< Back New LAA Inspector - Lewis Harper 18 Aug 2025 We are pleased to welcome Lewis Harper as a new LAA Inspector, having attended an LAA Inspector Assessment Day at Turweston recently. Working full-time as a CAA and EASA Licensed Aircraft Engineer, Lewis has pursued his lifelong passion for aviation since entering the industry at age 16, and have also achieved his PPL along the way. Next Previous

Detail Design Having worked out a promising-looking layout, initial three-view and performance and weight specifications, now is the stage where the hard work begins of transforming concepts to working drawings. Essential decisions have to be made about types of material to be used, the structural arrangement, exact choice of powerplant and so on. You’ll probably need to make a cockpit mock-up to check the ergonomics and control system arrangements, and maybe build a flying radio controlled model of the design to give faith in the handling characteristics. With the basic geometry laid out, stress calculations and assembly drawings come next, then drawings of individual piece parts. Keep an up-to-date tally on weights. As the drawings get more detailed you must re-evaluate whether you are going to meet your original targets in terms of weight, strength and aerodynamic cleanliness, whether you need to re-visit your original assumptions or re-design from scratch. Is there a way that the part or assembly can be made more easily, more cheaply, lighter, stronger, more fatigue or corrosion resistant? Fewer parts and fewer joints generally means fewer problems and less weight. Can you use off the shelf parts rather than having to make them specially? Are there other aeroplanes around that have already solved a particular problem in a clever way? Will the aircraft be easy to inspect in service, easy to repair if it gets damaged? Can it be broken down for transportation? If the handling isn’t quite right when the prototype is test flown, does the design make provision for ‘tweaks’ to put it right? Does the design include reserves of strength to cope with weight growth in service and more powerful engines, or is everything pared down to the minimum? Design Tutorials

Continuing Airworthiness Information One of the key strengths of the LAA's system is that we can monitor the fleet centrally and keep track of airworthiness incidents from around the world. Where necessary, we can then let our owners know, to help them keep flying safely. A full listing of Airworthiness Alerts, Technical Service Bulletins and Mandatory Technical Directives can be found below: ALERTS, TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETINS & MANDATORY TECHNICAL DIRECTIVES

< Back MTD-03-2025 - Marquart Charger Aileron Slave Strut 25 Jul 2025 LAA MTD-03-2025 - Marquart Charger Aileron Slave Strut The starboard aileron slave strut on Marquart Charger G-BHBT failed at the AN490 threaded fitting welded into the bottom end. A large proportion of the cross-section was cracked due to fatigue prior to final failure. The root cause of the fatigue cracking was probably flutter. Due to the difficulty of reliably inspecting for fatigue cracking at the base of threads, it has been decided to withdraw this strut design from the UK fleet. MTD-03-2025 can be found HERE and is found below. MTD-03-2025 - Marquart Charger Aileron Slave Strut .pdf Download PDF • 194KB Next Previous

< Back New LAA Inspectors - Cameron Bunce & Brian Davies 11 Jan 2024 Back in December, seven potential LAA Inspectors attended LAA Inspector Assessment Days at Turweston with our Chief Inspector, Lucy. We are pleased to announce that all seven were successful. Here is an introduction to the first two: Cameron Bunce - Cameron is based north of Aberdeen. He is a Chartered Engineer working in the Energy Industry. He has been involved with aviation since 2007 and currently is building a VANS RV-3. He has experience with metal, composite and wooden aircraft having flown over 30 types - but most familiar with the VANS RV series. Brian Davies - Brian has experience in building and maintaining composite, metal and wood aircraft, but tends to specialise in Rotax-powered aircraft. He is also experienced in Avionic installation and trouble-shooting. Brian is also on the LAA Board of Directors and our Vice-President. Congratulations Cameron and Brian! Next Previous

Strut Governance Documents Strut Governance Documents Electronic versions of the Strut Event Management Procedures can be found below. Click each document to access it online. Updated April 2019 Member Club Regulations The Member Club Regulations describe the manner in which an LAA Member Club should form, govern its affairs and conduct its activities. Strut Event Management Procedure Procedures for Strut events (fly-ins etc..) Annex A Normal and Prohibited Club Activities Annex B Summary Insurance Certificate for Member Clubs of the LAA Annex C LAA Member Club - Event Notification Annex D LAA Club Event Risk Assessment (air side/ground activities) Annex E Event Safety Review and Operations Summary Annex F Third Party Passenger Flying at LAA Member Club Events Annex G Incident Checklist / Incident Plan Appendix 1 TPPF Pilot and Aircraft Checklist Appendix 2 Indemnity Agreement Appendix 3 Information for those Attending an LAA Member Club Flying Event Model Club Constitution A model constitution for member clubs

< Back New LAA Inspector - Malcolm Talbot 14 Jul 2025 We are pleased to welcome Malcolm Talbot as a new LAA Inspector, having attended an LAA Inspector Assessment Day at Turweston recently. Malcolm holds a BSc(Hons) with the Open University in Maths, Technology and Engineering. He has held a PPL since 2010 and been a Flight Instructor FI since 2019, (having passed the CPL theory exams),. He is currently instructing for Moray Flying Club and Highland Aviation, and recently become a ground examiner. Malcolm built and flies a Eurofox, which first flew in 2013. He thoroughly enjoyed the build process. Next Previous

< Back LAA Alert issued for Lycoming Engines 28 Nov 2024 The LAA has issued Alert A-02-2024 (link below) to highlight the recent Lycoming Airworthiness Directive regarding connecting rod bushings and connecting rod assemblies. The FAA has issued a new airworthiness directive (AD) for models of Lycoming engines that have an affected part installed and are assembled within the ship date range, as specified in Table 1 to paragraph (c) of this Airworthiness Directive (AD 2024-21-02). The AD comes into effect on 5th December 2024. This AD was prompted by several reports of connecting rod failures which resulted in uncontained engine failure and in-flight shutdowns. The AD requires repetitive oil inspections for bronze metal particulates at each oil change, and if found, additional inspections of the connecting rod bushings for damage, proper fit, movement, and wear, and replacement if necessary. The first oil inspection must take at the next oil change or within 4 months after the AD becomes effective i.e. 5th April 2025, whichever occurs first. As terminating action to the connecting rod bushing inspections, this AD requires replacement of the connecting rod bushings with parts eligible for installation. LAA A-02-2024 - Lycoming Connecting Rod Assemblies .pdf Download PDF • 203KB Next Previous

< Back New LAA Inspector - Paul Armstrong 16 Jul 2025 We are pleased to welcome Paul Armstrong as a new LAA Inspector, having attended an LAA Inspector Assessment Day at Turweston recently. Paul started flying gliders at the age of 15, later progressing to TMG and then to light aeroplanes about 20 years ago. Maintaining aircraft as a part of his hobby is now an integral part of a love of aviation that is approaching its 50th year. Next Previous

< Back LAA Inspector Seminar 14 Feb 2024 Last Thursday, 16 Inspectors attended an Inspector Training Seminar at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford, run by our Chief Inspector Lucy Wootton, with the assistance of our Head of Flight Test, Andy Draper and Airworthiness Engineer, Cris Fernandez. LAA Inspectors are required to attend training once every four years. We had a great day - lots of knowledge shared and interesting discussions. Next Previous

< Back Mandatory Technical Directive issued for Pietenpol Air Campers 19 Jul 2024 Mandatory Technical Directive, MTD-06-2024 has been issued to introduce mandatory checks for corrosion on the wing rear struts. This follows a recent in-service finding where servere corrosion was found in a flying example of the type in the UK. The MTD must be carried out before further flight on or after 18th July 2024 on Pietenpol Air Camper aircraft fitted with the 'Jim Wills' wing rear struts. Next Previous

< Back LAA Open Day - Saturday 1st June 2024 9 May 2024 Flying in? PPR is needed. Contact: [email protected] Browse through our Flea Market table Meet LAA staff and Board Members Talk by Lucy Wootton our Chief Inspector on "How I got into flying" Instructors available to answer any questions you may have Browse through our retail shop for LAA merchandise, including charts, log books and clothing. A selection of LAA magazines available for free! Tea and coffee served in our members area and also a catering van will be available on-site for food and refreshments,. Next Previous