Air Worthiness

[Me109dvr]

As a new owner I thought I might share my experience at FSDO - Dallas. As my story begins, I submitted my registration in Feburary and was issued a 120 day letter which would allow me to fly while my application was being processed. At the end of June, I begain calling Oklahoma City to enquire about the status of new registration card and was told it would be sent out shortly. In October, I finally received the card. At that time I had an condition inspection and was surprised to learn that I did not have the Experimental Operating Limitations along with the airworthiness certificate. Oops! I called in to FSDO and scheduled an appointment. I was concerned that a visit with the FAA would be like an IRS audit, questions in a darken roon with only the single bulb lamp to provide light in my eyes as not to make out the other in the room. I was however, suprised and found the folks there to be help helpful? I walked away with phase1 and phase 2 limitations. Phase 1: 5 hours of test flight within 50 miles of my home base. I did not understand this one because I bought the airplane on a ready to fly basis. Why did it need another 5 hours of test flights? The answer was "to build your confidence in the airplane"! Oh! Well! I guess someone is looking out for me. Phase two is of course, the same as everyone else, with the exception of the airplane had been in the aerobatic category before and I was asked to re-apply for another special airworthiness certificate when I had an aerobatic sign-off. I guess this should serve as a cautionary tale for anyone who is looking to buy an experimental. Perhaps the moral to this story is to verify you have an necessary paperwork at the time of purchase.
As well as, realize the paperwork portion of your dream of owning your own airplane may not go as fast as you would like.

 

[phzabriskie]

Thanks p47dvr , I think most of us who are building forget that meeting Uncle Sam is that last task we have to accomplish and it probably wont be as timely as we would wish.
-Pete

 

[splischke]

p47dvr,

This may or may not have helped you but I want to toss this information out for others that are reading this thread.

Before purchasing any aircraft, if time allows always purchase the records from the FAA's Aircraft Registration Branch. It costs just $10 for the CD and usually takes less than 7 days to receive it. The CD can contain a wealth of information about an aircraft. In fact, I recommend that all aircraft owners obtain the CD every few years for review and to file with your paper records. And no, I'm not getting a kick-back from the FAA

http://162.58.35.241/e.gov/ND/AirRecordsND.asp

-Scott

 

[Me109dvr]

I had no idea what I was doing and no knowledge of this web site. I was only armed with two web sites that would allow me to check on any accidents and registration. Though I am not a builder, all builders and buyers out there should take heed and ensure that they reasearch all FAA requirements prior to completing the purchas and project completion. Hopefully that reasearch will allow everyone the quickest route to achive what we have looked for the most - flying.

www.myairplane.com - Check for accidents. Click on "Aircraft BG Investigation"

http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/ - Click on "N-Number"

Don