Light Aircraft Association

From my understanding of the CAA regulations if a manufacturer does not require a flight engine run then the 30 minute flight cannot be performed.

If the engine manufacturer's instructions indicate that the engine only needs to be run at idle or at low power whilst on the ground and no other essential maintenance is required, then no flight may be performed.

Looking at section 8 of the 912 manual it states:-

Due to the special material of the cylinder wall, there is no need
for extra protection against corrosion for the ROTAX® aircraft
engines. At extreme climatic conditions and for long out of service periods we recommends the following to protect the valve
guides against corrosion

Anybody have any more information? Are the procedures for preventing valve corrosion 'other essential maintenance'?

Just trying to stay within the law and maintain my engine the best I can.

Is it law? The Gov.UK website says its guidance. I don't know.
Anyway look at the next line down,"Operate the engine until the temperatures have stabilized
for a period of 5 min (engine oil temperature between 50 to 70 °C (122 to 160 °F)." Looks like you could argue that to get the engine up to temperature, a flight would be appropriate.
I flew my Europa for the 30 maintenance flight after the announcement was made. By flying the aircraft the other aircraft systems will remain serviceable.

Thanks for that Matt it's about as clear as all the other advice around this Covid 19 issue. The airfield I operate from require written instructions from the manufacturer asking for a flight. It would appear Lycoming have such an instruction however nothing from Rotax.

Common sense would dictate that a 30 minute solo flight once a month would, as you rightly say, ensure all other systems are functional as well as an engine run. I am at a loss to identify any extra threat of contracting or spreading Covid 19. There is an argument that an accident would burden the NHS, true, however I would counter it is minuscule compared to normal activity and certainly to the extra cycling that is allowed.

Hopefully we will see some relaxation shortly. Many aircraft and pilots have not flown regularly since late last year which will lead to non current pilots flying aircraft that have been inactive for many months, not conducive to flight safety.