Hello everybody,
It's been interesting reading peoples messages and the newsletter
archive (I would never have thought a fuel tank could produce such a
saga - sobering thought), and am interested in building a Europa from
the performance / operating cost point of view compared to
off-the-shelf metal.
I've got a few questions which aren't really all Europa specific, but
perhaps the collected wisdom here may be able to help, so please
forgive the digression.
Basically, I'm interested in the restrictions in use of a homebuilt (in
the UK and to a lesser extent Europe). For these purposes, consider me
a UK builder.
1) To start with, I've heard from various people that the following
restrictions may apply to a homebuilt (Europa) compared to a production
certified aircraft:
a) can't overfly "areas substantially used for dwellings /
industry / recreation" ie, where for a normal aircraft the
1500' in 2000' rule would apply, you can't overfly at any
height in a homebuilt.
b) can't fly in IMC - even losing the horizon when crossing the
channel?
c) can't fly airways etc ("/IR" IFR)
d) can't fly at night - I suppose these three all boil down to
can't fly according to IFR.
e) can't use for Public Transport - that's not too bad, but can
you recieve (paid?) instruction in one and if yes, must it be
your own?
Are things significantly different in the US?
2) How is a homebuilt received (if at all) in controlled airspace (I
tend to transit / use airfields in class D quite a bit, as I'm sure
many of you do).
3) Can you fly to Europe (say France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany) as
you would in a production aircraft, or do they each have restrictions
on this which differ from the UK? What happens when JAR comes in?
4) Could the ownership of the homebuilt be through a Ltd Co.? Can it
then be used for "commercial" purposes, such as as a test-platform for
developing navigation software, for aerial photography - ie, for
company internal purposes, without the pilot being paid for piloting
and not for hire to third parties, but with the company absorbing the
operating costs?
5) What happens if you fly a US registered kit in the UK - does it come
under what I assume are these stricter UK regulations, as it does UK
air law?
6) Finally, a real Europa question. For those of you that have flown
the ("conventionally"-geared) aircraft, I'm interested in the taxiing
characterics. I sometimes fly at airfields with concrete runways and
long, hard taxi-ways (Luton, for instance). What is the Europa like to
taxi on these surfaces? Are you always bouncing from left to right
outrigger? If so, how uncomfortable is that?
Thanks,
Simon
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