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  • Engineering | Light Aircraft Assoc

    Engineering INFO LIBRARY CONTINUING AIRWORTHINESS INFORMATION INSPECTOR ZONE FLIGHT TESTING AIRCRA FT NIGHT/ IFR REVALIDATING A PERMIT TO FLY TECHNICAL LEAFLETS OPERATING & MAINTAINING BUILDING AIRCRAFT MODIFYING & REPAIRING AIRCRAFT FIND AN INSPECTOR TADS ENGINEERING FEES DESIGNING AIRCRAFT BUYING AIRCRAFT

  • Pilot Coaching | Light Aircraft Assoc

    Pilot Coaching Scheme LAA DTO The LAA is a CAA Declared Training Organisation (DTO). Our enjoyment of flying, and the ability to share that with others, carries with it a responsibility to maintain good standards of flying and airmanship. The Pilot Coaching Scheme (PCS) provides coaches to assist with specific courses and any general training need. COACHES The LAA has the Pilot Coaching Scheme - all Coaches are current CAA and Part 21-FCL certified Class Rating Instructors, Flight Instructors, or Flight Examiners. They’re also your trainer, confidante and mentor throughout the process of you learning to fly your aircraft. FIND A COACH Click on the button below to go to a map of all the LAA Coaches. You can find out their location, contact details, photograph and a short profile about them. Most coaches are happy to travel reasonable distances to accommodate your needs. WHY HAVE THE PCS? Statistics show that for LAA aircraft, the transition of a pilot onto a new aircraft type is a frequent source of accidents, more so than the aircraft's initial test flying phase. The same is true of the first flight of any unfamiliar aircraft, whether it is a home-built, vintage, or microlight. HOW IT WORKS Most LAA coaches have completed all differences themselves applicable to LAA types, so they can provide your differences or familiarisation training - though naturally, before doing so, they may need the opportunity to fly the aircraft sufficiently to acquaint themselves with the individual model concerned. WHAT DOES THE PCS OFFER? The PCS offers Licence Revalidation & Renewals, Differences Training, Familiarisation Training, Type Conversions, Licence Migrations and much more! Click the button below to find out what each of these means in detail. CLICK HERE TO FIND A COACH CLICK HERE FOR PCS DETAILS CLICK HERE FOR THE PILOT COACHING SCHEME DOCUMENTS (CSDs) CLICK HERE FOR PILOT COACHING SCHEME MAGAZINE ARTICLES

  • Rotax Carburetted 912/914 Installation & Operation | Light Aircraft Assoc

    Rotax Carburetted 912/914 Installation & Operation Price Member - £213, Non-Member - £233 Duration Arrival 09:30. Finish 17:00. < Back About the Course Kevin Dilks of SAS, a well-respected and Rotax trained engineer, has many years of experience in the field and will be hosting this course at the LAA’s Training facility at Turweston. The course covers everything those who own/operate a carburetted Rotax 912 (UL, ULS and 914 turbocharged) engine need to know about getting the best out of these very popular engines and keeping them in tiptop condition. Your Instructor Kevin Dilks Dates New date tbc Times Arrival 09:30. Finish 17:00. Duration One day course Venue LAA HQ, Turweston Aerodrome, NN13 5YD Price Member - £213, Non-Member - £233 Booking Pls call the LAA on 01280 846 786 to enquire/book or email [email protected] . *Please note that payment is required when booking, to confirm your place. NO place will be held without confirmed payment* **Please note that your booking payment is non-refundable unless we can fill your place timeously or there are exceptional circumstances**

  • Light Aviation Magazine 2019 | Light Aircraft Assoc

    Light Aviation Magazine 2019 Click on the links below to open each issue of Light Aviation Magazine from 2019 January 2019 April 2019 July 2019 October 2019 February 2019 May 2019 August 2019 November 2019 March 2019 June 2019 September 2019 December 2019

  • Preliminary Design | Light Aircraft Assoc

    Preliminary Design Preliminary Design is the stage where the design is sized and developed in outline, leading to a three view drawing, performance and weight predictions. To help with this, LAA has developed a number of spreadsheets. Spreadsheet 1 is used to develop the basic geometry of the proposed aircraft, size the wing, fuselage and tail surfaces and work out some of the key parameters used later. Spreadsheet 2 is used to estimate the performance of the aircraft based on the geometry, initial weight estimates, engine power and guestimates of the drag coefficient and prop efficiency, allowing you to see how the performance is affected by changing each parameter in turn. Spreadsheet 3 is used to work out the critical structural speeds, develop the flight envelope and predict the aerodynamic loads on the main surfaces which can be used to size the structure, and as the basis for a load test program. The weight and balance spreadsheet elsewhere on our website allows the designer to quickly evaluate the implications on weight and cg of different positions for the crew, fuel tanks and baggage bay, and work out what empty aircraft weight and cg he must aim for. Thanks to the simplicity of these programs it takes only minutes to study the implications of changing the aircraft’s specification, for example the effect of changing the wing aspect-ratio, the trade-off between extra weight and cleaning up the airframe drag, extra power etc. Downloadable Spreadsheets Worked Spreadsheet Examples Design Tutorials

  • Entrance Fees | Light Aircraft Assoc

    LAA are proud to announce our Rally 2025 sponsors Entrance Fees All fly-in slot bookings for the event are available via the Eventbrite (coming soon) booking website. Member and public entrance tickets can be bought in advance via the LAA Shop (coming soon). There is free car parking and provision for disabled parking on site. For those arriving by road, Leicester Airfield is easily reached from the north and southwest via J21 on the M1; A563 Sth Leicester Bypass to B582 Gartree Road. Routes from the East and South East via A47 and A6. No dogs are allowed airside BY AIR One landing fee of £10.00 covers a single landing and stay of up to three days and camping by your aircraft. Pilots and accompanying passengers will also need to purchase individual entry tickets to the Rally - available via the LAA Shop . If flying in, you will need to book a slot. PLEASE NOTE ANY FURTHER LANDINGS WILL BE CHARGED. (Local evening flying will be available and not charged) Members : INCLUDES AIRSIDE ACCESS £25 (for all 3 days) LAA, BMAA and BRA members - Please bring proof of membership by way of showing your receipt or mobile phone with membership details. More details on how to find this will be emailed to all members nearer the time. Non-Members £25 for One Day Ticket (does not include airside access) Special Offer!!! Non Member Three Day Ticket (including airside access) for £50. This offer is available until 31st July 2025. Non-Members AIRSIDE ACCESS £15 for One Day Ticket Children 16 and under go free.

  • Aircraft Fabric Covering Course | Light Aircraft Assoc

    Aircraft Fabric Covering Course Price Member - £213, Non-Member - £233 Duration Arrival 09:00. Finish 17:00. < Back About the Course Our covering course is presented by Chris and Alex, father and son team who run Aircraft Coverings Ltd., the UK dealer for Consolidated Aircraft Coverings products. This is a hands-on course, not a lecture, so you will be working with the tools and materials, learning the required skills and you will undoubtedly surprise yourself by how quickly you begin to pick things up! Your Instructor Chris and Alex Allen Dates New date tbc Times Arrival 09:00. Finish 17:00. Duration One day course Venue Henstridge Airfield, Somerset, BA8 0TN Price Member - £213, Non-Member - £233 Booking Pls call the LAA on 01280 846 786 to enquire/book or email [email protected] . *Please note that payment is required when booking, to confirm your place. NO place will be held without confirmed payment* **Please note that your booking payment is non-refundable unless we can fill your place timeously or there are exceptional circumstances**

  • Designing Aircraft | Light Aircraft Assoc

    Over the years this has led to several commercially successful kitplanes (Europa, Streak Shadow, Sherwood Ranger), as well as designs that have been released for plans-building (Flitzer, Isaacs Fury, FRED) and a whole range of fascinating on-off personal aircraft – the Acro Advanced, Bonsall Mustang, Mickleburgh Sparrow to name just a few. There will always be LAA’ers keen on the ‘retro’ look, but with ever-increasing fuel costs we foresee a greater emphasis in future on aircraft exploring higher efficiency, alternative powerplants (electric?) and renewable materials. High hangarage fees mean that aircraft enthusiasts are more than ever interested in folding or de-riggable aircraft that can be kept at home. Using the information provided by clicking the links below, the LAA hopes to stimulate interest in light aircraft design, help potential designers through the process and encourage the development of high quality designs. With the decline in UK manufacturing over the recent decades, it seems more than ever important to keep alive a thread of creativity and enthusiasm for design and development. For some, the ability to bring a personal design from first concept to a flying prototype provides the ultimate source of satisfaction within the LAA scene. Designing Aircraft Since its formation in 1948, one of the stated aims of the LAA has been to encourage the designing and building of new types of light aircraft. For our own purposes, we in LAA Engineering have been producing a series of Excel spreadsheets to use as tools in the verification of calculations in the many aircraft design submissions we deal with. The spreadsheets have been designed to carry out the various calculations that are necessary during the design of light aircraft. Some of them have been written against specific paragraphs in the design code CS-VLA, whereas others, for example, cover areas related to the development of aircraft undergoing flight testing. In addition, simple spreadsheets for straightforward mathematical calculations have been written. It is for information and educational purposes that these spreadsheets are now available to LAA members on the LAA web site. Use the buttons below for more information on each design stage: Preliminary Design Detail Design Certification/Approval

  • LAA Type Clubs | Light Aircraft Assoc

    LAA Type Clubs British Rotorcraft Association W: www.britishrotorcraftassociation.org T: 07841870568 E: [email protected] Pietenpol Club W: www.pietenpolclub.uk E: [email protected] The Aeronca Club of Great Britain W: www.aeronca.co.uk T: 01752 406 660 E: [email protected] The Europa Club W: www.theeuropaclub.org E: [email protected] Vintage Aircraft Club W: www.vintageaircraftclub.org.uk E: [email protected] Vintage Piper Aircraft Club W: www.vintagepiper.co.uk E: [email protected] International Auster Club W: www.austerclub.org British Women Pilots' Association W: www.bwpa.co.uk E: [email protected] Beagle Pup & Bulldog Club W: www.bpbc.uk T: 07985 430265 E: [email protected]

  • E5 Mogas | Light Aircraft Assoc

    E5 Mogas Inspection Checklists for Jabiru 2200A, Jabiru 3300A, Rotax 2 Stroke, Rotax 4 Stroke, VW and VW-based engines can be found at the link below Inspection Checklists Other useful documentation is as follows: TL 2.26 Procedures for E5 Mogas use TL 2.20 Fuel Flow Checking Inspection Checks - Fuel Flow Rotax Service Instruction for 912/914 Rotax Service Instruction for 2-strokes Jabiru Service Letter Buy Mogas Placards Cockpit Placard Fuel Filler Placard

  • Night IFR | Light Aircraft Assoc

    Night IFR Certain LAA types can be cleared for flight at night and/or under IMC (instrument meteorlogical conditions) - commonly referred to as 'Night/IFR' for convenience. The special Night/IFR requirements and process are detailed in technical leaflets TL 2.27 and 2.28, linked below, which are additional to the standard requirements applicable to any LAA aircraft. The special requirements involve the aircraft being of a type that demonstrates flight handling broadly in accordance with CS-23 subpart B (some types, including the RV-6 and RV-7, have a restricted aft cg limit to meet the pitch stability requirements), and each individual example must have a special IFR flight test to confirm it matches the first one tested. For a night clearance, the aircraft must also undergo a night test to check its lighting and general suitability for night flight. The aircraft must have accumulated enough flying hours in VFR to prove its reliability, and it must have an engine of a type accepted as being likely to be as reliable as a certified engine (for example we accept ‘clone’ Lycomings even though not certified). The propeller must be rain-proof, i.e. have hardened leading edges, and the aircraft must have an effective carb ice prevention system. The aircraft’s panel must have at least two independent attitude indicators, with either separate power sources or back-up internal power. If two EFIS are used to provide attitude information, with no other attitude instrument, then the two EFIS must be of different manufacturers so as to avoid the risk of simultaneous failures. There must be pitot heat, an alternative static and an OAT gauge. If the essential systems are relying on electrical power, the electrics must be designed to avoid being vulnerable to any single component failure, and if there is a single alternator there must be enough battery capacity to keep the essential systems running for an adequate time (at least 30 mins) before the battery goes flat. If two radios are fitted, they must not be both vulnerable to failure if any single component fails (e.g. must not be both fed through a single avionics master switch with no back-up power available). LAA does not specify what navigation or radio equipment is fitted, but as with a certified aircraft, the equipment fit determines what type of airspace can be used. An autopilot is not required, but certainly helps reduce pilot workload in sustained instrument flight. Non-certified equipment, including EFIS and autopilots, alternators, etc, are permitted, subject to the usual LAA checks. The aircraft has to be inspected initially and annually by an inspector with a special ‘night/IFR’ endorsement on their LAA inspector approval, and the aircraft is checked to have been built to an appropriate level of quality for a night/IFR aircraft. For example, quality of its instrument wiring, electrical power supply wiring, etc, are checked which are much more critical than in an aircraft only flying day VFR. The ASI and altimeter must be regularly calibrated, the battery must have a regular capacity check and the radios checked regularly by a qualified radio engineer. The aircraft must have an accepted pilot’s operating handbook and an acceptable maintenance schedule, and be maintained to that schedule. The application process involves not only a night/IFR inspector but also a night/IFR assessor who is one of a small band of LAA volunteers qualified to assess the design aspects of the aircraft’s systems and who compiles a technical report about the aircraft and if he is happy with it, includes a recommendation to remove the day-VFR only restriction. The report includes details of the aircraft’s systems, the special flight test reports, inspection reports, maintenance schedule and POH, a photo of the instrument panel and an electrical load analysis. This report is sent to LAA Engineering who checks through it and all being well, issues the aircraft new paperwork with the day and/or VFR restriction removed and replaced by limitations allowing IFR and/or night flight. All LAA night/IFR aircraft are restricted to not fly in the vicinity of thunderstorms and, for IFR cleared aircraft, take-off and landing in visibility less than 1500m is prohibited. The aircraft may not be operated in IMC below 500 ft agl for a precision approach, or 600 ft for a non-precision approach, or approach system limits, whichever is the greater. The pilot qualification for flying an LAA night/IFR aircraft at night or in IFR is the same as for flying a certified light aircraft at night or IFR. Aircraft types that have been successfully cleared for night/IFR flight include the RV-6, -7, -8, -9 and -10 (nosewheel and tailwheel variants – some with cg range restrictions), Europa and Cozy. Several of the modern lightweight 600 kg types have failed to comply due to low stability margins making them OK for day VFR flight but not suitable instrument platforms for night or IFR. Whilst a very few Rotax powered aircraft have been be to be cleared, most of the thirty or so LAA aircraft that have successfully transitioned are powered by Lycoming or Lycoming-clone engines. PROCESS SUMMARY LIST OF TYPES PERMIT IFR FEES NIGHT IFR INSPECTORS FAQs POH LITE TEMPLATE (PowerPoint File) NIGHT IFR PILOTS ACCEPTED INSTRUMENTS TL 2.27 - PROCEDURE FOR APPROVAL & TL 2.28 - ASSESSMENT OF AIRCRAFT LAA/MOD15 APPLICATION FORM

  • Become an Inspector | Light Aircraft Assoc

    Become an Inspector Are you interested in becoming an LAA Inspector? To understand the application process, read the 'LAA Inspector Application Notes' and 'Flow Chart' below. Please use the form below to apply and include as much detail as possible in your application. Complete applications can be emailed to the Head of Continuing Airworthiness & Inspection (Chief Inspector), Lucy Wootton at [email protected] . INSPECTOR APPLICATION NOTES INSPECTOR APPLICATION FLOW CHART INSPECTOR APPLICATION FORM INSPECTOR APPROVAL INFORMATION

Light Aircraft Association Ltd, Turweston Aerodrome, Nr Brackley, Northamptonshire, NN13 5YD

Registered in England & Wales

Company No: 00606312

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