Airwork operations
Commercial operations with Sailplanes Reg 2018/1976
From 09 July 2019 the commercial operation of sailplanes shall be carried out in accordance with the requirements of Regulation (EU) 2018/1976 of 14 December.
‘Commercial transaction’ means in accordance with Article 2 Definitions of Regulation (EU) 2018/1976:
The operation as a public service of a sailplane for remuneration or any other form of economic consideration, or, in the case of a service not open to the public, where it is carried out by contract between an operator and a customer, the latter having no control over the operator.
Conducting commercial operations with sailplanes requires the submission of a declaration of compliance. To this end, the operator, once it complies with the applicable requirements, should submit a declaration of compliance as referred to in Article 3(2) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1976 of 14 December, which shall include the general information of the operator, the aircraft it will use and the type of operations to be performed.
The following shall not be considered commercial operations with sailplanes:
Those carried out by design or production organisations which comply with Articles 8 and 9 respectively of Commission Regulation (EU) No 748/2012 and which operate the sailplane, within the scope of its powers, for the purpose of introducing or modifying types of sailplanes.
Cost-sharing operations, provided that the direct costs of the glider’s flight and a proportionate contribution to the annual costs of storage, insurance and maintenance of the sailplane are shared by all occupants of the aircraft;
Competition flights or exhibition flights, provided that the remuneration or any other financial consideration for such flights is limited to the compensation for the direct costs of the glider’s flight and to a contribution proportionate to the annual costs of storage, insurance and maintenance of the sailplane, and any prizes obtained are not of a value greater than that specified by the competent authority;
Initiation flights, paratrooper launch flights, sailplane towing or aerobatic flights performed either by a training body having its principal place of business in a Member State and covered by Article 10a of Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011, or by a body set up for the purpose of promoting air sports or recreational aviation, provided that the sailplane is operated by the body under ownership or unmanned lease, that the flight does not generate profits distributed outside the body and that such flights represent only a marginal activity of the agency;
Training flights, carried out by a training body having its principal place of business in a Member State and covered by Article 10a of Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011.
This declaration will allow commercial operations with sailplanes in the other Member States, without the need for additional authorisations.
Submission of the declaration of compliance for commercial operations with sailplanes.
Regulation applicable to the use of sailplanes: Regulation (EU) 2018/1976
Applicable regulations and acceptable means of compliance
The conduct of commercial operations with sailplanes is regulated by Article 3, Air Operations, of Regulation (EU) 2018/1976 of 14 December, establishing the requirements for both commercial and non-commercial operations, in Annex II, Air operations with sailplanes.
In the case of commercial transactions, there is an obligation to submit a declaration of compliance that enables such operations to be carried out.
Annex II sets out the aerial requirements with sailplanes [PARTE ODS], consisting of 5 Subparts:
Subpart GEN — General Requirements
Subpart OP — Operational Procedures
Subpart POL — Operational Behaviour and Limitations
Subpart IDE — Instruments, Data and Equipment
Subpart DEC — Declaration
The regulation contains the applicable requirements and is available in Spanish. You can consult the regulation by clicking here.
Acceptable means of compliance (AMC) and guidance material (GM) are published in English only and can be consulted by clicking here.
Informative triptych on the new regulation applicable to commercial operations with sailplanes
Procedure to qualify as a commercial operator
In order to be able to conduct commercial operations with sailplanes, Article 3(2) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1976 requires the operator to submit a declaration of compliance once the requirements are met. Section DEC of Annex II (SAO Party) to Commission Regulation (EU) 2018/395 of 13 March determines the conditions applicable to the submission of the declaration as well as to the amendment of the information contained therein. The declaration shall contain:
The name of the operator;
The place where the operator has its principal place of business;
The operator’s contact details;
The date of commencement of the operation and, where applicable, the date of entry into force of the change of an existing declaration;
For all sailplanes used for commercial operation, type of glider, registration, main base, type of operation and organisation for continuing airworthiness management.
The format in which the declaration is to be submitted is set out in the Appendix to Regulation (EU) 2018/1976.
The declaration must be submitted before the start of operations and enables the operator to carry out commercial operations across Europe.
Any changes to the information contained in the declaration (e.g. the inclusion of a new aircraft, or the conduct of a new operation) should be communicated to the State Aviation Safety Agency by amending the submitted declaration.
The cessation of operations must also be reported.
You can submit the declaration of compliance through the Electronic Office of AESA
