M atntenance Requirements and the Co-Ownership Group

One of the more complicated aspects of Group operation of a light aircraft which holds a Certificate of Airworthiness (as opposed to an ultra light aircraft operated on a Permit to Fly) is the requirement for a maintenance schedule for the akcraftin question.

In the case of the purely co-ownership Group composed of a small or even large number of persons holding Private Pilot's Licences, the matter is straightforward; the aircraft is treated as a Private aircraft and the aircraft should be registered in the sub-divisi on (d) Private of the C of A only. The operators may opt either for the annual C of A or the three-year C of A.

In the case of the aircraft operating on the three-year C of A a maintenance schedule has been prepared by the Royal Aero Club in conjunction with the Air Registration Board. The R.Ae.C.3 Schedule, as it is designated, is mandatory for operation of an aircraft on the threeyear C of A and only aircraft not exceeding an all up weight of 3,500lb. may use it.

The basic feature of the R.Ae.C.3 Schedule is a quarterly airframe inspection which must be carried out on or before the date upon which it is due. Failure to comply with the Schedule may render Groups liable to proceedings under Article II of the Air Navigation Order 1954. The Air Registration Board reserves the right to inspect the aircraf,t and its records at any time and it is therefore essential to ensure that the Schedule is at all times rigorously observed.

The regular airframe and engine checks for the whole three-year period are as follows:

(a) A quarterly Airframe Check, (6) An annual Airframe check, (c) A complete overhaul of the Airframe every third year, (d) A ten flying hours Engine Check, (e) A minor Engine Check,

Amajor Engine Check.

All checks with the exception of the ten hour Engine Check are Certifiable in the Log Books and must be carried out by a firm approved by the Air Registration Board for the purpose. The ten hour Engine Check which is not certifiable may be carried out by the Group.

An aircraft may only be placed on the threeyear C of A R.Ae.C.3 Schedule immediately following a renewal of the existing C of A. Groups intending to change over to the R.Ae.C.3 Schedule must inform the Air Registration Board at the time of renewal of the C of A.

Full details and copies of the Schedule are available from the Air Touring Department of Royal Aero Club, Aviation Centre, 19 Park Lane, W.l. The Schedule costs 5s. unless the applicant is either a Member or Associate Member of the Royal Aero Club, in which case it is issued free.

Turning now to the annual C of A. For an atcraft registered in the sub-division (d) Private only, there is no mandatory maintenance requirement from the time of renewal to the date of expiry of the C of A., so far as the airframe is concerned. The engine of course is subject to the minor and major checks required for the type.

Although there is no mandatory airframe check as stated above, most Groups do in lact carry out reasonable maintenance checks which vary with the type of aircraft operated. A good general basis is to take the quarterly airframe check and the ten hour Engine Check of the R.Ae.C.3 Schedule, and adjust it according to experience of the atcraft operated.

In addition to the foregoing checks, mandatory or otherwise, most sensible pilots will carry out what is usually called a Daily Inspection prior to commencing the day's operations. This is more than usually necessary when an aircraft is flown by a group of pilots. The last pilot may have failed to notify some small snag at the end of a previous flight. This can prove atrap for the unwary and many Groups keep a'o Snag Card " in the cockpit on which unserviceability of components can be noted and only crossed off or signed for when the particular snag has been cleared. We commend this scheme to any Groups that do not already have a suitable safeguard of this nature. It only takes a moment to note a snag and a fellow Group member's safety may depend upon it.

A1l the foregoing is relatively simple stuffwhen we come to consider the case of the larger coownership Group, which undertakes Flying Instruction. Here, thanks to the ambiguity of the Air Navigation Order and Air Navigation Regulations, we run into immediate trouble over interpretation of clauses relating to instruction in flying and hire and reward flying.

The Ministerial interpretation of these points takes the view that when a pupil pays for instruction in flying, such flying becomes hire and reward flying and this automatically classifles the airuaft as a Public Transport Aircraft. As is well known a Public Transport Aircraft has to be maintained, and quite rightly so, to a far more detailed and rigorous maintenance standard than a private aircraft.

'But wait a minute'you will say'our aircraft is a Group aircraft owned or operated by a closed Group. The instructor does not charge for his services and the money the pupil pays is only the cost of operating the aircraft. Nobody makes or attempts to make a proflt out of the operation and nobody outside the Group can drop in and obtain a flight, let alone instruction in flying. How can it be Public Transport if we are flying our own aeroplane?'

The Association's view is that you are perfectly correct in your attitude to this type of operation. In fact the Association has gone further than this and has recently asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation to classify all Flying Club as well as Group flying on this basis, and remove it from the Public Transport category. This is, however, another matter and will be dealt with on another occasion. Popular Flying, April, 1957

In the meantime we are faced with the apparent paradox whereby a Group owned aircraft flown by its owners only is a Public Transport aircraft in the view of the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation. The Ministry very naturally have taken the advice of their legal experts in the matter and rightly or wrongly the experts' views incline towards the fact that this type of flying is flying for hire and reward and aircraft so used become public transport aircraft. However, in order to resolve the difficulty the M.T.C.A. have covered the point to their own legal satisfaction by granting to Groups a dispensation from maintenance to public transport aircraft standards. This in effect means that subject to certain requirements in respect of membership, etc. L Group may operate a training programme and maintain its aircraft to more realistic schedules. In fact under the dispensation a Group may, if it wishes, operate with an aircraft registered in the sub-division (d) Private of the C of A and if it so desires, can enjoy the facilities of the three-year C of A.

This then is a tremendous advantage in lowering maintenance costs for the ayerage training Group, and whilst some Groups have gone the whole way and placed their aircraft on the threeyear R.Ae.C.3 Schedule, others with possibly a higher individual aircraft utilisation have struck a medium and devised a schedule half-way between the two extremes on an annual C of A basis.

A word here to new training Groups. If you do not apply for the dispensation, which is done by dropping a line to the Secretary of the Association, who then takes the necessary action with M.T.C.A. to set the process in motion, you will be faced with the alternative of maintaining your aircraft to an approved schedule. An approved schedule is what its name implies. A schedule approved, in this case by the Air Registration Board, and a Public Transport Maintenance Schedule, can run to sixty or seventy pages of foolscap. If a Group prefers to go to this extreme, the Association will be able to give advice and assistance in providing the necessary schedule. However, we will assume that the average Group will prefer to obtain the dispensation offered by

M.T.C.A., let us therefore return to the point where the Group has applied to the Association for the necessary action to be taken.

In the case of a civil Group, we will deal with a Service Group in a moment, the M.T.C.A. will want to make an inspection of the Group's operational base and learn something of its set up and constitution before granting the dispensation. They will also require that a third party insurance policy be in force. The dispensation when it arrives will also stipulate that membership shall not be for periods of less than one month and that no charge for instruction in excess of the normal operating charges for the aircraft shall be levied, and the instructor shall not be paid for his services.

It is for these reasons that the requirements respecting instructional flying are made a part of the Association's regulations governing affiliation for co-ownership Groups and Clubs. A Group therefore on affiliation to the Association should be automatically in a position to apply for and obtain this dispensation from maintenance to public transllort requirements.

The Service Flying Group or Club should also obtain the dispensation and being by its very nature restricted to Service circles, is not generally the subject of a visit of inspection by the M.T.C.A., the dispensation is of course subject to the same conditions as those applied to a civilian Group.

To sum up. A co-ownership Group which does not undertake flying instruction may operate its aircraft as a private aircraft without further action; on the other hand a training Group must either maintain its aircraft to a full Public Transport Maintenance Schedule or apply for the appropriate dispensation, which in the view of the M.T.C.A. is necessary if the Group wish to operate to simpler maintenance schedules.

Finally, let us clarify the policy of the Association, in respect of maintenance requirements for co-ownership Group aircraft. Whilst the Association is grateful to the M.T.C.A. for the dispensation granted to co-ownership Groups in respect of maintenance standards, the Association can never agree that the type of operation undertaken by its training Groups places them within the sphere of hire and reward flying, and therefore the necessity for a dispensation does not arise. The Association is, however, conscious of the ambiguity of the pertinent Sections of the Air Navigation Order and Regulations and will continue to press for their clarification and amendment in order to remove Group type operations from the sphere of Public Transport operations once and for all.

The following letter, which describes the picture on this page, has been receivedfrom the Montgomeryshire Ultra-light Flying Club.

'Herewith a picture enclosed of some of the crew chatting to Miss Ivy Benson, at the final briefing before the Flap commenced at the Montgomeryshire Ultra Light Flying Club's annual Ball held on Valentine's night in the town hall, Welshpool. Left to Right: Mr. Guy Baker, owner of the Autogiro, at the moment being overhauled at Birmingham, Mr. Claude Millington, Treasurer and wearing the lady photographer's duffie coat; note tension on lower retaining pin. This was necessary to hide paint covered overhauls [sic] underneath. Miss Benson looks as though she requires a reflll and Mr. Kite, Secretary, bought a round. Please note that Mr. Baker and Mr. Kite are wearing the socks this week. We are sorry that we could not get the Tipsy in, but the barman objected.

'The ball was a greal success with 450 dancers present and Miss Ivy Benson and the chairman's wife, Mrs. Eric Ward, presented the prizes. The next morning some of the girls braved the elements to have a flight in the Tipsy from the mountain airstrip although there was slight snow falling at the time.

'The flying is held up at the moment owing to a split petrol tank, it is being rebuilt and on its return the Tipsy will be going in for its C of A, ready for the summer.

'We are hoping to hold a camp on the sands near B1ack rock during the season, when it is hoped that some of the other groups will join us. We had a weekend there last year which was a great success. Anyway more details later.'

Notice to Passengers

The rules set out below came into our possession recently from a usually unreliable source. Please note that any resemblance to any airline, solvent or in the red, is purely coincidental.

If you will kindly observe the following rules, it will be a hell of a lot easier and more comfortable for the crew. After all, whose aeroplane is this anyway?

l. Keep your goddam feet offthe seats.

2. Don't get snooty with the crew, remember your pilot is still learning to fly and he is more scared than you.

Keep your goddam feet offthe seats. If a fellow passenger gets anxious, knock him on the head with an empty bottle. Eyes forward all the time.

Leave each member of the crew a healthy tip.

Don't ask embarrassing questions of the crew, such as:

Where are we?

What time wilt we land?

Who made the last landing?

How fast are we going, how high are we and what city was that we just passed over? Hell-they don't know.

8. If you don't like the food, to hell with you. The boss does.

9. Keep your goddam feet offthe seats.

10. Only 6 people in the rest room at a time, please observe.

I 1. Save your gum for the next landing. If it falls off your ear don't stick it under the seats.

12. Keep your goddam feet offthe seats.

13. Be thankful you arrive-anywhere.

14. Always let the crew get off flrst - after allthe damn thing might be on fire. Don't bother the hostess - she's along for the ride too.

Shut up - and keep your goddam feet off the seats.

Don't be so inconsiderate as to ask for magazines, papers, playing cards, etc., before the crew has had a chance at them flrst. If an engine falls out, don't show any fearit might frighten the crew. By all means - don't get air-sick. At least wait until you get offthe aircraft. Don't expect the coffee to be hot. you want - egg in your beer? And for Pete's sake - keep your feet offthe seats.

The Swansea Flying Club intend to arrange an interesting Programme for the official opening of Fairwood Common Aerodrome on lst June. Fuller details next issue.

Petrol Rationing

The following letter has been sent us by the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation:-

The Ministry of Power instructed the oil companies that as from 17th December, l956,deliveries of aviation spirit grades 73 and 80/82 mix for private and club flying should be reduced to 75 per cent of what would normally have been supplied. The Ministry of Power have now instruct: ed the oil companies that with effect from 17th April deliveries are to be limited to 90 per cent of normal.