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Data Plate

Wolf

Well Known Member
What is the correct date to use on the data plate on an E-AB. Is it the date it is registered, the year it is built in or is it the sign off date.
 
What is the correct date to use on the data plate on an E-AB. Is it the date it is registered, the year it is built in or is it the sign off date.

As far as the FAA is concerned, the actual date is the date of certification. You don't need to put any date on the data plate. The only required information on the data plate is Make, Model, and Serial Number. BUT THIS data must exactly match the registration.

Most people who want to include a date chose the month and year of certification.
 
I recommend leaving the date off. **** can happen right before certification; ask me how I know... I'm glad I left the date off.
 
What Mel said! To add, I recommend that, no matter how many items of information the data plate has room for, ONLY put the builder name (Make), Model, and serial number on the plate. DO NOT put dates, gross weights, builder address, etc. None of that is required so why put it on there.

And to reiterate and reinforce what Mel said, make sure the data on the plate matches the info on the registration certificate EXACTLY. No room for interpretation on that one. If it doesn't look exactly like what is shown in the registration certificate, that's a show stopper.

Forewarned is forearmed!
 
Because of all the things that can go wrong, my DAR wanted to see my data plate before sign off. I reviewed the order with him, made one with the basics and held in place with clecos (JIC). Once he agreed, it was riveted in place before he left.
 
I made a technical mistake with my plate. Since, as Mel said, everything must match, I literally pulled up my plane's registration and CUT-PASTE from the registry into the engraver's web form, so I definitely would not make a mistake with spelling, punctuation, etc.

What I missed was that Van's instructions have you append "- U.S.A" to the manufacturer name, even though that does not appear in the registry.
 
What I missed was that Van's instructions have you append "- U.S.A" to the manufacturer name, even though that does not appear in the registry.

Can you point me to an FAR covering this? §45.13 lists data plate required information. Country of Origin is not listed.
 
I registered mine in late 2011, but didn’t get inspected and certified until early 2012. The DAR had me put on a new plate with 2012 as the date of manufacture before he would sign it off.
 
Best I can tell F2745-11 was superseaded by F2745-16c and Van's SB 16-05-26 is no longer in effect. I do not think 'USA' is now required on the data plate for E-LSA or S-LSA aircraft. I have not been able to get a copy of F2745-16c to verify my thinking; so can anyone who has a copy of F2745-16c verify if my thinking is correct. I will speak with my DAR, as I am helping to get two RV12's certified, so we get it right. Thanks Barry
 
Van’s completed FAA Form 8130-15 for me in September of 2019 and listed Manufacturer Name as “Van’s Aircraft, Inc.”.
 
I spoke with my DAR and he confirmed that I do not need country of origin on the data plate for an E-LSA, but it is required for a S-LSA. Go figure. Cheers
 
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