Ireland welcomes Annex II aircraft from all of EU
The Irish Aviation Authority has published a direction welcoming light aircraft operating on a Permit to Fly or Permit to Fly exemption to Ireland. This includes microlights, gyrocopters, powered parachutes and paramotors. Visitors are permitted to stay for up to 28 days per visit, with the exception of aircraft registered in the UK to an address in Northern Ireland, which can exceed that limit. This is an extension of the previous exemption which only recognised homebuilt aircraft and microlights registered in the UK and France.
From the pilot’s perspective, a valid EASA/ICAO medical (Class 2 or LAPL) is still required. However, the administrative burden of applying for a permission is gone and there is no fee to avail of the exemption. Once all the required document are carried, the aircraft is insured and the pilot is properly licenced, the aircraft is welcome.
The newly issued exemption also recognises any registration marking exemption issued by the State of Registry. This will be particularly useful to certain classic aircraft which bear historic paint livery.
Pilots who want to keep their foreign aircraft in Ireland for longer than 28 days may apply to the IAA for a written permission.
Which aircraft exactly are included:
- historic aircraft meeting the criteria below:
(i) non-complex aircraft whose:
— initial design was established before 1 January 1955, and
— production has been stopped before 1 January 1975;
or
(ii) aircraft having a clear historical relevance, related to:
— a participation in a noteworthy historical event, or
— a major step in the development of aviation, or
— a major role played into the armed forces of a Member State;
Or aircraft of which at least 51 % is built by an amateur, or a non-profit making association of amateurs, for their own purposes and without any commercial objective;
registered in any Member State of the European Civil Aviation Conference.
- Aircraft specifically designed or modified for research, experimental or scientific purposes, and likely to be produced in very limited numbers;
Or aircraft that have been in the service of military forces, unless the aircraft is of a type for which a design standard has been adopted by the Agency;
Or aeroplanes, helicopters and powered parachutes having no more than two seats, a maximum take-off mass (MTOM), as recorded by the Member States, of no more than:
(i) 300 kg for a land plane/helicopter, single-seater; or
(ii) 450 kg for a land plane/helicopter, two-seater; or
(iii) 330 kg for an amphibian or floatplane/helicopter single-seater; or
(iv) 495 kg for an amphibian or floatplane/helicopter two-seater, provided that, where operating both as a floatplane/helicopter and as a land plane/ helicopter, it falls below both MTOM limits, as appropriate;
(v) 472,5 kg for a land plane, two-seater equipped with an airframe mounted total recovery parachute system;
(vi) 315 kg for a land plane single-seater equipped with an airframe mounted total recovery parachute system;
and, for aeroplanes, having the stall speed or the minimum steady flight speed in landing configuration not exceeding 35 knots calibrated air speed (CAS);
Or single and two-seater gyroplanes with a maximum take off mass not exceeding 560 kg;
Or gliders with a maximum empty mass, of no more than 80 kg when single- seater or 100 kg when two-seater, including those which are foot launched;
Or replicas of aircraft meeting the criteria of (a) or (d) above, for which the structural design is similar to the original aircraft;
Or any other aircraft which has a maximum empty mass, including fuel, of no more than 70 kg, excluding unmanned aircraft.
Registered in any European Union member state.
More information on the conditions of the exemption are available on IAA Aeronautical Notice A.19.
About the Author
Mark Dwyer Mark is an airline pilot flying the Boeing 737 for a major European airline. In addition he is also a Type Rating Instructor, Type Rating Examiner and Base Training Captain on the B737. Outside of commercial flying Mark enjoys flying light aircraft from the smallest 3 Axis microlights up to heavier singles. He is also an instructor and EASA Examiner on single engines and a UK CAA Examiner. He flies the Chipmunk for the Irish Historic Flight Foundation (IHFF). Mark became the Chairman of the National Microlight Association of Ireland (NMAI) in 2013 and has overseen a massive growth in the organisation. In this role he has worked at local and national levels. In 2015, Mark won ‘Upcoming Aviation Professional Award’ at the Aviation Industry Awards sponsored by the IAA. Mark launched this website back in 2002 while always managing the website, he has also been Editor and Deputy Editor of FlyingInIreland Magazine from 2005 to 2015.
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