Members Only

The Europa Homebuilt kit aircraft with its modern design, silenced engines and efficient propellers has proven to be one of the quietest aircraft in operation today. Indeed, much of this can be attributed to the modern Rotax 912/912S and 914 series engines which, together with the Jabiru and BMW conversions, all utilise highly efficient silencers and exhaust systems.

For several years many countries around Europe having carried out noise tests of light aircraft following official ICAO standards in Annex 16, Chapters 6 and 10. Countries such as Switzerland, Germany and Austria require noise measurements as part of the flight testing regime for all light aircraft, including Homebuilt (or Experimental) aircraft and must issue noise certificates.

In the United Kingdom noise testing is carried out on Light aircraft by the CAA, and noise certificates issued, but it is not a mandatory requirement for Homebuilt aircraft. And so there is no requirement in the UK, and also several other EU countries, for Homebuilts to be issued with a noise certificate.

Unfortunately though there now exists a situation in certain EU countries where the absence of a noise certificate for foreign Homebuilts is viewed as an omission in documentation and those aircraft are being financially penalised in higher landing charges when using certain airfields.

Europa Homebuilt aircraft are all built from the same type of kit, but with slightly different variations in MAUW, undercarriage and engine/prop configuration: However, all the testing carried out has shown that Europas have been significantly under present ICAO Chapter 10 limits.

The Europa Club has asked various Members from around the EU, where noise tests are mandatory, if they could provide details of their tests and results. Thanks to the generosity of these Members, and several non-Member Europa owners, the Club now has a significant amount of noise test data for all Rotax-engined combinations together with several types of propellers.

This test data is the official results from flight tests carried out by the Swiss Authorities, German OUV, Danish and Netherland CAAs, together with independent environmental consultants in the UK, and is the same data that official Aviation Authorities' noise certificates are based on.

As a service to Members the Europa Club will issue Noise certificates where requested, and appropriate, based on these official noise test results: at the moment though, we only have test data for Rotax-engined combinations and cannot issue certificates for Europas with different engines.

We will not be issuing certificates to Europas registered in Countries that require mandatory noise tests by their Civil Aviation Authorities.
All certificates will be individually recorded and their validity displayed on the Europa Club website: www.europaclub.org.uk/noise
To request a Club noise certificate please click here to contact the Committee member dealing with noise certificates. Make the Subject line "Noise request for Europa Club Member" and include the following details: Owner name (main contact if a group), registration, kit number, engine type, propeller type, silencer type if not factory-supplied, MTOW.
For any queries on noise certificates please click here to contact the Committee member dealing with noise certificates
The certificates are only valid for current Europa Club Members
The certificates are only valid for the Europa engine/propeller specified
The Club noise certificates have not been issued by or through any Civil Aviation Authority – however, they are based on identical noise test data to identical specified limits

Further information on noise flight testing can be found at:

Experimental Aviation Society of Switzerland website: http://www.experimental.ch/content/view/93/64/

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This page last updated by Rowland Carson 2009-12-16