BGA AIRWORTHINESS AND MAINTENANCE PROCEDURES
PART 3, LEAFLET 3-7
REGISTRATION PROCEDURE FOR SAILPLANES AND SELF SUSTAINING SAILPLANES
Updated for the transition from BGA C of A to EASA C of A
1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 With the introduction of EU regulation 1592/2002 it became a requirement for sailplanes to be registered with a National Aviation Authority and be issued with an EASA Airworthiness Certificate (C of A). However, sailplanes under the control of the BGA have been temporarily exempted from this requirement by the Department for Transport (DfT).
1.2 This temporary DfT exemption expires on 28 September 2008. From this date, all UK based sailplanes (other than those which have a permanent exemption under Annex II of EU regulation 1592/2002) will need to be registered with the CAA and be issued with an EASA C of A. These sailplanes which must be registered are referred to in the rest of this document as ‘EASA sailplanes.’
1.3 This leaflet details the procedure to be followed for the first step in moving away from the temporary exemption: to obtain CAA registration.
It should be noted that the procedure detailed below is not applicable to tugs, self launching sailplanes and motor gliders, sailplanes exempted from EU regulation 1592-2002 (Annex II) and sailplanes not using the BGA as the approval organisation or where the owner is not a member of a BGA club. The term ‘sailplane’ includes self-sustaining sailplanes (turbos).
1.4 Affected aircraft
• EASA sailplanes operating in the UK
1.5 Non-affected aircraft
• Non-EASA sailplanes (including those listed in Annex II) • EASA sailplanes based outside the EU • In general, EASA sailplanes operating outside the UK but within the EU. (EASA
sailplanes operating outside the UK but within the EU may be considered on a case by case basis).
Note: the BGA will continue to register:
i) BGA approved types of Annex II sailplanes operating within the UK; and ii) Annex II British vintage sailplanes operating within the EU.
These aircraft do not require a CAA registration. See the EASA web site for Annex II list.

AMP 3-7 01 July 07

BGA AMP Part 3, Leaflet 3-7, page 1

1.6 Timing
a) EASA sailplanes first imported into the UK after 28 September 2007* All such sailplanes will require immediate registration with the CAA before an EASA C of A can be issued. The BGA will not issue BGA C’s of A to EASA sailplanes from 1st October 2007).
b) EASA sailplanes registered with the BGA prior to 28 September 2007 that are subject to transition to an EASA C of A** All such sailplanes will require registration with the CAA before an EASA C of A can be issued. EASA Cs of A must be issued for all such sailplanes by 28 September 2008.
*This includes EASA sailplanes where the initial application for a BGA C of A will not be completed before 1st October 2007.
**Sailplanes under the BGA airworthiness system (C of A) but flying outside the UK are treated as if they were flying in the UK. Some persons outside the UK may not be eligible to register an aircraft with the CAA. In those cases, you should contact your National Aviation Authority.
Please note: Once a CAA registration mark has been issued it must be displayed on the aircraft and the registration completed before the aircraft’s next flight.
2 CAA REGISTRATION
2.1 Application
Application for CAA registration is made on CAA form CA1. This is available to download from the CAA web site (www.caa.co.uk) or can be obtained from the following address.
Civil Aviation Authority Aircraft Registration Section CAA House 45-59 Kingsway London WC2B 6TE.
Tel 020 7453 6666, Fax 020 7453 6670
The following supporting documentation must be sent with the application: • EU 785/2004 compliant insurance certificate. • CAA registration fee
In addition, when registering a new aircraft, a certificate of non-registration must accompany the application. When registering a used aircraft on its first import into the UK, a certificate of de-registration must accompany the registration.

AMP 3-7 01 July 07

BGA AMP Part 3, Leaflet 3-7, page 2

2.2 Completing the CA1

General advice on completing the CA1 is provided along with the form. Following this, together with the glider-specific advice below, should help your application to be trouble-free.
• 1b – Enter ‘Glider’ • 1c – This should be completed if the glider is self-sustaining • 1d – Enter ‘Piston’ or ‘Wankel’ as and if appropriate • 1e – Enter the glider’s maximum all up weight as defined by the manufacturer in kg,
including water ballast • 1f – Enter ‘Nil’ if single seater; ‘1’ if two seater • 1g – Enter ‘No’ • 4b – Normally the CAA will advise the registration mark (but see below) • 5 – Enter the BGA Tri-graph in addition to any previous marks • 6 – If the glider is owned by a co-ownership syndicate then the owners' details should be
entered in 6a with the group name in 6b. • In cases where there are three or more individual owners of an aircraft it is recommended
that one of the owners, or at the most two, are nominated as trustees of the syndicate. The details of the other shareholders need to be given on a CAA registration departmentsupplied ‘trustee grid’ form. In this way any member may leave or join the group without the need to re-register the glider on every occasion and thus incurring a fee. Unfortunately, the glider must be re-registered if the trustee leaves the group. • 9a – This must be completed. The month and year is sufficient.

2.3 Owners with Large Numbers of Sailplanes

For owners with large numbers of gliders (e.g. clubs) the CAA advise that they should be able to accept a single CA1 application containing all the constant information and a separate schedule of the variable elements, such as the glider type, date of ownership, etc. In these circumstances, you should contact the CAA registration department directly and they will devise a schedule format that is appropriate for your needs. The usual CAA fee will still apply on a per-glider basis.

2.4 Fees

The fees to register a sailplane with the CAA are published on the CAA web site. The current fees (as of 1st July 2007) are as follows:

Normal registration:

£60

Out of sequence registration £160 in addition to the above fee

Change of owner

£60

Change of owner’s address No fee

For group owned aircraft, the CAA does not charge a fee for amending ownership details unless the owner whose address has changed has been nominated as trustee.

Change of trustee ownership details must also be notified to the BGA to maintain accurate records and to ensure the owner continues to receive important airworthiness information. (The BGA do not charge for this process). The BGA is unable to advise the CAA of ownership changes.

AMP 3-7 01 July 07

BGA AMP Part 3, Leaflet 3-7, page 3

2.5 Issue of CAA Registration Marks
If you sailplane does not already have one, you should firstly contact the BGA to reserve a BGA number and trigraph. There is no charge for allocation of a BGA number or trigraph.
The BGA number and trigraph should be used in all correspondence with the BGA as these will uniquely identify the sailplane in the BGA database. Once a BGA number and trigraph (three letter identification) has been issued, a CAA registration can be applied for.
By default, applicants will be allocated a CAA registration mark in the form ‘G-CTTT’, where TTT is the BGA trigraph. If this mark has already been allocated, the C will be replaced by another letter, usually D, to give a unique registration.
Please note that if your trigraph contains the letter Q then the CAA is unable to issue a trigraphrelated registration as the letter Q cannot be issued as part of a G-XXXX registration. In these circumstances, you can proceed in one of two ways. If you wish, the CAA will provide you with a standard sequential registration mark. You will be allowed to choose from approximately 75 marks that are ‘in sequence’ at the time of application. To do this, you should enter ‘please telephone’ in the ‘Proposed Mark’ section of question 4 on the CAA registration application form CA1.The CAA will contact you upon receipt of the application form to allow you to make your choice.
Alternatively, if you would prefer to have a CAA registration that corresponds to your trigraph, the BGA will endeavour to change your trigraph by substituting ‘O’s for any ‘Q’s in your current trigraph - for example ‘AYQ’ would become ‘AYO.’ (It should be relatively easy to make this change to the glider’s current physical markings). If you wish to take this option, you must arrange the trigraph change with the BGA office before applying for CAA registration.
Note that the above two options only apply if your current trigraph contains the letter Q.
Alternatively, applicants can specify an ‘out-of-sequence’ registration mark of their choice, akin to a personalised car number plate. This option carries an additional CAA charge of £160.
2.6 Further Guidance: Further guidance on the registration process, current fees, forms and FAQs are available on the CAA web site. Go to www.srg.caa.co.uk and look under ‘Aircraft Register’.
3 AIRCRAFT MARKINGS
3.1 CAA Markings
To comply with the Air Navigation Order, sailplanes must display the allocated nationality (G-) and registration marks in accordance with CAP 523 or be in possession of a valid exemption granted by the CAA. The registration marks must be displayed on both sides of the fuselage and the underside of the left (port) wing. CAP523 details the size, format and position of the marks and can be downloaded from the CAA web site.
Additional guidance is given in section 3.5 below.

AMP 3-7 01 July 07

BGA AMP Part 3, Leaflet 3-7, page 4

3.2 BGA Markings

BGA Laws and Rules states that an EASA sailplane with an EASA C of A does not need to display a BGA number. However, EASA sailplane owners who have registered their sailplanes are reminded of the continuing requirement (BGA Operational Regulation 1.9) for BGA approved identification markings (the trigraph or competition number – see below) to be displayed as large as practicable on each side of the fin and/or rudder of the sailplane in a substantially vertical plane. There is no need to display ‘BGA approved identification markings’ under the wing. However, if BGA markings are displayed on the underside of the wing, they should be displayed under the right (starboard) wing.

3.3 Competition Numbers

Competition numbers are available from the BGA at a small additional charge. In the absence of a competition number, the trigraph (last 3 letters of the CAA registration) should be displayed on the fin.

3.4 Identification Plate

All sailplanes require a metal identification plate bearing the nationality and registration marks (G-xxxx). It is recommended that the BGA number is also engraved on this.

3.5 Registration Markings – General Guidance

Due to the physical, structural and aerodynamic limitations of the majority of modern sailplanes, the following guidance on the size, position, colour and type of registration marks is offered to assist in interpreting CAP 523 ‘The Display of Nationality and Registration Marks on Aircraft: Guidance for Owners’.

Fuselage: The registration marks should be centred on the tail boom about midway between the trailing edge of the wing and the leading edge of the fin or tailplane.

The height of the letters should be approximately one quarter of the circumference of the tail boom at the midway point. (1m circumference fuselage would mean 250mm high letters).

Wing: The registration marks should be centred about the mid section or the predominantly constant section of the underside of the left (port) wing. Marks can cross segmented wing sections but cannot cross optional and removable tip sections. Marks should not cross onto flaps and ailerons but may cross air brake caps.

Edge margins should be left at approx 150 mm from the leading edge (tops of letters) and 100mm from the trailing edge of the wing (not control surface).

If the wing has factory fitted turbulator tapes or is ‘blown’, advice should be sought from the manufacturer prior to applying registration marks in case there are any aerodynamic considerations to be aware of.

Size: CAP 523 lays down the size, proportions and format of the letters taking into account the structural limitations above. Embellished fonts are not allowed.

Colour:
AMP 3-7 01 July 07

BGA AMP Part 3, Leaflet 3-7, page 5

Letters should be in a contrasting colour to the background. However, on GRP aircraft, dark colours must be avoided due to heat degradation of some structures. Always follow the sailplane manufacturer’s advice but, in the absence of any other guidelines, for white GRP aircraft, letters should be mid-grey, mid-blue or an equivalent contrasting colour.

Light colours will probably offer insufficient contrast and therefore will not normally be acceptable.

Application and thickness: For most normal applications, stick-on vinyl letters will be perfectly adequate and be the most economical option.

It should be noted that vinyl does not adhere to some fabric covered surfaces particularly well and painting may be the best solution.

Remember to cut the letters at wing intersections or airbrake caps and clear any vents or drains. Letters should be positioned well clear of static instrument ports.

For some high performance applications the letters can be painted very thinly or even set into the gel coat. Both these applications are more labour intensive and therefore more costly.

Please remember: If the size, position or colour of the registration marks is incorrect or not displayed to the best advantage the CAA could insist that they are redone.

Competition and fin markings: These should be applied on the fin and if desired, on the underside of the right (starboard) wing in accordance with BGA Laws and Rules for Glider Pilots

You may not display the last 3 letters of an ‘out of sequence’ CAA registration mark (unless it is the same as the trigraph). If you want to display anything other than the trigraph, you will need to apply to the BGA for a competition number. This is transferable between sailplanes.

For aesthetic reasons the competition or fin markings should be in the same font and colour as the registration marks and, if space allows, may be larger. Embellished fonts should not be used as these can be difficult to read from a distance and, in any event, are not allowed for registration marks.

Fireproof identification plate. The nationality and registration marks should be engraved on a small plate made from stainless steel or similar material. It is recommended that the letters should be approximately 10mm high in plain font.

The registration letters may be incorporated on the aircraft serial number plate using appropriately sized letters.

Supplies Some glider spares suppliers and repairers have vinyl letter cutting machines and supplies of suitable vinyl for registration marks. They may also have equipment for engraving fireproof identification plates.

Trophy engravers can also supply fireproof identification plates using jewellers’ silver plate. This would be an acceptable alternative to stainless steel.

Vinyl templates can also be used as masks for painting registration marks onto the aircraft.

AMP 3-7 01 July 07

BGA AMP Part 3, Leaflet 3-7, page 6

3.6 Exemptions
Exemption from the need to display CAA registration markings are available in a limited number of cases, normally to enable aircraft to display historically accurate military liveries and marks. Details and application forms are available from the CAA web site.
Note that for aircraft to bear military markings, permission must be obtained from the Ministry of Defence or the appropriate foreign government.

AMP 3-7 01 July 07

BGA AMP Part 3, Leaflet 3-7, page 7