Sywell Aerodrome is the local aerodrome serving the towns of Northampton, Wellingborough, Kettering and Rushden, as well as wider Northamptonshire. The aerodrome is located 5 nautical miles northeast of Northampton and was originally opened in 1928 on the edge of Sywell village.
Ultralight aviation is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and conventional three-axis control aircraft with ailerons, elevator and rudder, calling the former "microlight" and the latter "ultralight".
Homebuilt aircraft, also known as amateur-built aircraft or kit planes, are constructed by persons for whom this is not a professional activity. These aircraft may be constructed from "scratch", from plans, or from assembly kits.
Pilot licensing or certification refers to permits for operating aircraft. Flight crew licences are issued by the civil aviation authority of each country, which must establish that the holder has met minimum knowledge and experience before issuing licences. The licence, along with the required class or type rating, allows a pilot to fly aircraft registered in the licence issuing state.
Pilot licensing in the United Kingdom is regulated by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
A light-sport aircraft (LSA), or light sport aircraft, is a fairly new category of small, lightweight aircraft that are simple to fly. LSAs tend to be heavier and more sophisticated than ultralight aircraft, but LSA restrictions on weight and performance separates the category from established GA aircraft. There is no standard worldwide description of an LSA.
The Zodiac is a family of Canadian all-metal, two-seat, fixed landing gear airplanes that first flew in 1984. The aircraft have been produced as kits and completed aircraft by Zenair in Canada and Zenith Aircraft Company in the US.
Peterborough Business Airport is a privately owned airfield in the English county of Cambridgeshire near the villages of Holme and Conington, 7 NM south of Peterborough.
Newtownards Airport is a local airfield in Newtownards, County Down, Northern Ireland. It is located 8.5 NM east of Belfast. This airport offers not only light aircraft flights but also helicopter flights which are operated by HeliPower, Microlight flights operated by NI Microlights and flight simulator training by AlphaTech. The airport also has an onsite restaurant called Cloud Nine.
The ARV Super2 is a British two-seat light aircraft with strut-braced shoulder wings and tricycle landing gear. Designed by Bruce Giddings, the Super2 was available either factory-built or as a kit. It was intended to be both a cost-effective trainer and an affordable aircraft for private owners. Later called the "Opus", it gained US FAA Light-Sport Aircraft approval in February 2008.
The Europa XS and Europa Classic are a family of British composite two-place low-wing monoplane kit aircraft. Designed by Ivan Shaw, the Europa was introduced in the early 1990s. Europas are manufactured by Europa Aircraft and supplied as kits for amateur construction. More than 450 Europas have been completed.
The Druine D.31 Turbulent is a French single-seat ultralight Homebuilt aircraft designed by Roger Druine.
General aviation in the United Kingdom encompasses a variety of commercial and non-commercial aviation activities.
General aviation (GA) has been defined as a civil aircraft operation other than a commercial air transport flight operating to a schedule. Although the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) excludes any form of remunerated aviation from its definition, some commercial operations are often included within the scope of General Aviation (GA). General aviation refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline flights, both private and commercial.
The National Private Pilot Licence (NPPL) is a licence to fly United Kingdom registered aircraft within the United Kingdom. It is a more basic licence than the private pilot licence (PPL), and cannot be used to fly all aircraft. It can be used to fly basic aircraft such as vintage aircraft or kit-built aircraft. To fly many basic aircraft such as the Cessna 172, it is necessary to upgrade to at minimum a light aircraft pilot licence (LAPL).
The Rans S-19 Venterra is an American single-engined, tractor configuration, two-seats in side-by-side configuration, low-wing monoplane designed by Randy Schlitter as a light-sport aircraft and manufactured by Rans Inc. The Venterra is available as a complete factory-built aircraft and in kit form for amateur construction.
The Colomban MC-30 Luciole is an ultra-lightweight plans-built single-seat low-wing tail-dragger monoplane, designed by the French aeronautical engineer Michel Colomban, creator of the tiny single-seat Colomban Cri-cri twin-engined aircraft and the MC-100 Ban-Bi two-seat aircraft.
The British Microlight Aircraft Association (BMAA) is an organisation that governs microlight aircraft in the UK.; it is a member organisation that exists to benefit its members with respect to flying and operating microlight aircraft in the United Kingdom. Its aims are listed in the Articles of Association.
The Tiger Cub Developments (TCD) Sherwood Ranger is a single engine, tandem two seat biplane microlight designed and built in the United Kingdom in the early 1990s. Kits were originally produced by TCD; later, design rights were acquired by The Light Aircraft Company Ltd (TLAC) who resumed kit production in 2009.
The Slepcev Storch is a Serbian type-certified, kit and ultralight STOL aircraft, designed by Yugoslavian-Australian Nestor Slepcev and currently produced by Storch Aircraft Serbia in several different versions. The ultralight version is a 3/4 scale replica of the Fieseler Fi 156 Storch of the Second World War and is supplied as a kit for amateur construction or as a complete ready-to-fly-aircraft.
