Why is it N-registered?

How is it rolling so freely out of the hangar initially?? Gravity is all I could figure

Thats the first thing I wondered!!!!!

What's the runway length?

A lot of N-reg's in Europe. EASA keep threatening to not allow N-regs to be permanently be based there, but it keeps getting pushed back. Never gonna happen, in my opinion. N-reg in Europe has some benefits:

1. Before all the TSA craziness, many trained in the US and then converted. So they still have FAA licenses. Not so much anymore.

2. And those who took EASA licenses, can get a FAA issued license as part of FAR 61.75 (which has it's own problems, but that's another discussion).

3. It used to be easier to get the IFR ticket with FAA, the EASA one used to be a full ATP written and could only train in planes that had blinders. Thankfully, that's now mostly gone and the EASA IFR mimics the FAA pretty much. They finally realized that safety improved a lot when people were IR rated, so why make that harder? Europe still has a much lower percentage of the pilot population doing the IR.

4. Easier to keep your ratings on as you can do a BFR on any type and you're covered. In EASA land you have to do a BFR on ME and SE if you have both.

5. You can train with any CFI in your own plane, no need for an Approved Training Organization, like in EASA land.

6. STC's. Many US STC holders don't bother to transfer their EASA STC's, so some equipment simply can't be installed.

7. Turboprops require type ratings in EASA.

That said, EASA has really taken strides to improve and make things easier, so it's slowly moving in the right direction. But N-reg is still a lot easier and until they ban permanent residents from flying N-reg's, it will continue to be that way.

Adam, you are very right with your analysis..



in regards to STCs, we can hope, that the future full EU / Europe / USA, EASA/FAA bilateral will take care of that and STC validations may (should) become a formal non-issue in the future either way...

anybody know what the pocket rocket model is? looks like Lancair DNA...

very cool setup...

it is a taildragger and turbinized version of the German Impulse 100..

German company and design…experimental to the best of my knowledge...

Noticed an N-reg PC12 over a Fayence (LFMF) aerodrome yesterday, meant to take a photo. Fayence is a sub 700 meter long grass glider strip. The high cost and hassle of operating out of bigger airports in Europe does seem to push planes here into to basing out of the minimum practical conditions. There used to be (may still be, I haven't been there in a couple years) a good number of PC12s based out of Goodwood in the UK, which is grass and can seasonally be pretty soggy.

Patrick - did you bring Commander over with you to Europe?

Adam, I'm possibly doing that in a week or two. Will report on the experience if I do. Insurance is looking for me to have someone current and experienced in the plane with me for the crossing, I had lined up a ferry pilot which was expert on the crossing had done 80+ Atlantic and a bunch other ferry flights but didn't have commander time, my insurer wasn't cool with that, so I'm now looking at lining that up...

I am getting flying withdrawal, though, so am going to try out motorless flight at Fayence which is up the road from my house here.

Seems it's registered to a Mr. "Coffin".

Let''s all be careful out there...

Short and soft...no problem!

I was getting ready for a glider lesson at Fayence when the PC12 took off from the grass field. Apparently it is a Belgian fellow who commutes back and forth.
Need to consider trying it out in the Turbo Commander...

BTW, nothing to do with the original intent of this thread, but doing a flying lesson in a new type and in a foreign language you are only marginally competent in is pretty demanding. I don't recall any of the particular words for airplane controls, thermals and mountain features being in my university French textbooks...

Ouch
That will be hard on the prop and boots.
I saw a PC12 up north thats being used on gravel strips all the time.
It was pretty rough and the boots were all full of patches and unusable.