Aircraft flying in accordance with a national permit to fly may only be used for commercial operations or hire in specific circumstances, including flight training conducted on a commercial basis. There are also requirements for assessing the suitability of any non-Part 21 aircraft used for training towards the issue of licences or ratings under Part-FCL of the UK Aircrew Regulation.
This page provides guidance on the subject and should be read alongside applicable regulations and general permissions issued pursuant to the Air Navigation Order (ANO) 2016.
The term ‘permit aircraft’ is used throughout to refer to a non-Part 21 aircraft issued with a national permit to fly under the ANO. For operations involving Part 21 aircraft issued with a permit to fly under Part 21 of the Initial Airworthiness Regulation, reference should be made to the limitations included in the permit document.
Commercial operations
Article 42 of the Air Navigation Order (ANO) 2016 states that aircraft holding a national permit to fly must not fly for commercial operations or hire without the permission of the CAA. ‘Commercial operation’ is defined in Article 7 of the ANO and ‘operator’ is defined in Article 4.
The CAA has published Official Record Series 4 ORS4 1632 providing a general permission for the use of certain permit aircraft (including amateur built aeroplanes and orphaned aircraft in accordance with CAP 1302) to be used for flight training and examination, self-fly hire and introductory flights.
For permit aircraft that are not type approved, ab initio training is not permitted, unless the flight training is considered non-commercial. If the trainee or test candidate already holds a valid license for the same aircraft category, then flight instruction and examination can take place in accordance with ORS4 1632. Note that the suitability of the aircraft for the intended training or testing must also be assessed, regardless of whether the flight is being conducted on a commercial basis.
Where flight instruction or examination on a commercial basis is intended, ORS4 1632 limits this, to:
- Differences training between variants within a class rating, or;
- The initial issue of a Class, Type, Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC), Night or Aerobatic rating(s), or
- The dual refresher training flight(s) for the revalidation class rating(s), and
- The renewal of class and IMC rating(s).
‘Type Approved’ microlight aeroplanes and gyroplanes may be used for ab initio training, in accordance with ORS4 No.1631: Use of Type Approved Microlights and Gyroplanes for Flight Training or Self-Fly Hire | UK Civil Aviation Authority.
ORS4 1632 does not apply to flight instruction or examination in ex-military aircraft that are operated in accordance with CAP 632, since these are addressed by separate arrangements set out within CAP 632. Nor does it permit the use of amateur built helicopters for training on a commercial basis in any circumstances.
Non-commercial operations
Flight training on a non-commercial basis with a permit aircraft does not require permission under Article 42 of the ANO.
It is always the responsibility of the owner or operator to determine whether a flight is commercial or not, and if in doubt reference should be made to Article 7 of the ANO.
The following circumstances would normally be considered non-commercial:
- Flight instruction or examination in an aircraft operated by an owner or joint owner where the owner or joint owner is the trainee or test candidate and the only remuneration or other valuable consideration given regarding the flight is for the services of an instructor or examiner, or
- Flight instruction or examination provided to the spouse or child of such an owner or joint owner on the same basis as above, or
- A training flight for which no remuneration or other valuable consideration is given at all.
Suitability assessment
Where a non-Part 21 aircraft is to be used for flight training under the auspices of an approved training organisation (ATO) or declared training organisation (DTO), including for the purposes of providing instruction to a pilot in their own aircraft, a suitability assessment must be conducted in accordance with ORA.ATO.135 (for ATOs) and DTO.GEN.240 (for DTOs).
The relevant Head of Training, instructors and examiners should refer to the Acceptable Means of Compliance (AMC) associated with ORA.ATO.135 and DTO.GEN.240, which sets out what training organisations need to assess. In addition, there is further Guidance Material (GM) to help assess the suitability of an aircraft to be used for flight training or skill tests and proficiency checks.
Note that non-Part 21 aircraft operating on a valid certificate of airworthiness do not require any permission under the ANO to be used for commercial operations, but training organisations are still required to assess the suitability of the aircraft in accordance with ORA.ATO.135 or DTO.GEN.240 before use in flight training.
Introductory flights
Introductory flights in accordance with Article 15 of the ANO are only permitted with aircraft that are either ’Type Approved’ or a type formerly holding a UK certificate of airworthiness and for which there is a ‘Type Responsibility Agreement’ (TRA) with the CAA under BCAR A5-1, with the operator having entered into an arrangement with the TRA holder for such operation.
Further information
Regulatory framework UK Part 21 aircraft and UK non Part 21 aircraft
The latest revision of British Microlight Aircraft Association (BMAA) Technical Information Leaflet No.32 for hire.