GM 21.A.701(a) Permit to fly when a certificate of airworthiness or a restricted certificate of airworthiness is not appropriate

• ED Decision 2019/018/R found in: Initial Airworthiness and Environmental Protection (748/2012) Part-21 Part-21L (Jul 2024)
• ED Decision 2025/016/R found in: Initial Airworthiness and Environmental Protection (748/2012) (Nov 2025)

GM 21.A.701(a) Permit to fly when a certificate of airworthiness or a restricted certificate of airworthiness is not appropriate ED Decision 2019/018/R A certificate of airworthiness or restricted category certificate of airworthiness may not be appropriate for an individual aircraft or aircraft type when it is not practicable to comply with the normal continued airworthiness requirements and the aircraft is to a design standard that is demonstrated to be capable of safe flight under defined conditions. Point [21.A.701](#_DxCrossRefBm1649097379) identifies cases where the issuance of a (restricted) certificate of airworthiness may not be possible or appropriate and this GM provides further information and typical examples for clarification where appropriate: - Note: This list of examples is not exhaustive (1)     Development: —        testing of new aircraft or modifications —        testing of new concepts of airframe, engine, propeller and equipment; —        testing of new operating techniques; (2)     Demonstration of compliance with regulations or certification specifications: —        certification flight testing for type certification, supplemental type certificates, changes to type certificates or ETSO authorisation; (3)     Design organisations or production organisations crew training: —        Flights for training of crew that will perform design or production flight testing before the design approval or Certificate of Airworthiness (C of A) can be issued. (4)     Production flight testing of new production aircraft: —        For establishing conformity with the approved design, typically this would be the same program for a number of similar aircraft; (5)     Flying aircraft under production between production facilities: —        green aircraft ferry for follow on final production. (6)     Flying the aircraft for customer acceptance: —        Before the aircraft is sold and/or registered. (7)     Delivering or exporting the aircraft: —        Before the aircraft is registered in the State where the C of A will be issued. (8)     Flying the aircraft for Authority acceptance: —        In the case of inspection flight test by the authority before the C of A is issued. (9)     Market survey, including customer’s crew training: —        Flights for the purpose of conducting market survey, sales demonstrations and customer crew training with non type-certificated aircraft or aircraft for which conformity has not yet been established or for non-registered a/c and before the Certificate of Airworthiness is issued. (10)   Exhibition and air show: —        Flying the aircraft to an exhibition or show and participating to the exhibition or show before the design approval is issued or before conformity with the approved design has been shown. (11)   Flying the aircraft to a location where maintenance or airworthiness review are to be performed, or to a place of storage: —        Ferry flights in cases where maintenance is not performed in accordance with approved programmes, where an AD has not been complied with where certain equipment outside the Master Minimum Equipment List (MMEL) is unserviceable or when the aircraft has sustained damage beyond the applicable limits. (12)   Flying an aircraft at a weight in excess of its maximum certificated take-off weight for flight beyond the normal range over water, or over land areas where adequate landing facilities or appropriate fuel is not available: — Oversees ferry flights with additional fuel capacity. (13)   Record breaking, air racing or similar competition: —        Training flight and positioning flight for this purpose are included (14)   Flying aircraft meeting the applicable certification specifications before conformity to the environmental requirements has been found: —        Flying an aircraft which has been demonstrated to comply with all applicable certification specifications but not with environmental requirements. (15)   For non-commercial flying activity on individual non-complex aircraft or types for which a certificate of airworthiness or restricted certificate of airworthiness is not appropriate. —        For aircraft which cannot practically meet all applicable certification specifications, such as certain aircraft without TC-holder (‘generically termed orphan aircraft’) or aircraft which have been under national systems of Permit to Fly and have not been demonstrated to meet all applicable requirements. The option of a permit to fly for such an aircraft should only be used if a certificate of airworthiness or restricted certificate of airworthiness cannot be issued due to conditions which our outside the direct control of the aircraft owner, such as the absence of properly certified spare parts. (16)   Flying an aircraft for troubleshooting purposes or to check the functioning of one or more systems, parts or appliances after maintenance. — After maintenance, when the diagnosis of the functioning of an aircraft system needs to be made in flight and the design approval holder has not issued instructions to perform this diagnosis within the approved aircraft limitations, the flight should be conducted under a permit to fly. Further guidance is available in subparagraph (b) of GM M.A.301(i) of the AMC and GM to Part-M. Note: The above listing is of cases when a permit to fly MAY be issued; it does not mean that in the described cases a permit to fly MUST be issued. If other legal means are available to allow the intended flight(s), they can also be used. ##### GM 21.A.701(a) Permit to fly when a certificate of airworthiness or a restricted certificate of airworthiness is not appropriate *ED Decision 2025/016/R* A certificate of airworthiness or restricted category certificate of airworthiness may not be appropriate for an individual aircraft or aircraft type when it is not practicable to comply with the normal continued airworthiness requirements and the aircraft is to a design standard that is demonstrated to be capable of safe flight under defined conditions. Point [21.A.701](#_DxCrossRefBm485230871) identifies cases where the issuance of a (restricted) certificate of airworthiness may not be possible or appropriate and this GM provides further information and typical examples for clarification where appropriate: - Note: This list of examples is not exhaustive (1) Development: — testing of new aircraft or modifications — testing of new concepts of airframe, engine, propeller and equipment; — testing of new operating techniques; (2) Demonstration of compliance with regulations or certification specifications: — certification flight testing for type certification, supplemental type certificates, changes to type certificates or ETSO authorisation; (3) Design organisations or production organisations crew training: — Flights for training of crew that will perform design or production flight testing before the design approval or Certificate of Airworthiness (C of A) can be issued. (4) Production flight testing of new production aircraft: — For establishing conformity with the approved design, typically this would be the same program for a number of similar aircraft; (5) Flying aircraft under production between production facilities: — green aircraft ferry for follow on final production. (6) Flying the aircraft for customer acceptance: — Before the aircraft is sold and/or registered. (7) Delivering or exporting the aircraft: — Before the aircraft is registered in the State where the C of A will be issued. (8) Flying the aircraft for Authority acceptance: — In the case of inspection flight test by the authority before the C of A is issued. (9) Market survey, including customer’s crew training: — Flights for the purpose of conducting market survey, sales demonstrations and customer crew training with non type-certificated aircraft or aircraft for which conformity has not yet been established or for non-registered a/c and before the Certificate of Airworthiness is issued. (10) Exhibition and air show: — Flying the aircraft to an exhibition or show and participating to the exhibition or show before the design approval is issued or before conformity with the approved design has been shown. (11) Flying the aircraft to a location where maintenance or airworthiness review are to be performed, or to a place of storage: — Ferry flights in cases where maintenance is not performed in accordance with approved programmes, where an AD has not been complied with where certain equipment outside the Master Minimum Equipment List (MMEL) is unserviceable or when the aircraft has sustained damage beyond the applicable limits. (12) Flying an aircraft at a weight in excess of its maximum certificated take-off weight for flight beyond the normal range over water, or over land areas where adequate landing facilities or appropriate fuel is not available: — Oversees ferry flights with additional fuel capacity. (13) Record breaking, air racing or similar competition: — Training flight and positioning flight for this purpose are included (14) Flying aircraft meeting the applicable certification specifications before conformity to the applicable environmental protection requirements has been demonstrated: — Flying an aircraft which has been demonstrated to comply with all applicable certification specifications but not with the applicable environmental protection requirements. (15) For non-commercial flying activity on individual non-complex aircraft or types for which a certificate of airworthiness or restricted certificate of airworthiness is not appropriate. — For aircraft which cannot practically meet all applicable certification specifications, such as certain aircraft without TC-holder (‘generically termed orphan aircraft’) or aircraft which have been under national systems of Permit to Fly and have not been demonstrated to meet all applicable requirements. The option of a permit to fly for such an aircraft should only be used if a certificate of airworthiness or restricted certificate of airworthiness cannot be issued due to conditions which our outside the direct control of the aircraft owner, such as the absence of properly certified spare parts. (16) Flying an aircraft for troubleshooting purposes or to check the functioning of one or more systems, parts or appliances after maintenance. — After maintenance, when the diagnosis of the functioning of an aircraft system needs to be made in flight and the design approval holder has not issued instructions to perform this diagnosis within the approved aircraft limitations, the flight should be conducted under a permit to fly. Further guidance is available in subparagraph (b) of GM M.A.301(i) of the AMC and GM to Part-M. Note: The above listing is of cases when a permit to fly MAY be issued; it does not mean that in the described cases a permit to fly MUST be issued. If other legal means are available to allow the intended flight(s), they can also be used.