News from the UK. General Aviation Reports, sGAR and Border Force

AOPA UK asked for clarification from the Home Office Border Force as to whether the sGAR and other approved online GAR submission systems also notified Police services when required. After some delay AOPA got this reply:

‘Those responsible for a GA international journey (including within the Common Travel Area (CTA)) are required to report or provide notification of their expected journey to Border Force, the police and HMRC. The information provided is shared between these relevant agencies under the statutory duty to share information in section 36 of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006. Therefore if a GAR is submitted through sGAR or an approved 3rd party application as listed on this UK Government website then the Police can have access to the data. The GA Guidance document does give detail about how this data is shared with partners such as the Police and also provides up to date contact information for the Police in all regions if needed.’

If police notification is required and you submit your GAR at least 12 hours before departure this will be done.

Note that no GAR is required for flights to/from Northern Ireland and Great Britain so separate police notification needs to be given separately. AOPA have asked if the GAR system can be used anyway to give the police notification and a reply is awaited.

It seems that some Border Force units are not particularly well organised and have met returning private flights to accuse the PIC of not submitting a GAR. I would therefore recommend that you keep a copy of you GAR submission acknowledgement with you on your flight.

Martin Robinson, CEO AOPA UK, intends to raise a number of questions with the Home Office Border Force and will relay these and any answers to you later on.

New initiative from Luxembourg. Weekend Fly: Your Aerial Travel Companion

Weekend Fly emerged from the frustration of Alex, a French Microlight pilot based near Luxembourg. In 2022, after several weekend getaways were canceled due to last-minute weather changes, he realized the need for a tool that allowed pilots to choose a destination without constantly checking the weather, hotels, transportation, and attractions. During a coding bootcamp in Bali, the project took shape, quickly leading to the first version of the application. Joined by Rachel, a private pilot from Luxembourg, Alex dedicated an entire year to developing this application. Thus, Weekend Fly was born—a platform designed by pilots for pilots to simplify and enrich their flying adventures.

Principles of the Web Application

Key Features

- Each pilot can create a personal account and profile

- Define your weather risk aversion, cruising speed, fuel card preferences, and minimum runway length.

- Based on your criteria and your "flyzone" (a flight zone with favorable weather forecasts), Weekend Fly offers tailored destinations.

- View referenced aerodromes, events, refueling stations by fuel type, and more on an intuitive interactive map.

- Access detailed information on each airport, including Visual Aerodrome Chart when available and other features.

- Consult and create aeronautical events in Europe.

- Pilots can share notes and comments on visited aerodromes, providing valuable information to the entire pilot community.

To use Weekend Fly, visit their website at weekend-fly.com and follow the instructions to create an account. You will receive a confirmation email, after which you can access and update your profile.
Weekend Fly transforms the way pilots plan their trips by simplifying searches and offering customized solutions. Join our community of passionate pilots now and rediscover the joy of hassle-free flying with Weekend Fly! Coming soon: Belgium, Switzerland, Australia.

Jo Konrad passed away

Two days before his 71st birthday, advisory board member of AOPA Germany and president of the Deutscher Ultraleichtflugverband e.V. (DULV) Jo Konrad died suddenly and unexpectedly. Jo Konrad often attended IAOPA EU meetings, where he always had important input when it came to Ultra Light flying.

Jo Konrad had been a member of the Advisory Board of AOPA Germany since 2006 and his advice and expertise were always highly valued. He had been with the DULV since its inception and, as president since 1986, shaped its history like no other. Microlight pilots owe a lot to his enormous expertise and perseverance. Last but not least, the introduction of the 600kg class for ULs is due to his initiative.
In him, we have lost not only a dedicated expert on ULs, but above all a loyal friend. Our condolences go to his wife Carmen and his family.

Clarifications on flight plan and border crossing within the Schengen territory

In our previous newsletter, we reported on a relaxation of the requirement to file a flightplan within the Schengen Area. This gave rise to several questions from our members, so a few clarifications are appropriate.

No flight plan is required for VFR flights to or from a state within the Schengen area unless:

• The relevant state has a flight plan requirement for VFR flights;
• The flight crosses the airspace of a state outside the Schengen area; or
• The submission of a flight plan is mandatory under paragraph SERA.4001, part b, subparts 1, 3, 4 and 6 of Regulation (EU) No 923/2012.

This last point deserves some clarification. You must therefore submit a flight plan for:

• Any flight or portion thereof to be provided with air traffic control service;
• Any flight within or into areas, or along routes designated by the competent authority, to facilitate the provision of flight information, alerting and search and rescue services;
• Any flight within or into areas or along routes designated by the competent authority, to facilitate coordination with appropriate military units or with air traffic services units in adjacent States in order to avoid the possible need for interception for the purpose of identification;
• Any flight planned to operate at night, if leaving the vicinity of an aerodrome.

Please note that many countries still explicitly require a flightplan when crossing the border. Always check the AIP. AOPA Holland has prepared a document which gives the current status. In practice the following block of countries all have relaxations in the flight plan filing requirement: Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania and Hungary

Also note that other Schengen countries not only require a flightplan when crossing the border but also still officially require you to land a a designated airport of entry even for intra-Schengen flights. For instance Denmark.

Finland launched ADS-B UAT Ground Station Test

An ADS-B UAT system has now been installed in Finland. The aviation authority did not want to wait for a European-wide release of the UAT frequency and decided to set up a working system with local industry. IAOPA Finland's J.P.Kinos has been closely involved in the process and says:

This means that important real-time information can now easily be made available in the cockpit. That information could include the position of other traffic in the vicinity, or the weather (e.g. about embedded CB or lightning) or a NOTAM (an area has just become active). The ADS-B standard was designed for this a long time ago

In America, people have been flying this system for years to great satisfaction. In 2020, it even became mandatory there. So its advantage is that it is a proven system, equipment is available in a wide variety and relatively cheaply, so there is no need to invent anything new.

In Europe all States have not wanted to release the UAT frequency (978 mHz) for this purpose so progress has been slow. EASA has instead launched the ADS-L (Light) standard which could bring some of the same advantages. The drawbacks are however lack of hardware support in installed equipment and much weaker transmission power (250 Watt vs 500 milli Watt).

Read here the press release about Europe's first ADS-B UAT Ground Station Test Environments, established by South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences

The not so easy path to lead-free Avgas 100 UL

Current reports from the USA on the latest developments in the introduction of lead-free Avgas with 100 octane are somewhat surprising.

The company GAMI has held a patent for a lead-free Avgas 100UL approved by the FAA in the USA via STC since 2022, which has already produced over a million gallons of this fuel and made it available for immediate sale in a refinery in Louisiana. However, sales are not visibly taking off. Instead, there have recently been more or less openly expressed and non-specific doubts about the chemical composition of the fuel and its potentially corrosive effect on tanks and seals. This was viewed less critically in the case of aircraft, but rather in the case of stationary tank systems and trucks.

These doubts were further fueled when the AOPA-USA N202MD Beechcraft Baron on display in Oshkosh developed a leak under the left tank, which in recent months has been exclusively fueled with the new GAMI Avgas 100UL for test flights.

But the all-clear can now be given: old photos of the wings showed that the shell of the Bonanza's left tank, which is now 50 years old and has since been repaired with patches, had a leakage problem even before the GAMI fuel was tested. The right tank, which continued to be filled with Avgas 100LL, was also 46 years old, but was still largely leak-proof. The colleagues at AOPA-USA have been very satisfied with the flight tests so far, saying that the GAMI fuel is just as good or even better than conventional Avgas 100LL.

Many Cirrus owners were also confused after Cirrus published a service advisory that strongly advised against using GAMI fuel and even considered voiding the aircraft's warranty. The reason for the warning was leaks in the tank and fuel system of test aircraft, which, according to GAMI, was due to previous damage and had nothing to do with the GAMI fuel.

And what is the competition doing? There are still two other companies in the running for an unleaded 100 octane Avgas. But only one is still competing in the US Federal Aviation Administration's PAFI (Piston Aviation Fuel Initiative) and EAGLE (Eliminate Aviation Gasoline Lead Emissions) fuel development programs:

That is LyondellBasell/VP Racing. This company has produced over 50,000 gallons of its UL100E for the FAA's yet-to-be-completed tests. These tests include 10 different engines and eight different aircraft types and will take about a year until the third quarter of 2025.

SWIFT Fuels from Indiana has had an FAA-approved 94-octane unleaded avgas on the market for several years. The company also wants to launch a 100-octane avgas 100R. The company is no longer choosing the FAA programs for approval, but the ASTM industry standards. Swift made negative headlines when the University of North Dakota announced that it would stop using 94 octane avgas in its entire fleet of 120 Piper aircraft at the end of 2023 after several problems with the valves. Until the cause is clarified, the company plans to revert to Avgas 100LL.

The US authorities are still committed to completely replace leaded Avgas 100LL by 2030. Obviously, this challenge is not as trivial as initially assumed. This development in the US is also extremely important for the European market, as the EU also wants to ban lead additives in Avgas in the next few years. However, due to the small market in Europe, there are no market initiatives on this side of the Atlantic to develop a lead-free, high-octane avgas. We will continue to report.

Please keep us informed about the aviation news in your country If you have any news or things that you would like to share with pilots in other countries - for instance if you organize a Fly-in that might be of interest or if there is news about airports or new rules and regulations in your country that other pilots should know.    Please don't hesitate to send all your news to me: Gerrit Brand | Netherlands | email me here : gerritbrand@hotmail.com, telephone or whatsapp + 31 6 50831893