Inspection requirments for new aircraft

[Robin8er]

Do new experimental airplanes require all inspections required for normal aircraft prior to receiving their air worthiness certificate?

In other words, do I need a transponder check and elt inspection prior to receiving my airworthiness inspection?

[Mel]

Originally Posted by Robin8er

Do new experimental airplanes require all inspections required for normal aircraft prior to receiving their air worthiness certificate?
In other words, do I need a transponder check and elt inspection prior to receiving my airworthiness inspection?

You will need to conduct a condition inspection on the aircraft before scheduling the airworthiness inspection. The transponder check and ELT inspection is required before flight (transponder, depending on you specific location) but not for the airworthiness inspection. These are operational requirements, not airworthiness requirements.

[Robin8er]

Thanks Mel. Who does the condition inspection? i assume it cannot be me if do not hold a repairmans certificate.

[airguy]

Originally Posted by Robin8er

Thanks Mel. Who does the condition inspection? i assume it cannot be me if do not hold a repairmans certificate.

Correct, for the airworthiness inspection you'll either need a DAR to come to you, or have the local FSDO send a guy to you. Both have pros and cons. I would recommend the DAR route, specifically Mel because he will do an actual INSPECTION of the airplane with hands and eyeballs rather than just a paper chase. If there is something wrong, he'll see it and bring it to your attention, which is what you really want to happen.

For the initial condition inspection, the builder does it, no repairmans certificate needed for that first one.

[jwilbur]

Originally Posted by airguy

Correct, for the airworthiness inspection you'll either need a DAR to come to you, or have the local FSDO send a guy to you. Both have pros and cons. I would recommend the DAR route, specifically Mel because he will do an actual INSPECTION of the airplane with hands and eyeballs rather than just a paper chase. If there is something wrong, he'll see it and bring it to your attention, which is what you really want to happen.

For the initial condition inspection, the builder does it, no repairmans certificate needed for that first one.

I think the local FSDO option is probably hit-or-miss regarding an actual inspection. I had a FSDO guy come and he spent about 4 hours poking with a flashlight into every part of the airplane. I had a page worth of things I needed to fix (all minor stuff, but still). It was invasive. But he did leave me with some confidence that the airplane was in good shape. I was actually relieved that it wasn't just a paperwork inspection.

[Sam Buchanan]

Hey Mel...what's your fee for doing an inspection in Hawaii? Airfare and three nights in a nice hotel on the beach??

[Mel]

Originally Posted by Sam Buchanan

Hey Mel...what's your fee for doing an inspection in Hawaii? Airfare and three nights in a nice hotel on the beach??

That would probably work. Of course that would have to be for 2!

[Mel]

Originally Posted by Robin8er

Thanks Mel. Who does the condition inspection? i assume it cannot be me if do not hold a repairmans certificate.

Like "AIRGUY" says, the builder does the initial inspection. You don't need the repairman certificate to do the initial inspection because it is not yet an "Airplane"!

[BobTurner]

Both myself and my DAR agreed with Mel: transponder check before flight (I'm in mode C required airspace) but after inspection was okay. But the DAR said he would check with the FSDO "just to be sure", and those guys said I needed the transponder checked first! Rather than argue with them, I just had it done. As others have noted, the builder must sign off the condition inspection prior to the AW inspection, including an ELT check.

[airguy]

Originally Posted by BobTurner

Both myself and my DAR agreed with Mel: transponder check before flight (I'm in mode C required airspace) but after inspection was okay. But the DAR said he would check with the FSDO "just to be sure", and those guys said I needed the transponder checked first! Rather than argue with them, I just had it done. As others have noted, the builder must sign off the condition inspection prior to the AW inspection, including an ELT check.

And if you're building and flying from a private strip that is not at an actual airport, like me, getting someone to come to you with a test rig can be an expensive and frustrating exercise. For me it was worth it, I'm 30 miles from the nearest airport and transporting the airplane was simply not worth the hassle.