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Canadian Inspections?

A

atalla

Well Known Member
Hello all, I have been seeing builders get EAA inspectors to have a look at their build progress prior to sealing up HS's Wings ect.
Can anyone tell me what the legality is here and a schedule if needed

Does Canada have an EAA chapter?

Located in Whistler BC
 
In Canada you must have the MDRA inspections done in order to get the Certificate of Airworthiness in order to fly a homebuilt. All the information on MDRA was in the previous post.
As for EAA, there are many chapters in Canada. We have one here in Nova Scotia so there should be tons of them in BC. There is no legality in having one of there tec.'s inspect your progress but it never hurts to have someone with experience have a look. It was just posted on here that a plane was flying for quite a few years with a gascolator plumbed wrong. This gascolator type had two out ports to accommodate various installations. The installer miss took the two ports for the in and out then plugged the correct "in" port on the back side. This aircraft was flying with in essence no gascolator. If the pilot used the gascolator for his main detection of water/ contaminants, they could have been in trouble. These are the types of things an EAA tec counselor should find or at least hopefully find. Once something is installed incorrectly it can take a disciplined eye to detect.
 
MDRA inspections are a little different too. When you get assigned your inspector he or she will expect to see every rivet you set. This means you can not close in any surface till they approve it with a numbered sticker. I personally left the trailing edge of the rudder open, didn't rivet in the spars of the empenage pieces... I built all the way up until I was ready to close in the fuselage before I arranged my first inspection. Next will be the final. If you're ever in the lower mainland and have questions or want to check out a project just let me know.

Trev
 
Thanks everyone, i just filed my intent to build with md-ra and have gotten in touch with their office. Can control surfaces be sealed? so either an inspection for each major section open or complete emp, wings, fuse to 80% have inspection than continue?
 
If you're ever in the lower mainland and have questions or want to check out a project just let me know.

Trev[/QUOTE]

Thanks Trevor! i just might take you up on that!
 
atalla said:
Thanks everyone, i just filed my intent to build with md-ra and have gotten in touch with their office. Can control surfaces be sealed? so either an inspection for each major section open or complete emp, wings, fuse to 80% have inspection than continue?
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People have done it different ways. If you don't have good builder support from other local builders who can advise you, you may want to get inspections before closing each kit. That's one inspection for tail kit, one for wing kit, one for fuselage kit, then one for final.

But if you have good builder support from people who can advise you and let you know whether your work is good enough, then you may be comfortable building farther along before getting your first inspection. It's possible to get one inspection before closing everything, but I don't know how common that is for first-time builders.
 
MDRA

I did the wing and tail pre-close together, and just had the fuse pre-close done. Like Snowflake said, if you have good support do all the pre-closes together. Spend the $400 on one inspection vs $1200 on three.

Don
 
Don Patrick said:
I did the wing and tail pre-close together, and just had the fuse pre-close done. Like Snowflake said, if you have good support do all the pre-closes together. Spend the $400 on one inspection vs $1200 on three.

Don
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Thanks Don makes sense, thats 3 tanks of fuel in the bank.:) I look forward to meeting the builders in the sea to sky corridor and picking their brain. I'm working on the practice pieces and toolbox as well as tooling up. waiting on my DRDT-2 and Pneumatic squeezer. when their done ill bring them to a meeting and have ppl take a look to see if I'm on the right track
 
Talking about fuel tank, be sure to talk to your inspector before to close the tank. I'v saw on this forum someone ou tell that you can totaly close the tank before inspection. This is what I do and finaly my inspector really didn't like that. He wanted to see the interior of the tank before I close it and seal everything. He first wanted that I open it. Imagine, all are sealed with Proseal... I said that it's nearly impossible to remove the sealed backplate with all this Proseal and I have a lot more chance to scrap the tank. Anyway, he can't see the rivets Inside the tank because they are all filled with a mushroom of Proseal... After some discussion, he accept the tank....
So, talk to your inpector about that and be sure of what he want...
Just my 2 cents !! ;)
 
I will second what Martin says. My inspector wanted the tank assembled with the rear baffle off and no proseal over the rivet heads. Proseal between the ribs and the skin is fine, he just needs to see all of the shop heads.
 
I spoke with my inspector before and cleared this up with him, but by leaving the sender plate off he was able to at least get a bore scope in every bay of the tank if he wanted allowing me to put the rear baffle on. Seems every inspector is different.
 
what aboot the POH?

is this a good place to ask...what is the legal content required for a POH? I've been all over the TC site and can't find it.

seems lots of guys have 72-page binders. Mine is a duo-tang with 17 single-sided pages...but I wanted to tidy it up, and put just the essential in there.
my pre-flight checklist is on a separate knee-board flip-chart thingy, and of course, CCI items in another binder.

thanks guys!
 
Scott-12 said:
Reading through MD-RA I came across this page http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/civilaviation/regserv/cars/part5-standards-a507sd-1833.htm Section 5
It seems to me that vans aircraft can not get the acro limitation removed.
Is this correct?
Also I can't find anything about removing the Day VFR restriction.
Is it possible?
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The Canadian regs seem to be spread all over the place. It is really confusing. I think Kevin Horton got his lifted. His website is KiloHotel or something like that - just google his name and RV-8. He is a TC test pilot and knows the regs very well and where to find these things. I am sure he can point you in the right direction. There are regs, then there are standards, then there are exemptions etc etc. It is all very confusing, and TC have not really dedicated any resources to light aircraft. They have difficulty getting the resources to regulate air carriers so we are completely off their radar.
 
Scott-12 said:
It seems to me that vans aircraft can not get the acro limitation removed. Is this correct?
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Yep, it is possible (or at least was as of November last year). I had the aerobatics limitation removed on my RV-4 and I now have it removed on my Rocket. The process is to apply for a flight permit to do a "Simplified Aerobatic Demonstration". On the permit you will state the g loading limitations and that a mechanical inspection will be carried out in accordance with "paragraph part A 5.2 of AMA 549.101A dated April 1, 1996". You will also have to tell Transport who the pilot will be, what their qualifications are, and what maneuvers are intended.

Once you have the permit to do the "demonstration flight" then the flight can take place.

You have to subsequently make a log book entry specifying the maneuvers performed and no unsafe features are evident, who the pilot was and their qualifications, and specify that a placard has been installed in the airplane listing the maneuvers that may be performed.

You then send a copy of this entry back to Transport and they issue new Operating Conditions.

In my case I did rolls, loops, hammerhead turns, spins and combinations thereof.
 
If memory serves me correctly.. to remove aerobatic limitations from your Canadian C of A you have to:
either
-apply for and present to TC engineering proof that your plane is designed to perform the list of maneuvers you want to do, along with an engineers report that it is stressed to do them

or; (how local RVs have had restrictions lifted)

-apply to TC that you wish to modify your C of A, demonstrate to TC the maneuvers you want approved for your airframe- either by having a TC inspector witness the maneuvers performed, or use an approved aerobatic pilot (recognized by TC) flight test & report on the plane's handling qualities for the maneuvers in question, he than submits a very detailed report to TC who than hopefully will issue an amended C of A listing the approved maneuvers.

I find out who is the latest to go thru this process when they show up at my hangar with filthy bellies & oil stains inside the tail cone...
 
Regarding the pilot performing he aerobatics - I was able to fly the demo flights on both my RV-4 and the Rocket. When doing the demo with the RV-4 I had less than 15 hours of aerobatic experience most of which was dual. However that dual was only a couple weeks old, and I had been flying the -4 for some time and felt quite comfortable in it. Suffice to say Transport's requirements for the pilot don't seem very stringent to me, at least the office I dealt with.

Also note that you cannot do this until you have flown off the initial 25 test hours.

With respect to "Day" VFR I believe that restriction is removed when you have flown off the test hours and you get your "permanent" operating conditions, the restriction is merely "VFR".

It is also possible to have the VFR restriction removed and use the airplane for IFR, I have not done this yet so am not familiar with the procedure.
 
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Can any one post pics of a HS or Wing Pre closure inspection,
It seams to me apart from the nose ribs and stiffeners, i m not doing much in the way of bucking but more deburing and match drilling if I have to leave the main spar removed for inspection. After I get the go ahead would that not leave a lot of shop heads the inspector will not see when i seal it up ?
 
My airplane is ready for the pre-cover inspection. The tank backs are open and the bottom skin is not installed. Everything else is done. I am waiting for paper. The do everything by snail mail.
 
atalla said:
Can any one post pics of a HS or Wing Pre closure inspection,
It seams to me apart from the nose ribs and stiffeners, i m not doing much in the way of bucking but more deburing and match drilling if I have to leave the main spar removed for inspection. After I get the go ahead would that not leave a lot of shop heads the inspector will not see when i seal it up ?
Click to expand...

My recollection is that the assembly process for the HS is to put the ribs and forward spar into the skins, and the rear goes in last, correct? If so, just stop before riveting the rear spar in. Both sides of all rivets are still visible at this point, so cleco the rear spar into the back of the HS, put it aside, and switch to the VS, then the rudder/elevators. You can go quite a way, and drive a lot of rivets, before you need to close any cavities with rivets in them.
 
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