amateur built and some vintage aircraft in the UK. Unlike the USA's EAA it has a legal responsibility for the safe construction and operation of such aircraft. It tries to be both a regulator of permit aircraft and representative for their owners; conflicting roles that it carries out with some success.

LAA leaflets - Detailed information about LAA regulation of permit aircraft.

LAA Struts - Struts are LAA member clubs around the UK. To find a strut in your area use the postcode search at the bottom.

LAA Links - LAA's own link page

 

Some Aircraft Type Specific Websites

RV Squadron - A Yahoo group for UK Vans RV kitplane owners.

RVUK - A web site dedicated to RVs in the UK. Concise and refreshing.

Vans Air Force - A Yahoo group for Vans Air Force. Large almost 'corporate' site with lots of info.

The Europa Club - The Europa is the most popular UK manufactured homebuilt aircraft.