Inspector Zone The Inspector Zone is designed for use by LAA Inspectors (though is available to all) and is intended to provide a focal point for LAA Inspectors to source important airworthiness and other useful information. LAA Inspector Updates are provided via email. Inspectors should check the contact information shown in the Inspector Map held on this website, and let the Head of Continuing Airworthiness & Inspection (Chief Inspector) know of any changes needed. Inspectors are encouraged to submit items of news they think might be suitable for inclusion in future Inspector Updates to the Head of Continuing Airworthiness & Inspection (Chief Inspector) , Lucy Wootton at [email protected] . This email address may also be used by Inspectors with queries directly relating to their role as an LAA Inspector. AIRWORTHINESS INFORMATION SPARS (COMING SOON...) INSPECTOR APPROVAL INFORMATION BECOME AN INSPECTOR FIND AN INSPECTOR INSPECTOR TRAINING SEMINARS

Light Aviation Magazine 2023 Click on the links below to open each issue of Light Aviation Magazine from 2023 January 2023 April 2023 July 2023 October 2023 February 2023 May 2023 August 2023 November 2023 March 2023 June 2023 September 2023 December 2023

Light Aviation Magazine 2012 Click on the links below to open each issue of Light Aviation Magazine from 2012 January 2012 April 2012 July 2012 October 2012 February 2012 May 2012 August 2012 November 2012 March 2012 June 2012 September 2012 December 2012

LAA are proud to announce our Rally 2025 sponsors Trophies & Awards A number of prestigious Trophies and Awards are judged at the Rally, recognising the many superbly built and restored aircraft that attend. If you would like to enter your aircraft for judging you can do so on arrival. The judging team will be co-located with booking-in. You can, however, download and complete the entry form beforehand. The list of the awards for 2025 can be found here . Complete list of award can be found here . Judging guidelines can be found here . Factory built aircraft less than 35 years old are not eligible. The judging team will ensure you are in all competitions for which you are eligible. The judges sometimes have difficulty finding an aircraft. Owners are therefore urged to download the free`What3Words’ app and use it to show their aircraft’s location when registering. All pilots who wish their aircraft to be judged are asked to display to the marshallers the large J found here . They will then direct you, if possible, to a convenient parking space. Please leave the 'J' visible in the windscreen to help the judges find your aircraft. Judging takes place from 13:30 to 17:00 on the Saturday; therefore, all entries must be received by 13:00 on Saturday.

Modifying & Repairing Aircraft One of the main features of the LAA system is that modifications and repairs can be approved with significantly reduced costs compared with aircraft on Certificates of Airworthiness, where applicants would need to deal with the CAA or EASA. Since the engineering team are all ‘little aircraft’ experts, it is usually a straight-forward job to approve many types of change. Of course, with many of our members being so creative, sometimes the job takes a little more time and thought to approve! View current mod/repair application queue Modifcation Type Description Further Details Application Form Application Fee Category Changes Applications to change an aircraft’s category from a microlight to a ‘Group A’ aircraft (and vice versa) are allocated a modification number to record the change. If an engine or propeller change is required at the same time, then an application must be made as noted above. N/A LAA/ MOD 10 £206 Engine & Propeller Changes These are treated as Prototype or Repeat modifications, unless they appear on the PTL list for the type. Technical Leaflet TL 3.02 LAA/MOD 4 and LAA/MOD 5 * See below Avionics Installations These are not considered modifications, but in order to fulfil their legal obligations, owners are required to keep LAA up-to-date should radio details alter. A special system exists for the approval of radio changes that is separate from other modifications. Technical Leaflet TL 3.03 LAA/MOD 7 No charge for radio/transponder installations, but a £31 fee is chargeable for certified ADS-B Out applications STCs Where a change has previously been approved by means of a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC), LAA Engineering then only needs to investigate any installation/compatibility issues rather than the change itself. N/A LAA/MOD 13 £52 The Trivial Change Sometimes a change is so trivial that no application is required and there is no need to inform the Engineering department. Technical Leaflet TL 3.10 N/A N/A Manufacturers' Modifications Kit manufacturers and plans suppliers often have long lists of optional modifications that can be fitted and during the lifetime of a type product improvements are introduced. Generally, LAA-accepted optional items are listed on the TADS for the type. N/A N/A N/A The Standard Modification This is a modification that is very well defined and is applicable to a particular aircraft or engine type or types. Members may nominate new Standard Modifications using form LAA/MOD 9; however, LAA Engineering may choose to convert popular Repeat modifications into Standard Modifications. Technical Leaflet TL 3.06 LAA/MOD 1 Variable, see individual mods for details The Repeat Modification A modification that has already been approved on one aircraft as a Prototype modification. Note that a Repeat modification must identically replicate the original Prototype modification including fasteners and positions of parts and should generally be on the same aircraft type as the original. Technical Leaflet TL 3.07 and TL 3.17 LAA/MOD 11 * See below The Prototype ("normal") Modification This is a normal modification application made in the usual way and is applicable only to the aircraft for which the application is made. Technical Leaflet TL 3.01 LAA/MOD 2 and LAA/MOD3 * See below * All prototype modifications (including engine and propeller changes) attract a minimum fee of £103 which covers up to two hours' work; all repeat modifications (including engine and propeller changes) attract a minimum fee of £52 which covers up to one hour's work. Thereafter, work is charged at £57/hour in either case. See the relevant Technical Leaflet for the type of modification for further details. To access the Technical Leaflets, MOD forms and Standard Modifications described above, click one of the buttons below: Technical Leaflets on Modifications & Repairs LAA MOD Forms Standard Modifications

< Back MTD-01-2025 ISSUE 2 published - Zenair Tailplane Brackets 28 Aug 2025 MTD-01-2025 - 'Inspection of horizontal stabiliser (tailplane) attachment brackets and associated hardware for cracks, looseness and other forms of distress' for Zenair CH601, CH650, CH701, CH750 and variants of these four models has been upissued to Issue 2. This is in order to correct an error in the 'Effective Date' of this MTD. This MTD can be found HERE and is also available below. A number of cases have been found whereby the structural integrity of the horizontal stabiliser mountings on the Zenair types identified above have been compromised by one or more of the following: cracking of the attachment brackets oversize holes loose rivets distorted and chafed brackets. These problems could occur due to a number of factors including poor build quality, a build-up of tolerances in the positioning or dimensions of the brackets, improper assembly, rough treatment or in-flight vibration. Failure of a tailplane attachment could result in degraded controllability in flight or loss of control. Special inspections of this area have been recommended by Zenair since January 2017, in their document ‘Mandatory Action. Jan. 2017 – Inspection of Horizontal Stabilizer tail attachment brackets’. This Mandatory Technical Directive mandates this safety action for aircraft operating on LAA Permits to Fly. 20250828 - MTD-01-2025 - Zenair Tailplane Brackets - Issue 2 .pdf Download PDF • 183KB Next Previous

Permit Aircraft Electrics - Basic Course Price Member - £216, Non-Member - £236 (includes printed course material) Duration Arrival 09:00. Finish 17:00. < Back About the Course This course provides the theory and practical knowledge to enable the implementation of a basic electrical system in permit aircraft. Although the course necessarily includes a small amount of technical theory; it is only included at a level needed (essentially Ohms Law) to understand how wire sizes, fuses, circuit breakers and other components etc are selected. The basic premise of the introductory course is that the owner/builder already has a circuit diagram to work from (few kit manufacturers provide electrical diagrams, so the course includes details of where such ‘standard’ diagrams may be found). They are not expected to do any design work, but they do need to source the materials and components and build a working, reliable and safe installation. The course explains how to interpret a ‘typical’ permit aircraft electrical systems diagram and for every element, explains how to size, select and source components and then how to practically install them. The course uses a PowerPoint presentation for the theory side, a demonstration electrical panel in the classroom so that attendees can see the various options and good practice for wiring and systems installation and also runs two practical sessions in the LAA workshop which includes practical soldering, wire stripping and connector crimping, cable marking options, use of heat shrink, radio antenna coax connector installation and the correct crimping and installation of typical D Sub connectors used for avionics systems. What this course will try to do is: Introduce and explain the components of a wiring system Help you understand a circuit diagram Give practical experience in wiring techniques Give the knowledge to select and source cables and components Explain failure modes and reliability issues Help you conduct basic fault finding Warn about the ‘gotcha’ areas and the things to look out for What the course will not do is: Turn you into a design engineer Enable you to design an aircraft EWIS Enable you to fault find on an undocumented aircraft installation Solve interference issues Delve into avionics Your Instructor Mark Castle-Smith Dates 8 November 2025, 7 February 2026 Times Arrival 09:00. Finish 17:00. Duration One day course Venue LAA HQ, Turweston Aerodrome, NN13 5YD Price Member - £216, Non-Member - £236 (includes printed course material) 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**

< Back Engineering updates in December 2 Jan 2025 The following documents have been issued/updated in the Engineering 'Info Library' during December. Continuing airworthiness information: Mandatory Technical Directive 07-2024 - Eurofox trim cables Alert 03-2024 - Eurostar trim cables Alert 04-2024 - Loose Rotax engines Alert 05-2024 - Rotax 900 series engines - blocked oil spray nozzle Technical Leaflets: TL 2.22 'non-type specific MPDs' TADS : Sling 4 TSi Wishing all our members a very Happy New Year. Next Previous

< Back New LAA Inspector - Steve Hodge 4 Apr 2024 The LAA is pleased to welcome Steve Hodge as a new LAA Inspector. Steve came to an Assessment Day at LAA HQ at the start of March. Steve has been part of the aviation trade since 1997, when he joined Arrow Aviation Services as a trainee. He pretty much learnt his entire trade there and was very fortunate to have worked with a wide variety of components from engines and propellers, to wheels and brakes, with a lot of vintage aviation thrown in too. His is now as Owner and Accountable Manager of his own company, SOAR Aviation, a CAA Part 145 approved facility. He continues to provide the aviation industry with what he hopes is thought of as an honest, reliable, friendly and cost-effective service. He has always been involved with the LAA and enjoys serving the LAA community. Next Previous

97 Octane Super Unleaded Since the replacement of regular E5 Mogas at the pumps by E10, for the time being at least, Mogas users have an alternative option in the form of 97 RON Super Unleaded fuels. 97 RON Super Unleaded fuel supplied by garage forecourts is NOT necessarily ethanol-free, but its ethanol content will be capped at a maximum of 5%. 97 RON E5 Super Unleaded fuel can be used under the LAA process for E5 Mogas, as before. There’s currently no legal requirement for ethanol to be present in super unleaded petrol and in fact, quite a few members have reported that their tests have shown Super Unleaded fuel to be ethanol-free in their areas. Esso reports that “Synergy Supreme+ 99 is actually ethanol free (except, due to technical supply reasons, in Devon, Cornwall, North Wales, North England and Scotland). Legislation requires us to place E5 labels on pumps that dispense unleaded petrol with ‘up to 5% ethanol’, including those that contain no ethanol, which is why we display them on our Synergy Supreme+ 99 pumps”. Shell, BP, Tesco and other fuel suppliers don’t commit to such detail, merely stating their fuels “may contain up to 5% ethanol”. Of course, many LAA members have been using Mogas of one sort or another for many years. For many airstrip users, the prospect of having to go to an airfield to fill up with Avgas would seem at best very off-putting, and at worst totally impractical for their style of operation. Hopefully Super Unleaded will continue to be an option using the LAA’s E5 procedure. Where 97 octane E5 super unleaded can be found that’s ethanol-free, it can be used in the broader range of LAA aircraft with engines eligible for use with E0 unleaded fuel. But it is important that Mogas users take on board the fact that unlike with aviation fuels, automotive fuel specifications generally only describe the properties of the fuel blend, in terms of octane rating and other characteristics, they don’t specify the chemical make-up of the fuel. Apart from specifying broad maxima and minima for those components that the powers-that-be wish to either encourage or discourage, the specifications leave to the fuel supplier the choice of how to blend the fuel to achieve the described properties. In some cases it’s the relatively small amounts of additives that cause compatibility issues, rather than the main components of the fuel that cause the problems – and the mix of additives may vary from one batch to the next. With Mogas of any type, what you get from the pump one week may be different to what you get the week after, or got the week before. The fact that your fuel system pump diaphragms, seals, composite tanks and so on might have been unaffected by Mogas up till now does not guarantee that they will be OK with the blend that the next tanker-load brings to your garage forecourt. Unfortunately there is no simple answer to this, and the only way to mitigate this problem is by constant vigilance, and thoughtful adaption of your maintenance schedule to check for signs of problems developing before they create a safety issue – more frequent checking of filters, changing of fuel lines etc. Signs to watch out for are swelling of rubber components like diaphragms, fuel valve seals and O rings, fuel pipes hardening or developing surface cracks, fuel tank sealants wrinkling or detaching from the internal surfaces of fuel tanks. Varnishes on cork floats may go gummy, or plastic carburettor floats absorb fuel and lose buoyancy, causing a rich mixture and rough running. Watch out for discolouration of the fuel you take out as fuel samples, which may imply something dissolving somewhere in the system, and for corrosion in the bases of your carb float bowls and gascolator. Avoid letting Mogas go stale in your fuel system – drain it out before a long period of disuse. Don’t leave the tanks empty for a long period – better to fill them with Avgas which will reduce condensation, and also, particularly with plastic tanks, prevent the tank’s internals drying out which can cause problems with shrinkage, and in extreme cases, the tanks splitting open. O rings and other rubber parts are best kept submerged in fuel continuously. We’ve seen cases where composite aircraft skins have rippled apparently due to exposure to the vapours created by the break-down products in stale Mogas, after being left unattended over a single winter. Mogas is blended with the expectation that in a car it will be used within a few weeks of being supplied, so it doesn’t need to be as stable over a long period of time as an aviation fuel. If a composite or plastic fuel tank is built into your aircraft, consider carefully whether you want to run the risk of having to replace it should the tank deteriorate with Mogas exposure, with all that that implies. With an integral tank in a wet-wing Jabiru aircraft, the answer should be certainly not – but even with the embedded polyethylene fuel tank in a Europa’s fuselage, changing the fuel tank is not an operation for the faint-hearted, involving cutting out quite large parts of the fibreglass cockpit module to release the tank, and then scarfing them back again afterwards in-situ. The Europa kit was first produced in the era of four-star Mogas, a very different blend to what we find at the pumps today. Ethanol-proof rubber hoses are available. In particular SAE J30/R9 or the European equivalent DIN 7339 D3 are automotive hose standards that are widely available from auto factors, and should be used in preference to the older SAEJ30/R6 standard hose which is more permeable to fuel vapour and will more quickly harden and crack, particularly using fuel containing ethanol. The SAE spec J30/R14 is a lower pressure, more pliable version for carburettor systems. Watch out for cheap imitations – the real McCoy should come from a reputable manufacturer, be marked with the SAE number along its length and will likely cost at least £10 a metre. What can we do to help the situation ? It may be that off-the-shelf drop-in-the-tank additives can be used to mitigate some of the problems with mogas fuel, in particular, stabilisers and anti-corrosion products, just as they are routinely in the marine and race-car world. Not knowing what’s in them, we recommending steering clear of any additives that claim to boost the fuel’s octane. Definitely avoid additives that claim to actively enhance an engine’s power or fuel economy, other than just to restore proper performance by giving the carburettor jets and orifices an occasional clean-up. For most aircraft engines UL91 Avgas remains the ideal fuel, in that it is a tightly-controlled aviation-grade fuel of a guaranteed composition, blended for long-term stability and optimal volatility for aviation use. As it is in effect the familiar 100LL Avgas but supplied without its tetraethyl lead, any fuel system designed for 100LL Avgas will be unaffected by using UL91 fuel, or, if circumstances demand, by a mix of 100LL and UL91. Despite a pervasive mis-conception, UL91 fuel is NOT Mogas and suffers from none of the issues associated with Mogas use in aircraft. A list of engines suitable for use with UL91 fuel can be downloaded from the ‘operating and maintaining an LAA Aircraft’ page of the LAA’s new website. Moves are afoot to increase the number of airfields supplying UL91 fuel, with full LAA backing.

For part-built LAA projects, the new owner/builder needs to continue following the LAA amateur-build process. For already-flying LAA aircraft, the new owner simply takes on the responsibilities of the old owner for looking after the airworthiness of the aircraft. The restoration of an aircraft might range from dusting off the cobwebs and giving the engine a good service, to a full strip down to component parts and fabricating missing or damaged parts. It is also possible, in some circumstances, to import a part-built or completed aircraft from overseas. This is generally only possible where the type is already accepted by the LAA, the aircraft can be shown to have been amateur-built under a similar regime to that in the UK, and which is readily inspectable to confirm the build standard. A number of LAA types come under the heading ‘orphaned vintage types’. These are types that are no longer supported by their manufacturer and have been deemed ‘orphaned’ by the CAA (e.g. Austers). There are also some types that can elect to operate either on a Certificate of Airworthiness or on an LAA-administered Permit to Fly (e.g. Chipmunks). Buying an Aircraft Not everyone has the inclination, ability or time available to build an aircraft. The only route then is to buy a part-built aircraft for completion, a ready-flying aircraft or an aircraft in need of restoration. When buying an aircraft, the overriding message is ‘Buyer Beware!’ If you’re buying an aircraft that is already flying within the LAA system, you mainly need to satisfy yourself that it’s in an acceptable condition and meets your needs. LAA Inspectors are often happy to look over an aircraft for you to help you make a technical assessment of its condition. Another area you should consider is whether it has enough payload to take you where you want to go. When buying a partially-built aircraft or one from overseas, you need to make sure that the aircraft is eligible to hold a UK Permit to Fly and is in a configuration that the LAA can accept. It is usually a good idea to drop LAA Engineering an email to check before you part with large amounts of money. For further information, click the button below or look in the 'Classifieds' section of the LAA Magazine Click here for more information

LAA are proud to announce our Rally 2025 sponsors Opening Times & Car Parking Opening Times Visitors will be asked to leave the exhibition area by 5.00 p.m. Friday: 9.30 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. Saturday: 9.30 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. Sunday: 9.30 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. Car Park Car parking remains free. Follow sign posts to visitors car park. Please do not use the Exhibitor car park. Disabled parking is available. Please note that entrance to the LAA Rally car park and exhibition site is separate from the Leicestershire Aero Club entrance (reserved for LAC members and other airfield users) How to get there Leicester Airfield , Gartree Road, Leicester, LE2 2FG Follow the Rally Car Park Signs What3words Location: rings.using.nails