Eurocontrol, the 'European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation' is currently consulting on its proposed Standardised European Rules of the Air: SERA. Normally CIMA doesn't get involved with regulatory matters, but there are issues in SERA which would either completely stop or at the very least severely curtail our flying activities in Europe, so we feel we must respond. As the name implies, the proposals seek to unify rules of the air across Europe by cancelling all agreed national differences from current ICAO standards. This will result in the removal of decades of appropriate and sensible national modifications and differences to the ICAO Rules of the Air. These national differences – as seen for example in the UK ANO and in the series of exemptions put in place by UK CAA - are appropriate, well tested over many years, and safe. Europe Air Sports, which the European Commission and Eurocontrol agree represents the views of its members including all 30,000+ European microlight and paramotor pilots, chose not to respond to the informal consultation prior to this formal one because the document presented was incomplete.  These SERA proposals focus exclusively on the needs of Commercial Air Transport and do not address the needs of microlighting, paramotoring and many other sport aviation stakeholders.  Unless they are changed, the safety, operational and economic impact associated with these inappropriate Standardised European Rules of the Air is likely to be significantly damaging to all sport aviation in Europe; including microlighting and paramotoring. There are also opportunities.  For example the extremely well tried and tested UK low flying rule is much more appropriate to microlight and paramotor activities than the standard 'not below 500ft' rule common to many European countries.  This is an opportunity to demand a better way of doing things.

What you should do. Instructions Notes on completing the form. Significant points Definition  2  Aerobatic flight Definition  70  Gliders Definition  86  Night 3.1.2 Minimum Heights 3.2.4.1 Lights be displayed at all times 3.3.1.2 Flight Plans 3.3.1.4 International flight plans 3.4.4 Marshals licence   3.4.5 and 3.4.6 Clothing and equipment for marshals. 4.3 a Flight plan for VFR at night 4.6 a  Low flying rule. 4.6 b  Low flying rule. 4.7 VFR Cruising level / semicircular rule Summary Useful links Attachments

What you should do.

Whatever you do, it has to be done soon, the deadline is 12 April 2010.

The CIMA Bureau will be making a detailed response on behalf of all European Delegates and this will be included here when it is ready, but this is an issue of such importance it is strongly recommended all European CIMA delegates get all their members to look at this page and make their own personal response to Eurocontrol.

It is important all responses are in the respondents own words.  Copy & Paste responses will be treated as one, which will not be as effective in getting our message across.

Instructions

• Read the SERA proposal at www.eurocontrol.int  It is also included as an attachment to this page.
• Read the significant points we make below.
• Fill out the response form with as many points as you wish to make.  Do it in your own words, copy and paste replies will be treated as one reply, which is no good. The form is also included as an attachment to this page.
• Send it as an email attachment to sesframework@eurocontrol.int or to the mail address or FAX number on the form.  Do it before 12 April 2010!

Notes on completing the form.

You are asked to state which organisation you are from. Unless you are representing a specific organisation, you could state 'Microlight Pilot' or 'Paramotor pilot'.

You are asked to state your position (within the organisation). Unless you are representing a specific organisation, you could state 'Pilot'.

If you can sign and scan the document, or add an image of your signature to the document, then fine. If not, write your name and  'electronic signature' in the signature block and then submit the form as an attachment to an email that is attributable to you. It is believed this constitutes an electronic signature.

Significant points

All paragraph numbers below refer to the corresponding paragraph in the SERA proposal document.  While some of these points are more significant to microlighting and paramotoring than others, the really important ones are low-flying, marshals, and flight plans, and these are in red.   You are encouraged to comment to Eurocontrol, on the correct form, on at least these three items, but you are invited to comment on all of them, and other points you may find.

Definition  2  Aerobatic flight

The proposal says:  'aerobatic flight' means manoeuvres intentionally performed by an aircraft involving an abrupt change in its attitude, an abnormal attitude, or an abnormal variation in speed.

Elsewhere in SERA there are provisions which add regulatory burden to any 'aerobatic flight'.  This whole document is based on the notion that aircraft only fly from A to B, preferably under ATC control, and preferably with a flight plan, and everything else is an inconvenience.  So it is not unreasonable to imagine that such normal manoeuvres as thermalling could be interpreted as 'aerobatic flight'. 

Either this definition should be changed to include "but excluding manoeuvres necessary for normal flight and flight training" or it should be deleted.

Definition  70  Gliders

The proposal says: 'glider' means a non-power-driven heavier-than-air aircraft, deriving its lift in flight chiefly from aerodynamic reactions on surfaces which remain fixed under given conditions of flight.

This definition excludes self launching sailplanes and self sustaining sailplanes which are included in the equivalent EASA definition in FCL 101. These rules need to be made consistent with FCL 101 by amending it to 'Glider' means a heavier-than-air aircraft that is supported in flight by the dynamic reaction of the air against its fixed lifting surfaces, the free flight of which does not depend on an engine.

It is an important principle that there can be gliders with engines because there is then an opportunity to classify some types of microlight and paramotor as 'gliders'.  This is how the 'deregulated' status of foot-launched paramotors and powered hang gliders in UK has been achieved.  Gliders in UK have always benefited from a deregulated regime so, after a 10 year 'special arrangments' trial showed no problems with the idea of deregulation for foot-launched paramotors and powered hang gliders it was very simple for CAA to just formally classify them as a kind of glider and they became permanently deregulated.

Definition  86  Night

The proposal is not simple:

 'night' means the hours between the end of evening civil twilight and the beginning of morning civil twilight. Civil twilight ends in the evening when the centre of the sun's disc is 6 degrees below the horizon and begins in the morning when the centre of the sun's disc is 6 degrees below the horizon.

The tried and tested UK regulation is much simpler:

'Night' means the time from half an hour after sunset until half an hour before sunrise (both times inclusive), sunset and sunrise being determined at surface level.

Many microlight and paramotor activities occur early morning or late evening, it is therefore important to know exactly when official night occurs by a simple method.  This is an opportunity to ask for one.

3.1.2 Minimum Heights

see 4.6 below.

3.2.4.1 Lights be displayed at all times

This rule requires that all power-driven aircraft in flight shall display the following lights when fitted:
a) anti-collision lights intended to attract attention to the aircraft;
b) navigation lights intended to indicate the relative path of the aircraft to an observer.

It is unsafe for certain aircraft to display navigation lights during daytime. The warning light system of many aircraft (eg PA-28R Arrow, PA-34 Seneca, PA-27 Aztec and PA-44 Seminole) are constructed such that when navigation lights are switched on, the warning and indicating lights in the cockpit are dimmed. This is designed for flight at night but if navigation lights are switched on by day in bright conditions, the warning lights cannot be seen creating a hazard to the aircraft, its occupants and persons and property on the ground. Moreover there is no other safety benefit in displaying navigation lights in daytime.

Item b) of this rule would be a safety hazard and must be deleted.

3.3.1.2 Flight Plans

This paragraph extends the requirement for flight plans well beyond the ICAO requirement for no useful or safety purpose:

b) i) says that all VFR flights that need a clearance to taxi, or VFR flights which might need an ATC service during a flight, must file a full flight plan before take-off.

However, in the ICAO rules there is a note after this paragraph that says:

NOTE: the term "flight plan" is used to mean variously, full information on all items comprised in the flight plan description, covering the whole route of a flight, or limited information required when the purpose is to obtain a clearance for a minor part of a flight such as to cross an airway, to take off from or to and at a controlled aerodrome.

With that note included in the rule, filing a flight plan (for these purposes) would only mean calling on the radio for a clearance in the usual way, so would not be a problem.

The note must be included, or the rule deleted.

3.3.1.4 International flight plans

A flight plan for any flight planned to operate across international borders......shall be submitted at least sixty minutes before departure.

There is no good reason for this time limit and it should not be law. At the moment aircraft can depart as soon as a FPL is filed from many places, although not all. The rule serves no purpose and should be amended or deleted.

3.4.4 Marshals licence  

The proposal says:  No person shall guide an aircraft unless trained, qualified and approved by the competent authority to carry out the functions of a signalman/marshaller.   What is "Competent Authority"?  See definition 45:  'competent authority' means the central authority of a Member State competent to ensure compliance with the requirements of this Regulation or any authority to which that competence has been delegated.

So this means that anyone responsible for organizing the ground manoeuvring and parking of aircraft at fly-ins, competitions and other sport aviation events must have a licence from their CAA to do it.  This is fine for London Heathrow or Paris CDG, but completely inappropriate for any sport aviation events. 

It is simple to argue that such rules are a matter for licensing and not for rules of the air and are beyond the competence of Eurocontrol.

This provision must be deleted.

3.4.5 and 3.4.6 Clothing and equipment for marshals.

This is beyond the scope of rules of the air and the competence of Eurocontrol.

These provisions must be deleted.

4.3 a Flight plan for VFR at night

Para a) requires a flight plan to be filed for any VFR flight at night outside the circuit, but there is no valid safety reason for that.

It should be deleted.

4.6 a  Low flying rule.

The proposal is: Except when necessary for take-off or landing, or except by permission from the competent authority, a VFR flight shall not be flown:
a) over the congested areas of cities, towns or settlements or over an open-air assembly of persons at a height less than 300 m (1 000 ft) above the highest obstacle within a radius of 600 m from the aircraft;.

b) [see 4.6 b below]

There is no definition anywhere in SERA describing what an 'open air assembly of persons'  is.  Is it 10 people, 100 people, 1000 people, 10,000 people?  Nobody knows.  And if nobody knows then it is a stupid law.

The UK rule is very simple and includes a size of the assembly of persons, as in  ... or over an open-air assembly of more than 1,000 persons at a ...

4.6 b  Low flying rule.

The proposal is: Except when necessary for take-off or landing, or except by permission from the competent authority, a VFR flight shall not be flown:

a) [see 4.6.a above]
b) elsewhere than as specified in 4.6 a), at a height less than 150 m (500 ft) above the ground or water.

Although this is already the status-quo in many European countries, technically, without a special permission from the Competent Authority it prevents many activities in microlights and paramotors, including ALL paramotor precision tasks. 

Also, it:

• Makes it impossible for microlight and paramotor instructors to carry out complete training for forced landings, as often the student error is made below 500 feet, not above it.
• Makes it impossible for qualified microlight and paramotor pilots to practice forced landings, which is an essential life-saving skill which should be practiced regularly.
• Makes it impossible for gliders, hang-gliders and paragliders to ridge-soar, which has been a perfectly safe practice all over Europe since the sport of soaring was invented.
• Makes the practice of dropping tow ropes exceptionally dangerous if it can only be done legally from above 500 ft.
• Makes it impossible to conduct paramotor competition tasks, many of which are flown at very low level, and impossible to practice them out of competition.
• Makes it difficult to conduct meaningful contests and airshows.
• Exposes a risk to the survivability of ALL small airfields.  As SERA contains only one definition of an Aerodrome which includes everything from Heathrow to an occasionally used grass strip, it wouldn't be difficult for a Competent Authority to say that only the airfields it licences are 'aerodromes' and the rest are not.  It would then become a simple low-flying offence to even attempt to land at one.

Consider an alternative text, the current well tried and tested UK rule:

        4.6 b)  Elsewhere than as specified in 4.6 a), not closer than 500 feet to any person, vessel, vehicle or structure.

And then add to this provision some simple exceptions (also well tried and tested in UK rules)

      But:

• An aircraft taking part in a flying display, air race or contest shall be exempt if it is within a horizontal distance of 1,000 metres of the gathering of persons assembled to witness the event.
• A glider shall be exempt if it is hill-soaring.
• Any aircraft picking up or dropping tow ropes, banners or similar articles at an aerodrome shall be exempt.

And you have an altogether better tried and tested solution, much more compatible with microlight and paramotor activities, and with no proven loss of safety.

4.7 VFR Cruising level / semicircular rule

This applies a semicircular rule to VFR flights above 3000 ft,  000 to 179 and 180 to 359 degrees, and separates IFR and VFR flights by allotting the 500 foot levels to VFR and the 1000 foot levels to IFR flights.

Thus if you are VFR at say FL 45 you may have aircraft flying IFR at FL40 and FL50. Not only will it confuse VFR pilots but it will also mean that if you want to fly an aircraft above 3000 feet in a straight line you must go directly to FL35 or FL45 at least.  Often you need to go above 3000 ft to avoid low level restricted airspace, but the step up is so huge (particularly in the 180 - 359 deg direction) there is a reasonable chance it will also be in restricted airspace.

If, at FL35 you are less than 1000 feet above cloud, which may be at 2500 you must then climb to FL55 and the chances are that there will be more cloud there.

The cruising level stipulations are fine for IMC where it doesn't matter if you cannot see out of the aircraft, no minimum visibility required, but these rules have no useful purpose in VFR flight where not only are you required to be clear of cloud but you must also be in good visibility by the requirements of the VMC minima.

This proposal seems to have been designed for the convenience of IFR flight at quite low level and includes no consideration of the requirement for VFR traffic to stay a certain distance from cloud and clear of restricted airspace. It also cannot guarantee that the IFR levels are free of traffic because there may easily be gliders in thermals Etc. at these levels. 

The base of this requirement should therefore be raised to the more sensible height of FL100 / 10,000 ft.

Summary

 It is important as many people make comments on these issues to Eurocontrol as possible.  Your voice really does count!

• Remember the deadline is 12 April 2010
• Please make comments in your own words rather than copying and pasting them from here or elsewhere.  This will have a better effect.
• Make your comments on the correct form.
• Send it as an email attachment to sesframework@eurocontrol.int or to the mail address or FAX number on the form. 
• Do it before 12 April 2010!

If you want your response to Eurocontrol included as an attachment to this page for others to view, send it to r dot mh at flymicro dot com

Useful links

The SERA page at Eurocontrol http://www.eurocontrol.int/enprm/public/standard_page/enprm10002.html 

The British Gliding Association (BGA) deserve huge credit for the work they've done on this at http://www.gliding.co.uk/bgainfo/consultation.htm, some of which is incorporated into this page.

The British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association (BHPA) message: http://www.bhpa.co.uk/bhpa/news/notices/sera2010-1.php

Attachments