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Operating Limitations

plehrke

Well Known Member
Patron
Interesting question asked by my CFI during my Bi-annual Flight Review. He is not familiar with Experimental - Amateur Built aircraft so asked to see my airworthy paperwork. Of coarse I carry in the plane my Amateur Built Operating limitations and it has paragraph 4 (shown below) as well as paragraph 16 (aerobatics) and 19 (major mods) with blanks for putting in numbers.

4. All test flights, at a minimum, must be conducted under day VFR only. Following satisfactory completion of the required number of flight hours in the flight test area, the pilot must certify in the records that the aircraft has been shown to comply with FAR 91.319(b).
Compliance with FAR 91.319(b) must be recorded in the aircraft records with the following, or a similarly worded, statement: “I certify that the prescribed flight test hours have been completed and the aircraft is controllable throughout its normal range of speeds and throughout all maneuvers to be executed, has no hazardous operating characteristics or design features, and is safe for operation. The following aircraft operating data has been demonstrated during the flight testing: speeds Vso ______, Vx ______, and Vy ______, and the weight ______ and CG location ______ at which they were obtained.”

He asked why the numbers are not filled in. Of course I replied that I have put the appropriate paragraph in my aircraft log with numbers filled in as prescribed in those Operating Limitations.

It got me thinking. Should those blanks in the Operating Limitations I carry on board the airplane also have the numbers filled in?
 
Interesting question asked by my CFI during my Bi-annual Flight Review. He is not familiar with Experimental - Amateur Built aircraft so asked to see my airworthy paperwork. Of coarse I carry in the plane my Amateur Built Operating limitations and it has paragraph 4 (shown below) as well as paragraph 16 (aerobatics) and 19 (major mods) with blanks for putting in numbers.

4. All test flights, at a minimum, must be conducted under day VFR only. Following satisfactory completion of the required number of flight hours in the flight test area, the pilot must certify in the records that the aircraft has been shown to comply with FAR 91.319(b).
Compliance with FAR 91.319(b) must be recorded in the aircraft records with the following, or a similarly worded, statement: “I certify that the prescribed flight test hours have been completed and the aircraft is controllable throughout its normal range of speeds and throughout all maneuvers to be executed, has no hazardous operating characteristics or design features, and is safe for operation. The following aircraft operating data has been demonstrated during the flight testing: speeds Vso ______, Vx ______, and Vy ______, and the weight ______ and CG location ______ at which they were obtained.”

He asked why the numbers are not filled in. Of course I replied that I have put the appropriate paragraph in my aircraft log with numbers filled in as prescribed in those Operating Limitations.

It got me thinking. Should those blanks in the Operating Limitations I carry on board the airplane also have the numbers filled in?

Note the stated requirement for compliance (highlighted above).

The operating limitation is just stating the requirement. Complying with the requirement would be making an entry in the aircraft records (typically what we call airframe log book) and include the required data points. The operating limitations are not the aircraft records.
 
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