The President, Chairman and Council of the Historic Aircraft Association – UK extend their fraternal greetings to all the delegates from so many EU countries assembled here. We wish to express the hope that EFLEVA will become an effective voice for all the General Aviation elements involved. Particularly a voice to represent all the vintage and historic aircraft along with their owners, operators, maintainers and pilots based in the European Union.
Many of the aircraft involved are active on the airshow circuit in Europe. Although airshows have to be “commercial” in that they charge for admission and seek sponsorship those who participate in them do so “privately”. Pilots and aircraft alike. There are very few professional full time airshow acts in Europe. These “private” sector pilots and aircraft owners or maintainers need effective representation in discussions with the EU aviation agencies to formulate policy on this vital interface between the public and aviation.
The HAA was set up over 30 years ago and is a small but influential association with many well known aviation personalities from the UK among its members. It represents its members and all the UK vintage/historic aircraft movement, along with the UK airshow community, in discussions with the CAA and the DfT in the UK. It has the Classic Jet Operators Association and the Vintage Aircraft Club as associates and has links to AOPA(UK) and the Air Display Association (Europe). The HAA contributed in no small manner to the present UK airshow regulatory system and nominates suitable persons as Display Authorisation Evaluators for appointment by the CAA. It is represented on a number of CAA working and study groups. In addition it has a seat at the CAA General Aviation Consultative Committee where future policy and progress is discussed with the UK general aviation associations.
It is an associate member of the Royal Aero Club of the UK and a member of the UK General Aviation Safety Council. A number of its members sit on the Royal Aeronautical Society General Aviation Group.
In the UK and on the UK register of aircraft there are some 640 aircraft built during or before 1945 with a further 1060 built in the period from 1946 to the end of 1959. 1700 aircraft in total which might well be considered to be vintage or historic. Of these perhaps a third will be under restoration or stored pending a decision to restore. The remainder are currently airworthy.
These vary in size from the tiny English Electric Wren from the early 1920’s right up to the mighty Avro Vulcan four engined jet bomber which flew again only a few days ago. This following a hugely expensive and lengthy restoration.
Other turbine aircraft include examples of the Fouga Magister, Jet Provost, Strikemaster, Galeb, L29 Delfin, L39 Albatross, Meteor, Vampire, Venom, Sabre, Hunter, Sea Vixen and Canberra. All currently airworthy, or nearly so. There are also a couple of Bell UH-1D Huey turbine helicopters.
Hopefully this will have given you an impression of both the HAA-UK and the size of the vintage and historic aircraft movement in the UK. Our country has a superb aviation heritage and 2008 is the centenary of the first powered flight in our country by a heavier than air aircraft. One hundred years of achievement in aviation of which we are rightly proud.
Finally, though I did manage to express my thoughts at the meeting before it ended, I wish to thank most sincerely the Czech organisers of this inaugural meeting of EFLEVA for the superb arrangements they made. It has also given me a great deal of pleasure to visit, once again, your magnificent capital city of Praha. Prag, or – in English – Prague.
Barry
Barry Tempest FRAeS
Council member (regulatory matters) of the HAA-UK
http://www.efleva.eu