Ex-military aircraft information for recreational pilots

If you'd like to apply for CAP632 Ex-military Operations, please complete the application form SRG1872 and email it to GA@caa.co.uk along with the necessary supporting documents as outlined in the application form.

An OCM is a requirement for the following categories of aircraft operating on a UK Permit to Fly:

• ex-military aircraft weighing more than 2730kg MTOW
• piston engine aircraft with a rating of 800HP or more
• turbine or turbojet engine aircraft weighing less than 2730kg MTOW

CAP 632 Annex A - "A Guide to the Compilation of an Organisation Control Manual" provides further information.

CAA work in relation to the approval or updating of an OCM does not currently incur any costs. However, the CAA reserves the right to charge for any additional work that proves necessary.

Some ex-military aircraft are capable of flight at speeds in excess of 250 knots. Permission must be obtained before flight at such speed is undertaken.

CAA Form SRG 1318, together with the appropriate fee, should be sent to the Flight Operations Inspectorate (as seen below.) Details of costs can be found in the CAA Scheme of Charges - General Aviation.

An early inspection from CAA design and airworthiness surveyors will allow us to make a decision on whether the aircraft will be an original or a replica.

There is no set minimum amount of the original aircraft required to allow the project to be considered a restoration. However, there must be something recognisable from the aircraft for it to be classed as original, normally primary structure and generally from the fuselage, even if these parts are subsequently replaced.

The aircraft's data plate will be key in establishing its original identity. Where this is no longer available evidence from historians or published material can be used and a replacement data plate made. This should include the serial number and manufacturer. We will check that a restoration has not previously been approved for the same airframe identity.

Where there is no record of the manufacturer's serial number but a military serial is known then this may be used.

In some countries a registration may be re-used on more than one airframe. This can result in an aircraft in existence where only the paperwork remains from the original and it is in fact a 'donor' aircraft. In the UK this is not accepted and genuine provenance of the actual airframe will need to be shown. However, if no other aircraft on the UK register is currently painted with the same markings then a donor aircraft does not have to be physically marked as such but it must be recorded in its paperwork.

In many restoration projects there will be little remaining of the original airframe and the availability of replacement parts will be limited. New parts will therefore need to be manufactured and it is important that the material and construction of these is monitored. In many cases this work will be undertaken by an approved BCAR A8-23 or A8-24 organisation which we have already approved to undertake this work. If it is not then the project and key decisions must be supported and substantiated by a CAA approved design organisation [BCAR A8-8 class E1 or E2 etc. or BCAR A8-21]. Where work is sub-contracted the approved organisation commissioning the work must demonstrate its oversight of the sub-contractor.

All of this work will need to be recorded to show a progressive picture of the decisions and tasks undertaken during the rebuild and presented as part of the application for a Permit to Fly.

It is vital that we are contacted at an early stage of the project and kept informed of progress. Only contacting us once the project is well underway could result in the aircraft having to be dismantled to allow us to inspect work already undertaken.

Normally replicas are one-off constructions that conform with the original design. These can be given a Permit to Fly provided they are not part of a volume manufactured series. There are exceptions for example where the original manufacturer has re-opened a production line. Any design changes from the original will need to be approved by the CAA. When deciding whether a replica ex-military aircraft can have a Permit to Fly we will consider:

• The likely number to be constructed;
• The design standard used, including modifications to the original standard; and
• The production facilities and processes.

It is possible to have reproduction aircraft where there is a reasonable match with the original's appearance and construction and substantially the same engine and systems. For example the Yak-11 conversion to Yak-3/9. As the original construction methods will not be used we will need greater assurance over the design and construction methods used.