Repairman Certificate issued

[DragonflyAero]

Today I visit the Greensboro, NC FSDO for an interview to apply for the Repairman Certificate of my RV-7which I completed earlier this year. The folks could not have been nicer and 30 minutes after walking in the door I left with my newly-minted Temporary Certificate.

Kudos to the Greensboro FSDO!!

Bill Vinson

[airguy]

I did the same on Tuesday of last week at the Lubbock TX FSDO, though it took about an hour and a half. Most of the folks there were "mostly to completely unfamiliar" (their own words) with experimental, so I became a teaching tool demonstration for the others and there was a lot more digging into the books to explain why things were done a certain way.

[JonJay]

Well done guys!
Even though I hold mine, I still use a AP/AI every few years with an "assist", just to make sure I am doing things right, especially FWF. I always learn some new trick or better way to do things.
Congrats.

[Mel]

It's always wise to get a different set of eyes on the aircraft every few years.
When you are so close and familiar with an aircraft, it's easy to overlook something.

[snopercod]

Originally Posted by DragonflyAero

The [FAA] folks could not have been nicer...

That was my experience at the Charlotte NC FSDO. They were all good people.

[BobTurner]

I suspect I have the record for the shortest time at a FISDO getting my repairman's certificate. I made the appointment, walked in, and was greeted by the inspector and his inspector in training - the ex-DAR who did my airworthiness inspection a few months earlier (He had told me he was applying for a FISDO job). He said, "I know him, he built the plane." We sat down and chatted, the inspector went out and printed forms, all my logbooks and photos were never looked at. Inspector came back in, forms were signed, and I left, certificate in hand.

[newtech]

Originally Posted by BobTurner

I suspect I have the record for the shortest time at a FISDO getting my repairman's certificate. I made the appointment, walked in, and was greeted by the inspector and his inspector in training - the ex-DAR who did my airworthiness inspection a few months earlier [snip]

The Indianapolis FSDO did my airworthiness inspection and issued the repairmans certificate along with the A/W cert. No delay and no cost for the inspection. Unlike some have experienced, I got an exceptionally thorough A/W inspection. They actually found one fuel tank Z bracket bolt, between the inspection covers, that wasn't tight.

Great experience from the Indianapolis FSDO; admittedly, this was in 2009.

[ExtraKatana]

What is required for a repairman's certificate and what does it allow you to do?

[BobTurner]

Originally Posted by ExtraKatana

What is required for a repairman's certificate and what does it allow you to do?

It allows you to do the annual condition inspection on the airplane which you built, nothing more or less.
To get it, you need to show the FISDO that you are the, or one of the, original builders of the airplane; and that you have adequate knowledge to do the inspection. They will not issue more than one repairman certificate per airplane, so if there are multiple partners/builders, you will need to decide among yourselves.

[BobTurner]

Originally Posted by newtech

The Indianapolis FSDO did my airworthiness inspection and issued the repairmans certificate along with the A/W cert. No delay and no cost for the inspection. Unlike some have experienced, I got an exceptionally thorough A/W inspection. They actually found one fuel tank Z bracket bolt, between the inspection covers, that wasn't tight.

Great experience from the Indianapolis FSDO; admittedly, this was in 2009.

In a great case of irony, my FSDO said they were too busy, hire a DAR. So I did. Then the FSDO hired my DAR. Now there weren't enough (or any) local DARs, so the FSDO sent him out, free, to do the inspection on my neighbor's -10.