www.PSFmagazine.com | March-April 2020 | 19 18 | March-April 2020 | Powered Sport Flying Tips from a DAR An Introduction to Experimental Aircraft Certification I get many questions about the process of certifying an experimental light sport or amateur built aircraft. I am always happy to assist people as they prepare their aircraft and paperwork for a visit from a friendly Designated Airworthiness Representative (dar). The first thing I always tell people is to not be nervous because generally speaking, the process can be painless if you are prepared. First, however, let’s talk about your options for certification and who you can use. What I am going to describe in this article are certifications that are applicable to this audience. There are many different types of certification but I will only cover what readers of this article are likely to encounter. There are two different folks who can certify your aircraft. Obviously, you can call your local faa Flight Standards District Office (fsdo) or alternatively the Manufacturing Inspection District Office (mido). Aviation Safety Inspectors (asi) in either office are able to complete your aircraft certification. There is at least one upside to this approach in that the certification services they provide are free. The downside to this approach is that the faa offices are heavily loaded with work and do not generally put your experimental aircraft certification at the top of the priority list. It is not uncommon that you will wait many months for an faa inspector to come out. Secondarily, many faa inspectors do not have the in-depth training regarding experimental aircraft necessary to conduct a thorough inspection. This is why dar’s exist. A dar is an industry expert with a high level of experience gained through many years of exposure to the type of aircraft he or she is called upon to certify. Part of qualifying to be a dar requires that you have built at least one aircraft that has been certificated and flown a minimum 100 hours, and also be an A&P mechanic. These qualifications should provide you with a dar that has a level of experience far greater than the faa office personnel. The difference with a dar is that they charge for their services. When you contact your local dar he or she will tell you how much they charge. You should expect something between $500.00 to possibly $1000.00 if lengthy travel is involved. You can use the “find a dar” search on the faa website to find a person in your area. For this article we will concentrate on the two most common certifications. These would be Experimental Amateur Built (e-ab) and Experimental Light sport (e-lsa). e-ab is simply any type of aircraft that has been built from plans or a kit where the builder has completed at least 51% of the tasks required to finish the aircraft. There are several ways to determine if your aircraft qualifies for e-ab. First, you can use the Appendix 8 checklist from Advisory Circular AC 20-27G to evaluate if you have done enough to meet the 51% rule. You would use this checklist if you have built a highly prefabricated kit that is not listed on the National Kit Evaluation list (nket). nket is the second way you can determine if you qualify. The nket list can be found by going to the main faa website and entering nket into the search box. If your kit is shown on this list you will also find an approval letter; you should print this off and submit it to your dar. This approval letter essentially says that the kit you have built has been evaluated by the team and they have determined that if you built it according to the directions, you will have done at least 51% of the tasks required. You will submit to your dar one of two documents with respect to the 51% rule, either the Appendix 8 checklist or the nket approval letter. There is an Appendix 8 checklist for airplanes, gyros, helicopters and weight shift vehicles. Pick the one that applies to your aircraft. Now let’s talk about e-lsa. An e-lsa certification can take two forms. First, if you buy an e-lsa kit from an established s-lsa manufacturer and you build it strictly in by Arnold Holmes accordance with the manuals then you are eligible for an e-lsa certification. It is important to understand that you are required to build the aircraft exactly as the instructions tell you to, with absolutely no deviations allowed. Your completed aircraft must be a carbon copy of what the company builds in its factory. To make a point, an e-lsa kit cannot exist if an s-lsa factory-produced model does not exist. In this case, when you buy your kit the factory will provide you with a form called the 8130-15 Light Sport Aircraft/Kit Statement of Conformity. You will be required to submit this form to your dar. It will already be filled out by the factory; there is nothing for the applicant to do besides provide it to the dar. The second type of e-lsa certification is where an applicant owns a currently flying s-lsa aircraft and wishes to convert it to e-lsa. The reasons for this are varied but generally most people do it because they want the freedom to change things without needing factory approval. One word of warning, however: once you have converted to e-lsa, there is no going back. You cannot return to s-lsa ever again. Now, what does it take to be prepared? The best place to start is with an aircraft that is ready for flight. Do not schedule your dar to come visit if your aircraft is not ready for flight. With the exception of having cowlings off and inspection panels open your aircraft should be ready to push out of the hangar and go fly. My method for the visit is as follows: Meet and greet, general walk around of the aircraft just to get an eyeball on the big picture and to also look for obvious issues. Next, we sit down and complete any necessary paperwork. Following that comes the inspection. I start with the engine and work my way around the aircraft. I ask the applicant to demonstrate engine operation, external lighting, controls, etc. If I find discrepancies then I give the applicant time to correct them. If they cannot correct them during my visit then we discuss a return visit; keep in mind that return visits cost more money. If the aircraft passes inspection, I issue an airworthiness certificate and the applicant is then free to install inspection panels, cowl engine and start testing. Some of the more commonly missed items are the easiest, things like forgetting to put the N number on the aircraft or not installing the passenger warning/experimental (or light sport) placard or forgetting the aircraft ID plate. I provide my applicants with some guidance before I arrive and I also heavily recommend the eaa package that they sell for aircraft certification. An important note to remember. You cannot start certification until you have a N number assigned to your aircraft. Many people reserve an N number but never have it assigned. You must have it assigned before any certification paperwork can start. There is a lot to do turn your project into an aircraft and a good dar can help you get there. • Some aircraft, for example like most gyroplanes, can currently only be certificated as experimental -amateur-built.
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