Flight-Tested by a Legend: Dan Griffith and the Ellipse Ultralight
When the British Microlight Aircraft Association asked test pilot Dan Griffith to evaluate the Ellipse Ultralight for UK certification, we knew it was a milestone. What we didn’t realise was how much the experience itself would matter.
The tests took place in the Czech Republic at LKFR (Frýdlant nad Ostravicí) and LKMT (Ostrava Mošnov). Dan arrived with the reputation you’d expect, but what stood out was his calm precision and the quiet confidence of someone who’s spent a lifetime around aircraft.
Who Dan Griffith Is
Dan’s career spans the RAF, operational Harrier flying, and training at the USAF Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base. He then served at key UK flight test centres and later with the UK Civil Aviation Authority, overseeing certification across a wide range of aircraft.
He has flown hundreds of aircraft types and logged thousands of hours. In short, if it flies, he’s likely evaluated it. When someone with that background speaks about an aircraft, people listen.
What It Was Like to Watch Him Fly the Ellipse
Seeing Dan take the Ellipse into the air was memorable, not because of anything dramatic, but because of how he worked. He moved through his checks with total focus, spoke clearly, and carried himself with the ease of someone who still loves flying after thousands of hours.
As pilots, we pay attention to how other pilots think and move. With Dan, every small action showed experience you can’t fake. Yet what struck us most wasn’t his skill, but his presence. He was warm, curious, and open. He treated our team with genuine respect, and he made the whole process feel like shared work rather than an evaluation.
For us, meeting someone of his level wasn’t just interesting — it was deeply meaningful. You don’t often stand next to a pilot whose career shaped the standards we work under today. It’s impossible not to feel both admiration and quiet gratitude for the path he’s walked.
What His Evaluation Means for the Ellipse
Having Dan Griffith test the Ellipse is more than a box checked on a form. It’s recognition from someone who knows aircraft from the inside out. He doesn’t rely on reputation; he relies on the flight itself. He asks the right questions. He notices the small things. And when he gives feedback, it comes from a lifetime spent flying machines at every level of complexity.
His involvement strengthens confidence for future pilots, clubs, and regulators, but it also meant something personal to us. It affirmed that the work we put into the Ellipse stands up in the hands of someone who’s flown almost everything.
For builders and pilots alike, that’s a powerful moment.
A Closing Thank-You
This wasn’t just another test campaign. It felt like meeting a chapter of aviation history in person.
Dan, thank you for your precision and your professionalism, but also for the kindness you brought with you. Thank you for treating our aircraft with the same attention you’d give anything in your long career. And thank you for the way you spoke with us — pilot to pilot.
Your time with us didn’t only help move certification forward. It reminded us why we build aircraft in the first place: for people who love flying as much as we do.
The Ellipse Ultralight now carries a little of that meeting with it — touched by a pilot whose experience shaped the skies we fly in today. And for all of us who watched you work, it was a privilege we won’t forget.
