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How
to certifying your kit built Experimental Light Sport Aircraft
Airplane,
Powered Parachute or Weight Shift Control
First off let’s go over
why one would choose kit built Experimental Light Sport Aircraft rather than Experimental
Amateur Built. It means you
don’t have to prove you fabricated 51%. Another good reason is
that every aircraft has to have a condition inspection every 12 months.
With an ELSA you may take a 16 hours course and inspect any ELSA you own.
A subsequent buyer could do the same.
However, with an Amateur Built aircraft only the original owner A&P can
do that inspection. With A SLSA only a
Light Sport Repairman or A&P may do the condition inspection. So it makes it
much more desirable for your aircraft to be ELSA in the long run.
Here is a step by step
process to assist you in certifying your kit built ELSA:
- Decide if you want a
special N-number. If so go onto www.faa.gov
and the aircraft registration section and reserve one.
Cost is $10.00 to reserve it. This
is only a reservation for that number NOT the registration itself.
- Register the aircraft.
This will entail getting the only form that isn’t downloadable.
FAA form 8050-1 is the "application for aircraft registration" form and can be
had at any FAA office. If you can't get one from them I have
those forms also and can send you one.
There are
instructions on the form as to how to fill it out.
Read them carefully!! There is
also even more detailed instructions for filling out this form here on my
website to help you. You
will keep the pink copy and send in the other two a white and a green.
Make sure you print your name as well as sign at the bottom IN THE
SAME BOX AS YOUR SIGNATURE. The FAA
aircraft registry will send it back if you print your name in a seperate box
below your signature.
The data you put on this form becomes pretty much set in stone so
when you fill out the application for airworthiness certificate later you
will use this data.
- You will
also fill out and have notarized a form 8050-88a.
This is on my website and can be filled out online and printed.
These two forms along with $5.00 will be sent to the FAA registration
branch in
Oklahoma City.
It
has been taking around 2-3 weeks to get the registration certificate back.
Instructions for filling out the 8050-1 and 8050-88a are on this website,
please take the time to look at them.
- In the meantime you
should download the appropriate inspection checklist from my website and go
over your aircraft and make sure it has all the legal stuff.
There are required placards, markings and numbers as well as the rest
of the items on the checklist that need to be checked.
This is the actual checklist I use when I inspect your aircraft so there
should be no surprises for you or me. Please don't call or email
me and ask if you really have to do something that is on the
checklist. Yes, you do. However they are generic checklist so if
you don't have the item on your aircraft you may not have to install one. Any thing that has an FAR number I suggest you
read. Those are required.
- After you receive, in
the mail, your registration certificate you can go on the website and fill
out and print a form 8130-6d "Application for Airworthiness
Certificate".
Under Section
II, Certification Requested
Do not check any boxes in line B-9,
this if for Special Light Sport Aircraft (SLSA)
which are factory built. You
would check line B Special airworthiness certificate then, box 4
"Experimental" then,
box 8 operating light sport
then, box 8b "Operating Light Sport Kit Built". The
other one is for previously certified SLSA. Section
III, C asks if aircraft records
are in compliance with 91.417. You
must have a logbook, that
is where I will record the inspection of your aircraft and kept as part of the
aircraft records. This is very
important. No logbook, no
inspection. This is also where
you will document your flight testing.
- Next you will need to
prepare a weight and balance data form for an airplane or a weight and
loading form for a powered parachute or weight shift control.
Instructions for doing this are on my website.
If you have any questions call me.
- You will also need
from your kit manufacturer a Statement of Compliance, form 8130-15 for the
kit. Make sure you get the kit Statement of Compliance. It will
say in the comments section that the aircraft is a kit.
- The final item you
will need are three photos; front, side and rear These photos need only be 5"x6' not 8.5X11 full page
prints. You can get all three on a single page of paper. I do
not need you to fax the photos to me but you must have them
at the time of inspection. They are required by the FAA when I send in
you paperwork to the aircraft registry section where it becomes part of the
permanent records of the aircraft. If you don't have the photos, no
airworthiness certificate will be issued.
- When you have
accomplished all the above call me to schedule an inspection.
I will request you fax me a copy of all the paperwork, less the
photos, so I can check it for accuracy and print out your operating limitations and airworthiness
certificate. This is why you
wait until you get your registration certificate back before continuing.
The 8130-6d application must match exactly the registration
certificate as to Make, Model and Serial Number.
And those two much match exactly the fireproof data plate permanently
fastened to your aircraft in an easily accessible and readily found place.
So
there you have it, a fairly easy step by step process for certifying your
ELSA. If you have any questions call
me.
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