Buckinghamshire · Oxfordshire · Northants · Beds
Permit to Fly revalidation, build and stage inspections, modification sign-off, and Rotax iRMT engine work on the 912 ULS and 912 iS. Done by an inspector who also flies the types he signs off — from microlights up to a Citation X.
Inspection & engineering
Permit aircraft, microlights and the Rotax engines that go in most of them. If your job isn't listed, ask — the answer is usually yes or a straight referral to someone better placed.
The annual airworthiness review that keeps your Certificate of Validity current, done properly rather than rushed.
Inspections through a build, from structure to final. Better caught at the right stage than found at the end.
Scheduled maintenance and diagnostics on the carburetted 912 ULS and the fuel-injected 912 iS.
Inspection and sign-off on modifications and repair schemes, plus help getting the paperwork right first time.
The process
The LAA moved this online, and it's a good deal simpler than it used to be. Here's the shape of it so you know what you're booking.
Where I work
I come to the aircraft. Most inspections happen at the owner's own strip or hangar, which means you're not ferrying a Permit aircraft across the country with an expiring Certificate of Validity to get it looked at.
Based near Buckingham, so most of Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire is comfortably within reach, and I'll travel further by arrangement. Farm strips are fine — I've spent as much time on grass as on tarmac.
I also buy and sell light aircraft, so if you're looking for a type rather than a date in the diary, that's worth a look too.
One thing worth knowing: not every inspector is approved for every type, and some types need a specific approval. Send me the type and registration when you enquire and you'll get a straight answer rather than a maybe.
Owner questions
The CAA has delegated airworthiness oversight of amateur-built, experimental and microlight aircraft to the LAA and the BMAA. An inspector carries out the airworthiness review that supports your Permit to Fly, signs the review, and submits it so the association can issue your Certificate of Validity.
A Permit to Fly is validated by a Certificate of Validity, issued annually once a satisfactory airworthiness review has been completed and the application processed.
Under the LAA's online revalidation system, most types moved to a three-year check flight interval rather than an annual one. An inspector can still ask for a check flight as part of a revalidation if they judge it necessary.
Usually not. An inspector can issue a Permit Flight Release Certificate to authorise the flying needed to complete the process, and under the current system that covers aircraft up to two years past the expiry of the Certificate of Validity. Get in touch rather than assuming the worst.
Not every inspector is approved for every type, and some types require a specific approval. Send the type and registration and you'll get a straight yes or no — and a pointer to someone else if the answer is no.
iRMT is Rotax's own technician certification. It covers scheduled maintenance, service bulletins, rubber and hose replacement and diagnostics on the carburetted 912 ULS and the fuel-injected 912 iS.
Both, though mostly the former. Most inspections happen at the aircraft's home strip or hangar across Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire.
Spring is the busiest period, when every owner wants their aircraft ready for the season. Booking a few weeks ahead is sensible; winter slots are usually easier to come by, and it's a better time to find a problem than in May.
Book an inspection
That's enough to give you a date and a price. Expired Permits are not a problem — say so and we'll sort the sequence out.
Also from BenAviation
The same pair of hands at the other end of the scale. A Cessna Citation X based in the UK and available at short notice across Europe and worldwide — booked by dealing directly with the crew rather than through a broker.