10 May 2019
The British Microlight Aircraft Association (BMAA) has been given approval to issue Initial Permit to Fly certificates by the CAA.
The CAA is delegating authority to other organisations to issue Initial Permits on its behalf for the first time following a 2016 change to the Air Navigation Order.
The BMAA is the first General Aviation approved organisation to receive this approval, recognising the association’s capability to take on the task of both assessing and issuing the initial Permit to Fly certificate.
The agreement was formalised at the BMAA’s Annual General Meeting at Popham airfield on 4 May 2019. Mark Shortman, the CAA’s General Aviation Unit Policy Manager, presented the BMAA Technical Team with the approval certificate.
The BMAA is expected to begin issuing Permits for microlight aircraft with immediate effect.
Mark Shortman said, “This is the culmination of several months of close collaboration with the BMAA and further demonstrates the commitment of the CAA’s GA Unit to work closely with the GA representative bodies to maximise the delegation of our regulatory activities and improve the regulatory environment for the GA community.”
Rob Mott of the BMAA said, “The BMAA are proud to be the first ever organisation to hold this level of delegated approval and it is testament to the hard work put in by the BMAA technical team in close liaison with the CAA.”
Permit to Fly certificates are generally issued to ex-military, kit-built and microlight aircraft that meet the appropriate airworthiness standards. Most other aircraft are issued with a Certificate of Airworthiness by the CAA on behalf of European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
