Engineering
Headset review
Sensational six hundreds! The new 600kg category promises an influx of ready to fly Permit aircraft. By LAA Chief Engineer, Francis Donaldson…
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t last – 600kg is go! But what do the new 600kg rules mean? Basically, it means a new selection of sub-600kg, factory-built sport aircraft can be made available to microlight and light aircraft pilots alike, on a Permit to Fly administered by either the BMAA or LAA, rather than as would previously have been the case, a Certificate of Airworthiness. The raising of the stall speed from 35kt to 45kt will allow aircraft of considerably higher performance than previous microlights. Either a new design, or variant of an existing type, can be certified at a selected weight not exceeding 600kg to the amended BCAR Section S code and, provided the manufacturers can gain the necessary CAA design and manufacturing approvals, it can then be supplied as a factory-built aircraft but qualify for a Permit to Fly. The less onerous Permit to Fly regime offers more
30 | LIGHT AVIATION | September 2021
Above One of a breed of high performance types is the 600kg Blackshape Prime. The similar TL Stream is another likely UK candidate.
flexibility on costs and the ability to incorporate many non-certified pieces of equipment that have been developed for use on microlight and amateur-built types over the years, which are often more advanced than equivalents that have not yet ‘made it’ into the certified world. It also means that the machines can be maintained and inspected, and have their Permits to Fly renewed annually by the sporting associations, including the LAA which has a great deal of experience of dealing with aircraft in this class, and have done for many years – in fact, LAA has held an approval to do just this continuously since 1948. What it doesn’t mean is that an existing 450kg microlight can be suddenly re-classified as a 600kg aeroplane and flown at higher weights. An aircraft that’s been properly designed for 450kg would be desperately overloaded with an extra 150kg of payload – that’s like adding the weight of two extra people, after all – not to mention the question of where
