Have ever wondered why some corn kernels pop and others don’t?

It is all about water content. Kernels pop because they have a membrane or pericarp that holds in water. When heated the kernel’s water turns to steam that explodes through the pericarp. Corn that has dried out – cracking the membrane – does not pop*.

But like many things in life, working out which off-shore aircraft registry will pop (or not) is much harder.

Until 2007, when the Isle of Man aircraft registry launched, it was really all about the ABCs – Aruba, Bermuda and the Cayman Islands – and these all continue to do well.

The Isle of Man is another that has clearly been a success. On March 3 it hit its 1,000th aircraft registration. Analysis by The Sovereign Group, shows that the register has 432 aircraft on it at the moment including 313 corporate jets.

San Marino, which launched in 2012, is also really booming, particularly with operators. It now has more than 200 aircraft on its registry and 13 companies have San Marino Aircraft Operator Certificates. The latest to get one was Luxaviation.

In contrast, the Jersey register has not been a great success.

Originally, the registry was to have been a joint effort between Guernsey and Jersey, but a fallout during the planning stages pushed the two apart.

Guernsey then launched its own 2-register in December 2013. Jersey eventually followed in November 2015 with its ZJ- register. And while Guernsey’s register began to grow, Jersey’s struggled.

There are currently around 20 2-reg private jets, and a higher number of commercial aircraft registered in Guernsey.

Jersey has only ever had one helicopter and one Cessna Citation CJ4 on its register.

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