< Back Alert A-06-2025 - Christen Eagle II Canopy Detachment 12 Jun 2025 LAA Alert A-06-2025 - Christen Eagle II Canopy Detachment LAA Alert A-06-2025 has been published on the LAA website (and is also attached), highlighting a recent Christen Eagle II Canopy detachment in flight due to damage of the canopy locking pin brackets, which were bent as a result of draught excluding foam being installed at the front edge of the canopy, placing excessive force on these brackets, so that they deformed. A-06-2025 - Christen Eagle II Canopy Detachment .pdf Download PDF • 474KB Next Previous

< Back New Head of Continuing Airworthiness and Inspection 3 Dec 2024 The LAA is very pleased to announce that Lucy Wootton has been appointed as the new Head of Continuing Airworthiness and Inspection. LAA CEO Simon Tilling continues: “We have taken the opportunity to bring together the inspection and airworthiness teams under one leader. Currently Continuing Airworthiness and our nationwide team of Inspectors are interdependent functions, bringing them together allows for closer co-operation and the alignment of objectives and actions. This new, combined team has the overall objective of ensuring and maintaining the safety and airworthiness of the LAA fleet of more than 2,700 aircraft. It’s responsibilities will include: Airworthiness audits (ACAMs) Permit to Fly Revalidation Process & PFRCs Tracking, analysis, and management of airworthiness issues and identification of solutions Promulgation of continuing airworthiness Information (TADS, Alerts, TSBs, MTDs, Light Aviation Magazine, website) External Liaison (AAIB, CAA, BGA, BMAA) Inspector Induction Support Training, development, and record keeping Communication Performance management Authorisations Contribution to processes and procedures (EPM, Exposition, SPARS, TLs etc) Lucy joined the LAA in August 2022 as Chief Inspector. She has a first-class Masters degree in Aeronautical Engineering, with Honours, from Loughborough University, having spent five years there, including a year’s placement at Rolls-Royce in Failure Investigation, for which she achieved a Diploma in Industrial Studies. Lucy has also been a British Gliding Association Inspector for more than 10 years, as well as an ARC Signatory. Lucy holds a PPL(A) for both single-engine piston aircraft and touring motor gliders, with a night rating, instrument rating(restricted) and sailplane towing rating. Prior to joining the LAA, Lucy worked as an Aircraft Structural Repair Design Engineer for a major aeronautical engineering organisation. Since joining the LAA as Chief Inspector, Lucy has been instrumental in the continuing development of the LAA Inspectorate, who are recognised for their knowledge and skills and professionalism across the aviation industry." Next Previous

< Back Gyroplanes to join the new online Permit Revalidation System 17 Jun 2025 The new online Permit Revalidation system has been in place for fixed-wing aircraft on the LAA fleet since 15th April 2025 and now it is time to add Gyroplanes, both amateur-built and factory-built. Therefore, we are pleased to announce that gyroplane Owners and Inspectors will be able to use the online Permit Revalidation system from 22nd July 2025! The Permit Revalidation Process for gyroplanes will follow the same three steps as for fixed-wing aircraft, shown in the graphic below. The only differences will be small changes to the questions in line with the requirements for gyroplanes, such as asking about the rotor and rotor-head. Where do I find more information? If you are a Gyroplane Owner or Inspector, then please talk to your friends that own and inspect fixed-wing aircraft, as many of them will have been through this new process. There is lots of information to help you: Technical Leaflet 2.00 – Revalidating an Aircraft’s Permit to Fly , will be updated on 22nd July to include information regarding gyroplanes A detailed step-by-step video guide is available on the LAA’s YouTube channel, called ‘ Online Permit Revalidation Explained .’ A list of Frequently Asked Questions is available on the LAA website. Again, these will be updated on 22nd July to include Gyroplanes For more information, click HERE . Note: the 22nd July is a hard deadline, so LAA Engineering will not accept applications made under the old system from that date. Changes to Permit Revalidation Fees for Gyroplane Owners From 22nd July, Permit Revalidation Fees for gyroplanes will be based on Maximum Take Off Weight (MTOW), rather than Factory Built Gyroplanes always having a fee of £323. This is in line with the charging regime for fixed-wing aircraft. The current charges are as follows: Up to 450kg - £241 451-999kg - £292 1000kg & above - £323 Note: For FBGs - if the last Permit revalidation was not administered by the LAA, an extra fee of £155 applies Next Previous

< Back LAA Alert A-14-2025 - Eurofox Fuel Line Disconnected In-Flight 11 Dec 2025 LAA Alert A-14-2025 - Eurofox Fuel Line Disconnected In-Flight A non-LAA, Factory-Built Eurofox with a Rotax 915, fuel-injected engine experienced an in-flight engine shut down due to the high pressure (4.5 Bar) fuel hose connecting the high-pressure fuel pump unit to the master fuel valve becoming detached from the master fuel valve during flight. This resulted in the engine stopping and a serious fuel leak in the cockpit. It is believed that a combination of the fitting’s shallow barbs, and a small fuel leak of high-pressure fuel through the scratched/cut hose lubricated the fitting’s brass surface and allowed the hose to slide off the fitting. Owners and Inspectors should pay close attention to fuel hose condition and attachment security during inspections. Any signs of movement, wear, or mismatch between hose and fitting must be addressed before the aircraft flies again. Please refer to the attached Alert here for full details and recommended checks. A-14-2025 - Eurofox Fuel Line Disconnected In-Flight .pdf Download PDF • 145KB Next Previous

< Back New LAA Inspector - Keith Troughton 4 Sept 2025 We are pleased to welcome Keith Troughton as a new LAA Inspector, having attended an LAA Inspector Assessment Day at Turweston recently. With an active aviation interest from a very young age, he has been involved in certified, homebuilt, and microlight aircraft for over 40 years. He is currently operating within a C.A.O. General Aviation Facility as a Licensed Aircraft Engineer (L.A.E.). He is a CAA-approved maintenance manager within an approved Aircraft Maintenance Facility, with access to most of the necessary tooling for standard aircraft maintenance support, including facilities to weigh aircraft, if required. Next Previous

< Back LAA Alert A-15-2025 Glasair Rudder Pedal Bearing Failures 23 Dec 2025 LAA Alert A-15-2025 Glasair Rudder Pedal Bearing Failures A recent social media report has brought attention to two rudder pedal bearing failure events on a non-LAA Glasair. These bearings attach each rudder pedal assembly to the bearing support ribs. Owners and Inspectors should carry out frequent inspections of these bearings for signs of cracking, breaking, excessive play or any other abnormalities. Pilots should also conduct effective full-and-free movement checks during taxiing to ensure correct rudder pedal operation prior to take-off. If there are any doubts on the bearings’ condition, age, or origin, they should be replaced with newly made ones. Instructions on how to make new bearings from a 3/4" UHMWPE sheet can be found in the Stoddard-Hamilton Instruction Manual. Please refer to the LAA Alert A-15-2025 HERE or below for full details and recommended checks. A-15-2025 Glasair Rudder Pedal Bearing Failures .pdf Download PDF • 309KB Next Previous

E10 Mogas From 1st September 2021, the government mandated that all regular grade unleaded petrol must contain up to 10% ethanol, rather than up to 5% as previously. In the autumn of 2021, most filling stations around the UK re-marked their E5 petrol pumps to show that they now supply E10 specification fuel, and started receiving tanker-loads blended with up to 10 percent ethanol content. For the automotive world this means reduced carbon dioxide emissions, which is better for the environment, and, arguably in terms of eco-desirability, a small further reduction in the reliance on fossil fuel. The automotive industry had been preparing for this change, and people with road vehicles registered after 2002 should be able to switch to E10 without noticing any difference. Unfortunately, the additional ethanol content is bad news for aviation users if we were to ignore the change and start putting E10 in our aircraft regardless. Ethanol is a powerful chemical solvent which can attack components including rubberised gaskets and fuel pipes, older lacquered carburettor floats and composite or plastic components in some newer fuel systems. The doubling of the concentration of ethanol in E10 compared to E5 makes it much more likely that problems will be experienced if these parts are not designed to be ethanol-proof. Ethanol also has an affinity for absorbing water, which over time can then become acidic, attacking metal components in the fuel system and engine. Even if there was a practical way to do so in the volumes of fuel we use in our aircraft, we cannot safely remove the ethanol content from the fuel because the ethanol acts as an octane enhancer, so the washed-out fuel would be left with a reduced octane value, likely to cause detonation problems. Another issue is that ethanol-blended fuel has a lower energy density than petrol, so to develop full power from our engines using an E10 fuel, we may need to richen the fuel/air mixture, for example using a bigger carburettor jet size. Owners of Rotax and Jabiru engines are probably already aware that many of these engines are supplied as being able to use E10 fuel – though with Jabiru engines, in particular, it’s far from straightforward because some of the earlier engines require cylinder head modifications and reduced compression ratio if they are to avoid detonation issues when using any form of Mogas. Jabiru also say that Mogas of any type should not be used in commercial flight schools and only at the owners own risk. Even with a supposedly E10-compatable engine, the chemical compatibility problems with fuel system components are such that the LAA does not at present approve the use of E10 Mogas in any LAA amateur-built or vintage aircraft. For factory-built microlights and factory-built gyroplanes, where LAA is not the approving authority but only renews the CAA’s Permits to Fly, owners need to refer to the TADS for the types for details of the approved fuel types, and monitor the service bulletins from the approved manufacturers for news of any updates. Where we need to be particularly careful in reading-across from (hopefully) a trouble-free transition to E10 in automotive use is the big difference between our petrol cars and the way our aircraft engines are configured. Our cars generally have submerged fuel pumps in their petrol tanks and a sealed fuel system. In our aircraft we have an open-vented tank and usually a fuel pump several feet away, often mounted in a hot area of the engine bay near to the engine exhaust, dragging the fuel through a fairly convoluted pipework system, a filter and fuel selector – all features encouraging a vapour lock - and then to make matters worse we want to climb up to altitude and operate in reduced atmospheric pressure. Modern petrol cars have a fuel injection systems rather than carburettors, a circulating fuel system designed to purge any vapour forming in the fuel line, and an ECU that monitors the engine’s parameters constantly and adjusts the fuel mixture strength and ignition timing to prevent damage to the engine – and if all else fails and the engine should ‘pink’, we can hear it from the driver’s seat and drop a gear to lighten the load. Because of the much higher background noise level in our aircraft, detonation cannot be heard and the pilot’s first indication of a problem may be when the first piston crown disintegrates, or a valve head departs its stem. In conclusion - E10 is presently not approved for use in any LAA aircraft. ‘Hoping for the best’ and using E10 fuel in your aircraft regardless could risk ruining the fuel system components, fibreglass tanks falling to bits, engine failure through contamination of the fuel or ruptured fuel pump diaphragms etc, or more serious engine damage. For most of our engines, UL91 Avgas is the best choice, but 97 octane E5 Super Unleaded remains an alternative to the now-obsolete E5 spec Mogas.

Light Aviation Magazine 2016 Click on the links below to open each issue of Light Aviation Magazine from 2016 January 2016 April 2016 July 2016 October 2016 February 2016 May 2016 August 2016 November 2016 March 2016 June 2016 September 2016 December 2016

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

Association Documents Memorandum of Association Click here... Articles of Association Click here... Directors' Code of Conduct Click here... Guidelines & Terms of Reference Click here... Rules of the LAA Click here... Strut Governance Documents Click here...

LAA are proud to announce our Rally 2025 sponsors Exhibitor Information TERMS & CONDITIONS LAYOUT OUTSIDE PRICES BOOKING FORM LAYOUT INSIDE MARQUEE

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. 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.