Original Posted By: Rick Holland
John,I am very new at this portion of aviation, and I have found all of this confusingas well. However, in doing a little research on the EAA website, I have foundthe following. I will print the important parts below, so that you do not haveto flip back and forth between this forum and another website. This is takenfrom the EAA's website. Hopefully, since I acknowledge the source, no one willbe upset that I cut and pasted-________________________________________"Sport pilots may fly aircraft certificated in many of the experimental aircraftcategories, including experimental light-sport aircraft, experimental amateur-built,and experimental exhibition.Experimental light-sport aircraftExperimental light-sport aircraft (E-LSA) may be flown by sport pilots. E-LSA kitsthat do not conform to amateur-built certification requirements and will becertificated in the E-LSA category must be based on an aircraft that has receiveda special LSA (S-LSA) airworthiness certificate. ELSAmust be operated in accordance with the operating limitations issued to the aircraftat the time it receives its airworthiness certification. It must be maintainedin accordance with regulations as they apply to E-LSA. Its annual conditioninspection may be conducted by an LSA repairman with an inspection rating,an LSA repairman with a maintenance rating, an airframe and powerplant (A&P)mechanic, or a certified repair station. (emphasis mine)Experimental amateur-built aircraftExperimental amateur-built aircraft that meet the definition of an LSA may be flownby sport pilots. The aircraft is certificated as experimental amateur-builtand must be operated in accordance with the operating limitations issued tothe aircraft at the time it receives itsairworthiness certification. It must be maintained and inspected in accordancewith regulations as they pertain to amateur-built aircraft. Its annual conditioninspection may be performed by the original primary builder if he/she holdsthe repairman certificate for the aircraft, an A&P mechanic, or a certified repairstation. (emphasis mine)."__________________________________I also want to refer you to something that I just read through my email subscriptionto the Experimenter (again, from EAA) in the most recent edition of "Talesfrom the DAR Side", Joe Norris says this. Again, I quote from the EAA article-________________________________"An annual inspection on a typical GA aircraft is required by FAR 91.409. But readingparagraph (c) of this regulation will reveal that the inspection requirementscalled out in the regulation dont apply to aircraft carrying a currentexperimental airworthiness certificate. The FAA typically wants our experimentalaircraft to be inspected each year, so since the regulation itself doesnt requiresuch an inspection, the FAA must place this requirement in the operatinglimitations.Technically, this isnt an annual inspection, even though its required to be performedannually. The FAA actually has a specific definition for an annual inspection,requiring the aircraft undergoing such an inspection to be compared toits type certificate and any supplemental type certificates as may be applicable.Since our experimental aircraft dont have a type certificate, they cant undergoan annual inspection as defined by the FAA. This being the case, the inspectionperformed on an experimental aircraft is referred to as a condition inspection.And since this inspection isnt an annual inspection by FAA definition,the person performing it isnt required to hold an inspection authorization(IA).(emphasis mine)So who is authorized to perform the condition inspection on our amateur-built aircraft?The operating limitations will contain that information as well, in theform of the following or a similarly worded limitation:An experimental aircraft builder certificated as a repairman for this aircraftunder 65.104 or an appropriately rated FAA-certificated mechanic may performthe condition inspection required by these operating limitations.The Repairman Certificate MysteryThe regulation called out in this limitation, FAR 65.104, allows the original primarybuilder of an amateur-built aircraft to qualify for a repairman certificate.Calling this a repairman certificate has caused a good bit of confusionwithin the amateur-built community, as the name implies that you need the certificatein order to make repairs to the aircraft. This is actually not the case.The fact is, the person performing maintenance, repair, or modification toan amateur-built aircraft isnt required to hold any FAA certificate at all (emphasismine) an issue Ill cover a bit later in this article.This repairman certificate is actually only necessary when performing the conditioninspection on the aircraft, as called out in the above-quoted limitation.Be aware that the repairman certificate is aircraft-specific. Its only applicableto the aircraft called out on the certificate. So just because you hold therepairman certificate for your own homebuilt, that doesnt authorize you toperform the condition inspection on your friends homebuilt, even if its the samemodel. (emphasis mine). Youll note that an appropriately rated FAA-certificatedmechanic is also authorized to perform the inspection. This is lawyer languagefor an A&P mechanic. Note that it specifically says mechanic and not inspector,so any A&P can perform the inspection. No IA is required."_________________________________Again, I know that this is a long read, but it is confusing, and I wanted to makeit easier to read and put it all together. The way I understand it, if youbuild it, and register the aircraft as Experimental Amateur Built (whether itqualifies as an LSA or not), and apply for the Repairman's certificate, you cando all maintenance including the conditional inspection. If you did not buildthe airplane, and thus do not hold the Repairman's certificate, you can do yourown maintenance, but not the Conditional Inspection. However, any A&P (notnecessarily an IA) can do the conditional Inspection. So you can do it all, exceptfor one thing per year, the Inspection.If you purchase an aircraft that is certified E-LSA, that course that you referredto will allow you to apply for the Repairman's certificate for that aircraftonly, and you can do the Conditional Inspection. Did I read this right, because that is how it seems to read to me. If I am wrong,someone please correct me.I hope that helps.--------Semper Fi,TerryRead this topic online here:
http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.p ... ______Date: Fri, 29 Apr 2011 13:10:42 -0600Subject: Re: Pietenpol-List: Christmas in April