The Creation Of A Formal Test Flying System Within The British Microlight Aircraft Association And A Discussion Of The Spin Testing Of Microlight Aircraft

Abstract

The UK microlight aircraft community, under the guidance of the British Microlight Aircraft Association (BMAA), has developed a formalised system for the training and qualification of civil test pilots on this class of aircraft. This system is unique in Britain where most of the rest of the industry relies upon a pool of military-trained test aircrew, most of whom have no experience of microlight aircraft.

This paper describes the system operated by the BMAA for the training and qualification of test aircrew. It also goes on to describe the issues of spin evaluation of microlights, which has recently been required for the first time by changes to UK regulations. The results from three certification spinning programmes, the third only just begun, are presented, along with the BMAA’s recommended schedule for the spinning evaluation of such aircraft.