On 2008-02-27, Bertie the Bunyip wrote:
A-ha.. I'd say there would be a market for that. Private flying is nutso
expensive in Europe.

The other reason is that the N-reg is falling out of favour: aircraft
with the N reg are finding themselves unwelcome in more places these
days, especially in Africa and the middle East. So jet owners not US
based but who used the N reg are starting to convert.

If you have a Manx based plane you can register it whatever it is, so
long as it has a CofA. I went to the meeting they had at Ronaldsway. I
had to pinch myself to convince myself I wasn't dreaming - aviation
regulators who were actually trying to make things easier, and make
things happen, and make things less expensive. For example, *ALL* of my
FAA ratings are valid in M-reg planes, all I have to do is fill out a
form and that's it. In Europe, at most your basic day VFR PPL is all
you'll get from a foreign license (UK and Eire), and most of Europe not
even that - you have to take a bunch of tests to validate a foreign
license. The guy who was in charge of airworthiness and maintenance was
extremely enthusiastic - not some bureaucrat, but someone who loved
aviation, breathed aviation, understood things like wooden planes and
the like. What a refreshing change!

As for independence, the Isle of Man has quite a bit of it already - I
have a Manx passport, for instance. We raise our own taxes, make our own
legislation etc., print our own banknotes, but it's still British territory.

They have another cool rule. No speed limits except in towns.
Nutcase bikers form all over converge on the place just to drive as fast
as they can.

Don't forget the Isle of Man TT. My Dad still races sidecars in that. A
37 3/4 mile long race circuit, with races from 3 to 6 laps. Also, the
Isle of Man Grand Prix (same circuit), the Southern 100 (on the Billown
circuit in the south, 4 and a bit miles per lap) and the Jurby Road Race
in the north.

Last year was the 100th anniversary of the TT races, we got something
like 25000 bikes come over, and something like 50,000 visitors (our
normal population is 80,000).

--
From the sunny Isle of Man.
Yes, the Reply-To email address is valid.