Confused a little

[Rocknrollrefugee]

Hi I have joined the LAA and was hoping for input and some guidelines as to what the best course of action might be. I am retiring in 6 months from professional flying and hold an ATPL/IR. I was thinking about buying a aircraft and there are a few , however I looked at a velocity and I see that it is not on the Laa register. I don't know why but I am sure with an easa licence I can fly this aircraft in uk and around eu ( permission granted) keep it hangered here , and do its annual in the country of registration. Surely for the sake of standardisation and safety I can register it her and fly it unde the LAA .Mi may have this wrong so any pointers would help

[Harry Hopkins]

Good afternoon new member (sorry, I don't know your name),

I'm not sure from your post whether you're asking if the Velocity is on the LAA list of approved types or whether you're asking if it's practicable to operate a foreign registered Velocity in UK?

I'm sure you'll get an answer once your question is clear.

Best wishes and happy landings,

Harry

[Steve Slater]

Unfortunately the Velocity is not on the list of LAA approved types, principally because its performance places it outside our terms of reference with the CAA for oversight, in a similar manner to some Glasair aircraft. ie. It's too fast!

A Velocity aircraft, G-VELO, did operate on the UK register from 2011 to 2014, on a CAA-issued Permit to Fly, before being sold in, I think Luxembourg.

If you are considering acquiring such an aircraft (can I have a go please!), I'd recommend a call to LAA Engineering. Even if we cannot put the aircraft on an LAA Permit, we should be able to offer advice on how to approach the CAA Permit process.

Steve Slater
CEO

[Rocknrollrefugee]

Hi all

I have been looking at the specs of a glasair , lancair , cozy , and velocity I grant you there are afew differences , it maybe down to the stall speed , I am not sure , but the main point i am trying to put across
Is that I think I can buy a velocity say from the Netherlands , fly it under a easa licence , and do the paperwork and send it back to Holland but have it based here, so there is a difference in the LAA aircraft uk reg being allowed to fly , and the types in Europe , but my licence allows me anywhere in Europe as long as I am checked on that aircraft, it's a shame because I was close to putting in an offer on one

Regards keith

[Brian Hope]

Hi Keith. To be on the UK register and fly in the UK a Velocity or any other homebuilt/kitbuilt type must be approved by the LAA (for an LAA Permit to Fly) or the CAA (for a CAA Permit to Fly). The Velocity that came to the UK was built in the US and flown to the UK, and had a N (US) registration. To the best of my knowledge it didn't get a UK reg and lived most of its life out of the country, in the South of France or Switzerland I think. When the original owner decided to sell it he tried to get it approved for the UK, but LAA decided it was not acceptable, my guess is the stall speed was too high but I'm sure Engineering can tell you if its important to you. I have no knowledge of whether there was any attempt to get a CAA Permit to Fly but in the event it did not come to the UK. (edit - by that I mean it did not come back and stay as a UK approved aircraft, it was in the country on G-VELO reg for a while being test flown and then moved to the Luxembourg register).
If you bought a Velocity in, for example, Holland, with a Dutch reg then you could only operate it in the UK for 28 days per year before you had to get permission from the CAA to operate it longer. My guess is that that permission would not be forthcoming because what you would effectively be doing is circumventing the UK requirements. Were you a Dutchman maybe working here for six months before returning home, no doubt the CAA would look more favorably on the request.
Bottom line is, if you live in the UK and want a UK homebuilt then it will have to be approved by the LAA or, and there are a few examples, the CAA if it falls outside of the LAA remit.
None of this has anything to do with pilot licensing, UK, EASA or otherwise, and I might also add that unfortunately the LAA is tied to CAA regulations so we can't simply approve something the CAA deems beyond our remit.
If you're looking for a fast four-seater then maybe the Van's RV10 would be a suitable candidate.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do, LAA is here to help and by all means come back if you have further queries.