Re-Certify?

[Luvn737s]

What provisions in the regs (or FSDO policy) are there for recertifying an airplane that was previously built by re-building it and claiming yourself as "builder"?

If you prepared a "dissassembly log" as well as an assembly log has it been proven that you performed 51% of the work necessary to return a previously un-airworthy aircraft (perhaps even surrendering the Airworthiness Certificate) to airworthy status. Does engine assembly count towards the 51%?

I would like to find a Kitfox that I could re-build only if by rebuilding it I could obtain Repairman Certificate privileges.

Has anyone run into problems finding an A&P willing to perform maintenance/inspections on a Kitfox?

[DesertFox4]

No. We have an A & P here in Phoenix that is very familiar with Kitfox's.

[Luvn737s]

I guess I was wondering if A&P's in general would be hesitant to sign off on work on an airplane that could be modified by the owner after the inspection, and which has no manufacturer per se to shoulder any of the liability if there was an incident related to structural integrity. Are the logbook entry requirements for experimentals the same as type-certificated aircraft? Is there any formal requirement for a designer to send out service bulletins or the equivalent of airworthiness directives on their experimental designs?

I am asking all this in order to make as much an apples-to-apples comparison between ownership costs for an experimental versus a factory-built airplane. There are some re-sale issues in experimentals that should be outweighed by the lower ongoing operating and maintenance costs, plus the inability to buy something with equivalent performance for the price in the spam-can world.

That squeaking you hear is my wallet opening!

[Dave S]

Randy,

A couple thoughts on your query.

First - Experimental homebuilt as a certification classification is not the same as for a type certificated airplane - it has to be certified but it is certified to a different standard. - Just mentioning this because if a person thinks too much in terms of them being a parallel universe - it is easy to get mislead as to what it actually means and what processes you need to accomplish. Exp vs "normal" is more of an apples to avacados deal than an apples to apple deal.

I would say your best bet in getting the recertification question answered accurately would be to contact your MIDO (Manufacturing Inspection District Office - often co-located with FSDO but it is different people) here is the web location to find the nearest one:

http://www.faa.gov/aircraft/air_cert...e_office/mido/

I found the MIDO extremely helpful - these are the guys that do the certification - of everything - even had a handy packet of info for a prospective homebuilder - all the forms and guidance documents.

BTW - can't beat the cost of an annual for an experimental if you are the repairman - there is time spent for sure and the recordkeeping; but, my last one cost $28.12 - $28 for the light lense that I dropped on the floor and 12 cents for a cotter pin that needed to go.

Sincerely,

Dave S
St Paul, MN
KF7 Trigear
912ULS Warp Drive

[Luvn737s]

What did you start with? What are some examples of the documentation they wanted to name you as builder?

[cap01]

the best way to get the straight poop is go locate a dar in your area and talk it over with him . the dars dont work out of a fsdo they work out of mido , a whole different animal , at least in my area they do . dont make the mistake i did and call them a the mido . by the time i got off the phone with the person there she had me convinced the only thing i could do with the plane is take it to the end of the runway and set it on fire . when i did get ahold of the dar he didnt have any problems and issued the a/w cert .

[akflyer]

I tried very hard to get the FAA to allow me a repairman's certificate for my plane. I bought a wreck that had the fuse tweaked and buckled so I had to cut out tubes and replace them (no welding required on the original kit so I reasoned that with all my fabrication I was doing more work than was originally needed to assemble the kit. I replaced most of the wing ribs etc also. The word back from FAA was that is there had ever been a repairman's certificate issued for that particular aircraft, there was no way in a very hot and fire filled place that a second one would be issued to anyone except the original builder.

You only option would be to say you built a new aircraft from spare parts and modified the heck out of it. Give the plane a new name and serial number and hope the DAR that does the inspection is an idiot. If the plane was ever registered in your name, and you try to pull this one off, either you are very lucky, OR the DAR that comes for the inspection is a bumbling idiot who did not bother to do any research on the plane before he came to look at it.

The FAA guy that came and looked at mine after the rebuild went over my pics and work summary agreed that I did more work than the original kit would have required and I should be able to get a repairman's cert for it, but rules being rules, he just handed me the airworthiness cert and shook my hand. All in all, it was very painless and he was a SUPER nice guy (too bad he retired) to deal with as I was prepared for a night mare visit from him.