Wondering what aircraft documents you need before every flight, this post has everything you need.
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To be honest, I did not pay particular attention to the aircraft documents during my PPL training beyond the ‘just make sure they are in the back!’ passing comment from an instructor.
It was only once I started hour building and was trying to get myself into the best shape for my CPL course that I started taking aircraft documentation seriously.
In this blog post, I want to share the key documents you need to check and carry with you for every flight!
This post was only possible thanks to ANT Flight Training in Blackpool. Thanks to them I managed to complete my modular pilot training from zero to frozen ATPL in a record 12 months. Make sure you check ANT out for PPL, Hour Building, IMC rating and Night Rating!
DISCLAIMER: THIS POST IS NOT MEANT TO REPLACE OFFICIAL SOURCES OF LEGAL DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED FOR FLIGHT. EU OPS 1 has a full list of documents to be carried.
Quick links to what is in this post:
What aircraft documents need to be carried onboard?
- Certificate of Registration (non expiring)
- Certificate of Airworthiness (valid unless revoked)
- Airworthiness Review Certificate (1-year validity)
- Noise Certificate
- Aircraft Radio Licence
- Mass and balance
- Certificate of Insurance
#1. Certificate of Registration (non expiring)
The Certificate of Registration remains valid provided no details change
#2. Certificate of Airworthiness (valid unless revoked)
The Certificate of Airworthiness remains valid unless revoked.
#3. Airworthiness Review Certificate (1-year validity)
The Airworthiness Review Certificate has 1 year validity.
#4. Noise Certificate
#5. Aircraft Radio Licence
The Aircraft Radio Licence covers the transponder, DME & VHF radios. Provided there are no changes, then all that is required is a fee payable each year.
#6. Mass and Balance
#7. Certificate of Insurance (1 year validity)
The certificate of insurance is valid for 1 year.
If you have any questions about aircraft documents, or if I have missed anything, please leave a comment in the section below. I would love to hear from you!
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Kudzi Chikohora is a B737 captain with over 3,000 hours of flying in Europe. He holds a Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, is a chartered engineer, and is a member of the Royal Aeronautical Society.
Kudzi completed his pilot training via the self-funded modular pilot training route and created kcthepilot.com to share pilot training and aviation content.
Hi, you mention that aircraft insurance is required to be carried, is this just on commercial flights as The Air Navigation order 2016 does not state this as a required doc
Hi Keith – good question. I had to go back and dig.
Looking at the regs in the Civil Aviation (Insurance) Regulation 2005- i.e where does it ask for insurance certificate to be carried – wording says ‘insurance certificate or any other evidence of insurance’.
I guess the easiest way to satisfy a CAA inspector if there was a spot check is to just have the insurance certificate’s within the aircraft documents?
Link to regs below
https://www.caa.co.uk/media/t3ae5cjs/law-2005_1089-15-jan-2021-cap2073a00.pdf