S.I. No. 68/1928 - Air Navigation (No. 1.) Regulations, 1928.

STATUTORY RULES AND ORDERS. 1928. No. 68.

AIR NAVIGATION (No. 1.) REGULATIONS, 1928.

WHEREAS it is enacted by section 1 of the Air Navigation Act, 1920, as adapted by the Adaptation of Enactments Act, 1922 (No. 2 of 1922), that the Governor-General of the Irish Free State, on the advice of the Executive Council, may make such orders as appear to him necessary for carrying out the Convention relating to the regulation of aerial navigation done at Paris on the 13th day of October, 1919 (in that Act and in these regulations referred to as the Convention), and for giving effect thereto or to any of the provisions thereof, or to any amendment which may be made under article thirty-four thereof :

AND WHEREAS the regulations hereinafter appearing are necessary for carrying out the Convention and for giving effect thereto in Saorstát Eireann :

NOW, I, JAMES McNEILL, Governor-General of the Irish Free State, acting on the advice of the Executive Council and by virtue of the powers conferred on me by section 1 of the Air Navigation Act, 1920, as adapted by the Adaptation of Enactments Act, 1922 (No. 2 of 1922), and of every and any other power me in this behalf enabling, do hereby make the following regulations :—

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1. These regulations may be cited for all purposes as the Air Navigation (No. 1) Regulations, 1928.

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2. The Interpretation Act, 1889, applies to the interpretation of these regulations in like manner as it applies to an Act of the Oireachtas passed before the 1st day of January, 1924.

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3. In these regulations—

the word " Minister " means the Minister for Industry and Commerce ;

the word " aircraft " includes all balloons whether fixed or free, kites, airships, and flying machines ;

the expression " flying machine " includes all aeroplanes, seaplanes, flying boats, or other aircraft heavier than air and having means of propulsion ;

the word "airship" means an aircraft using gas lighter than air as a means of support and having means of propulsion ;

the word " balloon " either fixed or free means an aircraft using gas lighter than air as a means of support and having no means of propulsion.

4 Nationality and registration marks.

4. (1) The nationality marks of every aircraft registered in Saorstát Eireann shall be the capital letters E.I. in Roman characters

(2) The registration marks for every aircraft registered in Saorstát Eireann shall be all three letter combinations in Roman characters.

5 Registration of aircraft.

5. (1) An aircraft shall not be registered in Saorstát Eireann unless it is wholly owned either by

(a) citizens of Saorstát Eireann, or

(b) a company registered and having its principal place of business in Saorstát Eireann whereof the chairman and not less than two-thirds of the directors are citizens of the Irish Free State.

(2) No aircraft shall be registered in Saorstát Eireann which is validly registered in any other State.

6 Certificates of registration.

6. (1) The Minister upon an application in writing being made to him by the owner of any aircraft and upon payment by such owner of a fee of one guinea, may grant to such owner a certificate (in these regulations referred to as a certificate of registration) to the effect that such aircraft is registered under these regulations.

(2) Before granting a certificate of registration in respect of any aircraft to which an application for such certificate made under these regulations relates, the Minister may require the owner of such aircraft to make a declaration verifying the truth of the facts set out in such application.

(3) The provisions of the Statutory Declarations Act, 1835, shall apply to every declaration made under this paragraph by the owner of any aircraft in like manner as those provisions apply to a declaration made by virtue of the said Act.

7 Registration marks.

7. The Minister shall assign registration marks to every aircraft registered in Saorstát Eireann.

8 Change of ownership.

8. (1) Where any change takes place in the ownership of any registered aircraft, or any such aircraft ceases to be owned wholly by persons or by a company fulfilling the conditions of regulation No. 5 of these regulations, then and in every such case the registered owner of such aircraft shall forthwith notify the Minister of such change of ownership or that such aircraft has ceased to be so owned as aforesaid (as the case may be).

(2) Where any such change in or cesser of the ownership of a registered aircraft takes place, the registration thereof and the certificate of registration relating thereto shall lapse as on and from the date of such change or such cesser.

9 Destruction, etc., of aircraft.

9. (1) The registered owner of any aircraft which is destroyed, or which is permanently withdrawn from use, shall forthwith upon such destruction or such permanent withdrawal from use, notify the Minister thereof.

(2) The registration of and the certificate of registration relating to any registered aircraft which is destroyed or permanently withdrawn from use shall lapse forthwith upon such destruction or such withdrawal.

10 Aircraft register.

10. The Minister shall keep or cause to be kept a register of aircraft registered in Saorstát Eireann, and the said register shall be open to inspection at such times and subject to such conditions as the Minister may prescribe.

11 Affixing of marks.

11. (1) Every registered aircraft shall carry affixed to the car or basket, or to the fuselage thereof, in a conspicuous position, a metal plate having inscribed thereon—

(a) the name and address of the owner of such aircraft, and

(b) the nationality mark and the registration mark thereof.

(2) In addition to the inscription of the nationality mark and the registration mark referred to in the preceding paragraph, every registered aircraft shall bear the nationality mark and the registration mark painted in black on a white ground in the manner hereinafter mentioned, that is to say :—

(a) In the case of flying machines the marks shall be painted once on the lower surface of the lower main planes, and once on the upper surface of the top main planes, the top of the letters being towards the leading edge. The marks shall also be painted along each side of the fuselage between the main planes and the tail planes. In the case of a flying machine which is not provided with a fuselage, the marks shall be painted on the nacelle. The nationality mark shall also be painted on the port and starboard sides of the lower surface of the lowest tail planes or elevators and also on the upper surface of the top tail planes or elevators, whichever is the larger. It shall also be painted on both sides of the rudder, or on the outer sides of the outer rudders if more than one is fitted. The height of the marks on the main planes and tail planes respectively shall be equal to four-fifths of the chord, and in the case of the rudder, shall be as large as possible. The height of the marks on the fuselage or the nacelle (as the case may be) shall be equal to four-fifths of the depth of the narrowest part of the portion of the fuselage or nacelle on which the marks are painted.

(b) In the case of airships the marks shall be painted near the maximum cross section on both sides and on the upper surface, equidistant from the letters on the sides. The side marks shall be visible both from the sides and the ground. The nationality mark shall also be painted on the port and starboard sides of the lower surface of the lowest tail planes or elevators and also on the upper surface of the top tail planes or elevators, whichever is the larger. It shall also be painted on both sides of the rudder, or on the outer sides of the outer rudders if more than one rudder is fitted. The nationality marks painted on the tail plane shall be equal in height to four-fifths of the chord of the tail plane, and in the case of the rudder shall be as large as possible. The height of the other marks shall be equal to at least one-twelfth of the circumference of the maximum transverse cross-section of the airship.

(c) In the case of balloons the marks shall be painted twice near the maximum horizontal circumference as far as possible from one another. The side marks shall be visible both from the sides and the ground. The nationality mark shall be painted on the basket. The height of the nationality mark shall be equal to four-fifths of the height of the basket, and the height of the other marks shall be equal to at least one-twelfth of the circumference of the balloon.

(3) The registration mark on every registered aircraft other than passenger or goods aircraft or aircraft belonging to or exclusively employed in the service of the State shall be underlined with a black line.

(4) The letters of the nationality mark and the letters of the registration mark need not in the case of any aircraft exceed eight feet in height.

(5) The side letters shall be painted in black block type and shall be uniform in shape and size, the width of each letter being two-thirds of its height and the thickness of each letter being one-sixth of its height. A space equal to half the width of the letters shall be left between each letter and the next in the group of which registration mark is composed.

(6) Where the nationality mark and the registration mark appear together on any aircraft a hyphen of a length equal to the width of one of the letters shall be painted in black between the nationality mark and the registration mark.

(7) The thickness of the black line underlining any letter which is by these regulations required to be underlined shall be equal to the thickness of the letter underlined, and the space between the bottom of such letter and the line shall be equal to the thickness of the line.

(8) The nationality mark and the registration mark shall, having regard to the constructional features of the aircraft, be displayed to the best possible advantage, and the said marks shall be kept clean and otherwise so as to be visible and readily distinguishable.

12 Issue and validation of certificates of air-worthiness.

12. (1) The Minister may issue certificates of airworthiness in respect of any aircraft which is registered in Saorstát Eireann.

(2) Where any aircraft in respect of which a certificate of air-worthiness has been issued by the competent authority in any foreign State is registered in Saorstát Eireann, and such certificate is at the time of such registration or was immediately prior to that time valid in such foreign State, the Minister may, subject to such conditions and limitations as he thinks fit to impose and for such period as he shall determine, recognise such certificate for the purposes of these regulations as if it were a certificate of airworthiness issued by him hereunder.

JAMES McNEILL,

Governor-General.

DUBLIN.

This 5th day of October, 1928.