Placement of Placards

[Dorsal]

Down to the final details which include placement of the "EXPERIMENTAL" labels and the Data plate. Given these are fabric planes what constitutes a good permanent exterior location for the Data plate? or have some put it on the inside? and are there good options other than below the doors for the Experimental sticker?
Just looking for ideas, all input appreciated.

[DesertFox4]

Dorsal, my D.A.R. at inspection allowed mine (data plate)to go on the aluminum triangular plate I installed just behind the pilots left shoulder that covers up the hole where my left flapperon push pull tube comes up and connects to the flapperon horn. He said it was readable from the outside through my little triangle rear window. His suggestion actually as I left mine off for his input. Seems you can find them in many different locations on a Kitfox. I've seen some on the inside of the firewall behind the rudder pedals. Not very readable from the outside.

The same D.A.R. made me highlight my painted on "experimental" signs below my doors on my lower fuselage so he could read it from I believe he said either 100' or 200' away. Can't really remember now. Never heard of that requirement before but he had the authority to sign off my Kitfox so I complied. Go figure.

[cap01]

i made up a backing plate for the data plate and put it on the inside of the fabric and pop riveted them together below the left horizontal stab and the experimental went on the doors .
getting close , bet your getting anxious

[rwaltman]

In my KF it is on the left side of the fuselage, beneath the horizontal stabilizer.
I don't think it can be inside the airplane:

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CFR 45.11: Subpart B—Identification of Aircraft and Related Products
§ 45.11 General.
(a) Aircraft and aircraft engines. Aircraft covered under §21.182 of this chapter must be identified, ... by means of a fireproof plate that has the information specified in §45.13 of this part marked on it by etching, stamping, engraving, or other approved method of fireproof marking. The identification plate for aircraft must be secured in such a manner that it will not likely be defaced or removed during normal service, or lost or destroyed in an accident. Except as provided in paragraphs (c), (d), and (e) of this section, the aircraft identification plate must be secured to the aircraft fuselage exterior so that it is legible to a person on the ground, and must be either adjacent to and aft of the rear-most entrance door or on the fuselage surface near the tail surfaces ..."
--------------------

Roberto Waltman

[Dorsal]

Thanks for the replies, I realize it should be on the outside of the plane (though I have seen some experimentals with it on the inside) but was not sure how to attach to fabric. Didn't think of backing it with another piece of AL, good idea.

[cap01]

the other kitfox that im in the hangar with has been flying since 2002 with the data plate installed with the metal backup with no problems . i installed my data plate there and in that manor since i was having the same dar look at mine that looked at that one . its a little tight getting an arm in there but can be done . i had an inspection ring installed onthe other side but didnt want to cut it open so i did the reach around . i ended up cutting it open anyway later to change the tailwheel spring bolt.

[hansedj]

Bought 2 one to back it up on the inside of fabric, Put the expermental inside behind our head,thats is where John told me to put it and our dar had no problem with it.

[cap01]

wish id known about installing the experimental placard in the behind the head location . now that the weather gets nicer and ill be able to fly without the doors . what will i do ?

[Dorsal]

Thanks for posting pics, very helpful. I like the much smaller data plate, the one that came with my kit is a bit large.

[Dorsal]

Ran across this tid-bit in an article called "Tales from the DAR side"

"There are only three items of information required: 1) builder name, 2) aircraft model designation, and 3) aircraft serial number. That’s it! No other information is required or desired. Even if the data plate you purchase has room for more, I suggest you only mark these three items. This way, the data plate will always be correct and will not include any information that’s out of date or no longer applicable."

Going to get a smaller data plate

[Dave S]

Hi guys,

Ours ended up under the HS like Chuck & DJ, with a backing plate on the other side of the fabric.

One addition on ours is this; regarding the little quote..."....or lost or destroyed in an accident...."........ A small metal strap which is riveted through the backing plate on both ends and looping around a fuselage tube. Apparently the issue is the authorities want to be able to figure out who it used to be in the event of a complete smoking hole.......don't know if all DARs would expect this or not - I am thinking there are degrees of regulatory discretion which occur on this and other issues.

One little point - I made the mistake of having "first name - last name" the plate while my registration had "last name - first name" - I was advised they had to be identical and it is easier to change the plate than the registration - make sure you have that right so you don't have to drill SS rivets out of the plates over fabric.....


Sincerely

Dave S

[Dorsal]

Good tip Dave, thanks (given many view my last name and first name as interchangeable )

[cap01]

you might check with your dar and see exactly what he requires on the data plate . the data plate info was a big deal with the one that looked at mine . all that he required was make , model and sn . the make and model have to be exactly as it is on the registration . i had a little problem with that , since i am the fourth owner of the kit . the first owner had already gotten the registration and had his name put on it as the manufacture , therefore the make on the data plate is his name and the model is a kitfox IV . not a big deal , just getting it sorted out was , but thats another story

[Dorsal]

For what it is worth I contacted Aircraft Engravers in CT, called them on a Wednesday, emailed my data and had a beautiful small plate in the mail on Thursday with all my info on it. It does not show on their website but they have a nice plate with just the three fields required for a data plate.
Great service, nice people.

Also for those who have the situation similar to CAP01 you can retract a registration and change the builder for a plane that was registered "prematurely" for which no airworthiness had been done.