Recent Kitfox Purchase, Looking for guidance on getting it ready and legal to fly

[desertdave]

It does, can I use this serial number to get a copy of the air worthiness certificate from the FAA?

Call and ask but why would you need it?

[TravisGillin]

Call and ask but why would you need it?

I don’t know. I’m new to this but I guess I had assumed it would be needed to register the aircraft. Maybe all I need to do is register the tail number into my name and have an A&P do a full blown safety inspection and start maintenance log books from scratch?

[avidflyer]

FAA requires an unbroken chain of ownership. In other words, the person who's name is on the registration would have to sign an FAA bill of sale to the new owner. If you bought it from the widow if there was one, she can fill out an Heir at law form, get it notorized and use that form to claim ownership that would give her the right to sell it to you. I went through this a few years ago. Not that hard in my case, once I understood what the FAA wanted. If I had the N # I would do some looking at websites that may shed some light on this plane. JImChuk

[TravisGillin]

The tail number is 322EE. Then my biggest problem is I don’t have chain of ownership. Looks like the registration was canceled in 2015 and I found the gentleman’s, who’s name was on the registration, obituary with some googling. I was unable to find any information on a widow. Are there any FAA contingency’s for this type of situation?

[avidflyer]

Can you track down the owners between the registered owner and the guy you bought it from? That's the first thing I would do now. Looks like the registration eventually expired when it was not renewed every three years. JImChuk

[TravisGillin]

So I did some digging and actually was able to get in contact with the individual who purchased the airplane from an estate sale of the individual who purchased the airplane from the original owner/builder (In wrecked form). I'm glad I was able to get hold of him because the history here is strange. It turns out that the airplane I actually own is 226WR (Serial number 226 Kitfox I). 322EE was a parts donor for 226WR which was in a wreck that ruined the air frame and some other stuff. 322EE was built but for some reason was never air worthy. It all makes more sense now because I had received a binder full of paperwork (Air worthiness cert, bill of sale with the purchaser blank, data plate, etc) for a 226WR Kitfox I which I had assumed was some type of mistake where things got switched up along the line. It looks like the project was bought and sold several times before it got to me. I guess most all of the hard work was done to make one good airplane between the too and possibly someone before me was flying it illegally because the repaired 226WR was never re-registered. It looks like everything I have here is original 226WR except for the air frame, a wing, and possibly some control surfaces and I think whoever did the work to make one good airplane from parts intended to use 322EE as the tail number, I'll probably want my own tail number... I think I now have everything I need to get this aircraft all squared away as far as paperwork goes. I was starting to think this thing was in FAA "Airplane Purgatory"

[Eric Page]

I'm no expert on aircraft certification and registration, but I see two potential problems with your narrative.

First, it sounds like the airplane you own has the airframe from 322EE and a mixture of parts from that airplane and from 226WR. If so, then I think you own the aircraft previously registered as 322EE, not 226WR. It's the airframe that carries the serial number; no other parts matter. Be sure that your bill of sale and registration documents jive with the actual serial number on the airframe (assuming that you can find it).

Second, while it's good that you found a previous owner who knows the plane's story, you must be able to show, on paper, an unbroken chain of ownership from the factory to you, for the aircraft bearing the serial number that you want to register. This means signed and notarized documents.

Do yourself a favor and contact the FAA Aircraft Registration Branch, explain the situation and ask them what paperwork you'll need to provide in order to re-register the aircraft. They're the people you have to satisfy, and no amount of advice from jailhouse lawyers on an internet forum will change that!