Flight manuals

Items missing from the flight manual must be obtained and embodied prior to the issue of a Certificate of Airworthiness.

Items can be obtained from the design approval holder or their appointed agent.

Change Sheets and Supplements published by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) are available free of charge.

In most cases, replacement Flight Manuals are available for purchase from the design approval holder or their agent. Any applicable change sheets or supplements should also be replaced.

Requests for Performance Schedules should be made in writing to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and sent, together with the appropriate fee, to apply@caa.co.uk.

The CAA Scheme of Charges - Airworthiness, Noise Certification and Aircraft and Aircraft Engine Emissions provides further information.

If your aircraft was issued with a Certificate of Airworthiness prior to 28th September 2003 (before EASA took on responsibility for design approvals and changes), it would have been certified to the relevant UK standard. Between September 2003 and the UK withdrawal from the European Union, the aircraft owner may have elected to certify the aircraft to the EASA standard.

After 31 December 2020, new aircraft to the UK register must be certified to the UK approved Type Design. 

If certified to a UK standard it is possible that there is a Flight Manual specifically for UK standard or that there is a UK Supplement to the appropriate design approval holder produced Flight Manual. These Manuals and Supplements are still the applicable documents for aircraft registered prior to 28th September 2003 unless the aircraft has been modified, rendering the previously approved supplement obsolete.

It is possible to upgrade your Flight Manual to the latest Type Design Standard. To upgrade the Manual may require a re-certification of the aircraft. It is possible, for example, that the pre-EASA UK standard required different placards or instrument markings and these would need to be addressed. At the very least a detailed comparison would need to be made and a justification provided for a change of manual. This may require a Modification.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has published a list of UK specific Flight Manuals and Supplements for Piper and Cessna aircraft, but there may be other aircraft types for which UK specific documents are applicable. You will need to refer to the original Certification records for the aircraft to determine the applicable Manual.

Supplements and Change Sheets published directly by the CAA are still applicable and are available from the CAA website or by contacting the CAA Shared Services at apply@caa.co.uk.

The modification package will state if there is a Flight Manual supplement associated with the modification. Where the modification has been approved by an Airworthiness Approval Note (AAN), the UK AAN database may contain further information for the particular aircraft type.

You will need to contact the Design Approval Holder or check the AAN database for the initial certification of the type in the UK. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has published a list of UK specific Flight Manuals and Supplements for Piper and Cessna aircraft.

Difficulties have arisen with UK specific Piper and Cessna Flight Manuals and the relevant Design Approval Holder. Piper has requested that any correspondence with them about a UK specific Flight Manual/Supplement includes a clear indication that it is the UK Manual/Supplement and not just a quote 'report XYZ'. 

The Declaration of Flight Manual Standard (DFMS) system has been turned off.

Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) produced Supplements and Change sheets and they are available by contacting the CAA Shared Services at apply@caa.co.uk.

Please provide the Registration of the aircraft, Type, Flight Manual Reference and Change Sheet/Supplement required to acquire copies.

For non-Part 21 aircraft the original certification still applies.

For Part 21 aircraft certified to the UK standard prior to the inception of EASA (September 28, 2003), supplements and changes sheets are still valid providing the aircraft has not been modified since, rendering any previously approved supplement obsolete. The section 'Checking if UK specific Flight Manual or Supplement applies to your aircraft' on this page provides further information.

Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Supplements and Change sheets may also be valid if the aircraft was imported after 28 September 2003 and has been certified to the UK standard on the condition that the aircraft has not been modified since, rendering any previously approved supplement as obsolete.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) produced Supplements and Change Sheets remain valid and cannot be removed unless specifically agreed by the CAA.

The section 'Checking if UK specific Flight Manual or Supplement applies to your aircraft' on this page provides further information.

The section ‘Checking if UK specific Flight Manual or Supplement applies to your aircraft’ on this page offers further guidance.

The manual is required to be in English. Please refer to UK Part 21 paragraph 21.A.175.

Generic Requirements 4 or 6 are still applicable in the UK and will still require an approved Supplement if not covered in the Flight Manual. You can have a situation where two identical aircraft, one certified in the UK before EASA and one post-EASA have different Flight Manuals.

For non-Part 21 aircraft, British Civil Airworthiness Requirements (BCARs) still apply. If the aircraft doesn't conform to a previous UK standard, the aircraft will be considered on an individual basis.

All aircraft with a UK Part 21 Certificate of Airworthiness will have either a Type Certificate holder or a Specific Airworthiness Specification (SAS).

Some orphan aircraft may be operating on a Part 21 Permit to Fly supported by approved Flight Conditions (Part 21 aircraft provides further information). The relevant information should be included in the SAS, or approved Flight Conditions / referenced datasheet.

For non-Part 21 aircraft operating on a CofA, there will normally be a Type Responsibility Agreement (TRA) holder who act as the holders of the aircraft data set, including manuals.

For non-Part 21 permit aircraft, the relevant information will be included in the Airworthiness approval notes (AAN) for a particular aircraft or type. For a Type Approved aircraft (for example a factory-built microlight or gyroplane), the relevant flight manual standard should be specified on the Type Approval Data Sheet (TADS).

When all other avenues have been exhausted, contact the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) at apply@caa.co.uk to explain your position.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is aware of the situation with some Cessna Flight Manuals. It is the owner's responsibility to confirm that the manual being used is the correct one and up to date.

Cessna do not produce a list of Manuals for aircraft prior to late 1970s. Their Type Certificate Data Sheet (TCDS)s only list later model POH & FM; not the earlier Owners Manuals'. They do not publish amongst their service material the revision status for these earlier types.

Flight Manuals approved in accordance with British Civil Airworthiness Requirements (BCARs) and published by the aircraft Design Approval Holder may be listed on the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Declaration of Flight Manual Standard (DFMS) but are not listed on the Piper Aircraft Company Publications Flight Manual Revision status listing or on the FAA TCDS sheet 2A13. An example being, Piper PA28R-200 CAA approved flight manual is Report VB-359 for aircraft serial no's 28R-725001 to 28R-7635999.

Flight manuals approved before 28th September 2003 were grandfathered into the EASA system. They continue to remain valid in the UK Part 21 system post EU-exit. Difficulties have arisen with UK specific Piper and Cessna Flight Manuals and the relevant Design Approval Holder.

Piper has requested that any correspondence with them about a UK specific Flight Manual/Supplement includes a clear indication that it is the UK Manual/Supplement and not just a quote report XYZ.

Generic Requirements 4 and 6 detailed in Mandatory Requirements for Airworthiness (CAP747) are still applicable in the UK for both Part 21 and non-Part 21 aircraft and Supplements/Change Sheets are still required to cover the requirements if they are not covered in the Flight Manual.