I believe it requires the original manufacturers approval to get it airworth for flight, I would recommend reading up on that before you go spend $15 K to buy it.
Paul Zimmermann
LSRM-A
Garland, Texas
Seems to me that the plane never had an airworthiness certificate. That would mean it had never had the inspection by a DAR who would then issue the air. cert. Now a days, if you don't renew the aircraft's registration every three years, it expires. The FAA will send a post card to you when the renewal is due. Post office will not forward it so if you moved, and didn't inform the FAA of the change of address, you won't get the post card. I think that is probably how most of these planes get expired registration. It costs $5.00 to renew the registration. Jim Chuk
So this plane can be made legal? Then what is a approximate value of what it's worth being non airworthy?
The Q&A below is taken from EAA's website. It would seem to say that whether it was 90% (or 100%) built by someone else, you'd need evidence that the builder was an amateur and that they did the work.
The 51% Rule: Frequently Asked Questions
Q: If the kit is 90 percent finished by a previous owner, so I don’t do most of the work, can I still certificate it?
A: Yes, again the requirement is that the major portion is constructed by amateur(s) for their own education or recreation. However the burden to prove that the previous 90 percent of the work was done by an amateur solely for his or her own education or recreation is on the applicant. So one needs to be ready to show evidence in the forms of logs, pictures, videos, and affidavits that the previous builder was an amateur.
Here is the page this section was taken from:
http://www.eaa.org/en/eaa/aviation-c...uilt-airplanes
RobS