Some people in wheelchairs or similar people disabled by paraplegia or polio and people with other problems have proven in recent years that they can control an airplane despite their disability. The association Die Rolliflieger has given examples:
You control motor, glider and ultralight aircraft with German licenses. The pioneers in this field can be found in the
USA and France. In France, Switzerland, England and now also in Germany, paraplegics even climb into the sky on kites or paragliders.
Missing bodily functions can be compensated for with the help of modifications and additional equipment in the aircraft by other bodily functions and by suitable operating procedures. For some disabilities there are already solutions, for others solutions can still be developed. Every pilot (also for ultralight aircraft, not for kites, paragliders and ultralight gliders) needs a medical certificate in Germany. The fitness regulations first provide for disability in the case of paraplegia and other handicaps. Interested parties who applied for admission to training or to regain a pilots license with a physical disability were deprived of any hope of success by the Aviation Medical Committee at the Federal Minister of Transport, which is involved in problematic cases. Many have given up after years of unsuccessful efforts. But some were persistent, argued against the committees negative reports, were able to throw their own experience and expertise, suggestions for compensation measures and the activities of airmen in other countries into the balance - and finally succeeded: They received a special permit. New, since May 1st, 2003 also in Germany, uniformly formulated guidelines beyond Europe (JAR-FCL 3 German) open up new possibilities. For example, the possibility of compensating for physical handicaps through technical compensatory measures on the aircraft in many cases is manifested in the new guidelines. The possibility of practical tests in an airplane or flying with a safety pilot is also provided. Today it can be assumed that in many cases there will no longer be any significant resistance: If the operation of an aircraft with a handicap is only a technical problem, there is a chance of success.
Conversions that control aircraft have reached a certain standard Enable motorized, glider and microlight aircraft without using the legs:
In the
USA there are devices for aircraft of the Piper PA 28, PA 32,
etc., Cessna 172, 182 models that have been approved by the local authorities (FAA) for a price of a few hundred dollars , 177, 337 and others and Grumman Cheetah / Tiger, which can be assembled and disassembled in a few minutes without permanent changes to the aircraft. There are fixed, more complex fixtures for Beech series, as well as numerous individual modifications.
The validity of approvals for some hand controls that have been developed in
EU member states in recent years was taken over by the European aviation authority EASA all
EU member states expanded.
This concerns:
- conversions developed in France for aircraft of the Soccata / Morane series and their descendants as well as aircraft from the manufacturer Robin, intended for permanent installation
- the conversion kit for Piper aircraft developed in Germany of the series PA 28-140 to -181; This conversion kit can be installed in almost any of these aircraft (from year of construction 68) in about 20 minutes and quickly removed again, without permanent changes to the aircraft
- the variant of the American manual control approved in England for various PIPER aircraft (series of the PA 28 of the 60s and early 70s, PA 28 Arrow) and others.
The glider manufacturers Grob, Schleicher and Schempp-Hirth have developed and approved manual controls for their modern plastic two-seaters and others (permanent conversion, aircraft remains unrestricted for non-disabled pilots .
The Comco company offers simple conversion kits for manual controls for their UL models Fox 22 and C 42, the Sunny from Dewald light aircraft construction and the FK 9 Mark 3 from B&F Technik can also be supplied with manual controls from the factory. The same applies to the Sky Arrow from Italy and the Rans Coyote from the
USA. Other manufacturers such as B.
REMOS with the Mirage and Air light with the Wild Thing have signaled their readiness for conversion work. B. also for pilots with only one leg or one arm. ULs in particular are particularly popular and are often particularly easy to equip for use with restricted body functions.