Chain of Ownership

[fathom]

Though I'm quite a ways out from needing to register, I figure it's best to have my ducks in a row in advance. I purchased a Classic IV kit from a local gentleman who had done next to nothing with it for the past 10 years. He purchased is from the original owner who only installed part of the flight controls.

I have a bill of sale from the gentleman I bought the kit from, but recently found out that I should have a full chain of ownership for the kit. Looking as though that might be difficult to impossible to obtain a copy of the bill of sale between 1st/2nd owners, does anyone know my options? Been doing some digging and it has me slightly worried.

I plan to honestly disassemble anything that was done to the kit thus far and redo it with new hardware, basically starting from page 1 of the build manual. I have the original packing slips and no builders logs from what the 1st owner did.

Thanks for the help.
David

[Geowitz]

Click on the "FAA Letter" at the bottom of the link below. I had to include it for mine as I had a bill of sale from who I bought it from, but not from the original owner, or the sale to the second owner... Same scenario as you. I had no problems with registration what so ever.

Edit: With this letter and explanation you are kind of skipping over the second owner transaction as the intent of the FAA tracking ownership is more about the original producer of the kit than all the people who owned it.

http://www.kitfoxaircraft.com/index.php/bill-of-sale

[fathom]

Click on the "FAA Letter" at the bottom of the link below. I had to include it for mine as I had a bill of sale from who I bought it from, but not from the original owner, or the sale to the second owner... Same scenario as you. I had no problems with registration what so ever.

Edit: With this letter and explanation you are kind of skipping over the second owner transaction as the intent of the FAA tracking ownership is more about the original producer of the kit than all the people who owned it.

http://www.kitfoxaircraft.com/index.php/bill-of-sale

This is great, thank you for the assistance! I have the original buyer's name from all of the packaging, but nothing else. This letter seems like it should hopefully do the trick though, thanks again!

[Geowitz]

I can't remember, but I may have included a copy of the purchase invoice/packaging list from the original owner with my documentation to show it was a Skystar kit. Again, same scenario as you, but I honestly can't remember if I did this or not. I don't think it would hurt either way.

[jmodguy]

I have the same issue and asked Deb McBean at Oshkosh. She pointed out a form they have on the Kitfox website for download and told me they have never had an issue with registration using this form.
Note that this applies only to aircraft sold before Kitfox Aircraft LLC , i.e. Skystar or Denney.
http://www.kitfoxaircraft.com/index.php/bill-of-sale

[HighWing]

I went through this thought process when registering my current Model IV. It was originally purchased in 1992 from Denney Aerocraft and I was the second owner. I registered it as "Built From Miscellaneous Parts". Presto - N338S was mine. I was a bit concerned and had considered what I had contributed as upgrades and had prepared a list of my Mods, but there was no inquiry from the FAA - prompting the Presto above.

[Dave S]

If a person provides a reasonable explanation and a williness to work with them, the FAA registration folks will respond in a reasonable fashion.

Although my situation was a little different, I drafted and sent the letter below (minus personal information) with the registration application. Everything went through without a hitch with no delays.:)

What you can't do is say" I don't have a Bill Of Sale" and stop at that.

The Registration folks deal with this stuff all the time and it is not unique only to previous Kitfox models in the greater universe of aircraft registration.

John & Debra have done a great service by providing the copy of their letter for builders with Kits made before their tenure.

Here's mine......minus personal info
************************************************** ********************************************
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 10); }P.western { font-family: "Nimbus Roman No9 L", serif; font-size: 12pt; }P.cjk { font-family: "Bitstream Vera Sans"; font-size: 12pt; }P.ctl { font-family: "Luxi Sans"; font-size: 12pt; } U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Aviation Administration
Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center
FAA Aircraft Registry
P. O. Box 25504
Oklahoma City, OK 73125


Sir/Ms,


This letter is authored to explain the reason there is no Bill of Sale for the Aircraft I wish to Register. The aircraft was purchased as a complete kit from Skystar Aircraft Corporation of Caldwell, Idaho for delivery in December of YYYY. I paid in full for the entire kit prior to delivery. The firm filed bankruptcy on October 18, 2005, which is a matter of public record. At the time of the bankruptcy filing, I had received the basic airframe portion of the kit, but the firm had failed to deliver the majority of the high value second party components such as the engine, engine ring mount, landing gear, fuel system including fuel tanks and induction system, pilot and passenger harnesses, windshield, propeller, propeller spinner, certain wing parts, a number of smaller components for the fuselage; and, had delivered a number of incorrect and mis-marked parts which also needed to be replaced in order to complete the aircraft. Missing components accounted for approximately $18,000 of the purchase price of the kit.


In addition to failing to deliver substantial components for the kit which had been paid for in full, the firm refused to provide a bill of sale prior to the bankruptcy; and, securing one after the bankruptcy was not possible.


If you need detailed substantiation of the monies paid to the bankrupt firm; and, the monies paid after the bankruptcy to other parties to secure the missing components, I will be happy to provide copies of the financial transmittals, invoices and receipt documents for the materials and components and materials purchased in order to prove that I did, in fact, pay of the entire aircraft although I am lacking the bill of sale for the aforementioned reasons. If you need copies of any of the bankruptcy papers, I can provide those also.


Thank you for your help in getting my aircraft registered. The financial effects and delays in construction I experienced because of Skystar’s bankruptcy have not been easy; and, your accommodation of this registration request in light of the missing bill of sale is sincerely appreciated.


Sincerely,


XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
************************************************** **********

[jrevens]

Wow, Dave... what a lousy deal that was! It’s a testiment to your good character that you persevered and went on to complete your beautiful airplane after all of that. I’m glad you did.