24 January 2016
VIDEO The first flight made under the CAA’s new ‘E Conditions’ took place on Tuesday, January 12. An Aeronca Chief fitted with a Verner radial engine was flown at Birchwood, near Selby, Yorks by test pilot Mike Moulai.
The aircraft is owned by Martyn Wiseman of Condor Group, which imports the Czech engine.
Mike Moulai reported that the aircraft flew well, with a rate of climb in excess of 1,200 feet per minute and “all Ts and Ps in the right places”. The project combines the new engine with a well-established aircraft as a test-bed. It is designed to comply with CS-VLA rules to allow it to revert to an LAA Permit to Fly if all goes well in subsequent testing.
The aircraft is the first project to be assessed for E Conditions. The experimental programme having been approved by by a ‘Competent Person’ as outlined by the Royal Aeronautical Society. They, the LAA and BMAA are each able nominate ‘E Conditions Competent Persons’.
Francis Donaldson, LAA’s Chief Engineer said, “It’s good to see this new method of clearing aircraft for flight test being used to trial a promising new engine installation, allowing it to be tested under controlled conditions, but without the need for every aspect of the design to have first been approved by the CAA or a CAA approved organisation.
“Under the E conditions process, the responsibility for safety lies entirely with the person running the programme, allowing new concepts to be tested more quickly and giving the innovator better control over both project timescales and cost.”
Condor Aviation http://condoraviation.co.uk/
