AD's

There was some discussion at the airport about Mandatory AD's some say they are mandatory for Experimentals some say not mandatory.
Any opinions or facts ???

Bill

There are lots.
Recommend searching the archives.
More threads than you can count on the subject.

Call the FSDO responsible for your area....the only opinion that really matters.

I just got inspected yesterday, and the FSDO wanted to know that I have complied with all ADs relevant to my installation. There's a place on one of those required FAA forms to tick the box saying you have done so.

greg

AD notes

AD notes are manadatory period..... Now the question is, do they apply to your Airplane, Engine, Propeller or Appliance?

AD notes are not mandatory period. Just called the FSDO and they said... "look I might have inspect a all-carbon original design powered by a corvette V8 tomorrow, thats why they are classified as experimentals"
He went on to say Avemco might see things differently.

Please See Dan H's post.
This has been beaten to death.
There is no consensus.
FSDO's will not agree. DAR's will not agree. Those 2 items are fact. Try and argue them with those parties and you will see the problem. Resistance is futile.
The only thing that matters is YOUR DAR and YOUR FSDO.

Kahuna said:

...The only thing that matters is YOUR DAR and YOUR FSDO.

Click to expand...

And your comfort level.

Do you want to fly behind an engine that has not complied with an AD address a known issue?

Kahuna said:

The only thing that matters is YOUR DAR and YOUR FSDO.

Click to expand...

And maybe your insurance carrier........In fact they may be the best source for what we need to do (if you can get them to give you a straight answer). To get an answer I would imagine you would need to ask a specific question. i.e. "I have a Lycoming XYZ and AD 08-12-12 applies to my XYZ but it is on an experimental airplane. Will I be covered if I do not comply with this AD and I have an accident?"

The NTSB probably only would care when writing up the accident report. The FAA would probably give you an opportunity to defend your reasoning for not complying if you were still around to answer the questions and your DAR may send you a get well card. Your wife, significant other, family and friends will only say "I told you to be careful."

Pat, (posted below) sums up what I imply could happen. It is IMPOSSIBLE to have "saving money" as your NUMBER ONE priority and fly safely.

opinions may vary but.....

I spoke to the FAA at oshkosh last year about this very subject. The official I was speaking with didnt want to get into the experimental vs certified debate but his response was thought provoking. Basically his response was that AD's are usually issued based on a saftey threat to a part or product which could lead to disabled or disasterous flight conditions. Having said that, If one chooses to use products or parts with known AD's that have not been complied with on an experimental aircraft at the very least they are putting themselves at risk with great potential of putting others at risk. If the worst were to happen (maiming or Killing others) you would also be putting your heirs at risk.

The question remains: legal or illegal? Does it really matter? Just fix it and fly it. Who knows one might actually learn something in the process and isnt that what this is all about?