THE ‘A’ CERTIFICATE

(FIXED-WING)
The examination for an ‘A’ Certificate may be taken on application to any Registered Club Examiner or Chief Examiner. The candidate must successfully carry out the following flying test and reference to the Guidance Notes is very strongly recommended:

(a) Carry out pre-flight checks as required by the BMFA Safety Codes.

(b) Take off and complete a left (or right) hand circuit and overfly the take-off area.

(c) Fly a ‘figure of eight’ course with the cross-over point in front of the pilot, height to be constant.

(d) Fly a rectangular circuit and approach with appropriate use of the throttle and perform a landing on the designated landing area.

If the engine stops during the landing the model may be retrieved and the engine restarted to enable the remaining parts of the test to be completed.

(e) Take off and complete a left (or right) hand circuit and overfly the take-off area

(f) Fly a rectangular circuit at a constant height in the opposite direction to the landing circuit flown in (d).

(g) Perform a simulated deadstick landing with the engine at idle, beginning at a safe height (approx. 200 ft) heading into wind over the take-off area, the landing to be made in a safe manner on the designated landing area.

(h) Remove model and equipment from takeoff/landing area.

(i) Complete post-flight checks required by the BMFA Safety Codes.

All manoeuvres must be carried out in front of the pilot and, depending on the wind direction, (c), (d) and (f) may be flown as shown in the accompanying drawing.

The above schedule is treated as one test flight and must be completed in one attempt. Two attempts per examination will be allowed in any one day.

You must turn up for the test with a model that is capable of taking off on it s own undercarriage or from a dolly. However, if, in the opinion of the Examiner, the surface of the flying area is such that a rolling take-off would not be possible, hand launches may be permitted.
In addition to the flying schedule, the candidate must answer correctly a minimum of five questions on safety matters, based on the BMFA Safety Codes for General Flying and local flying rules.