Interesting. Glad noone was hurt. Problem with the rudder..uh huh ;)
 
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Don't you understand?

The Experimental/Amateur Built rules are for us, not for very important people like Senators and the like.

I sent an e-mail to the guy who wrote one of the articles. In the note, I expressed my displeasure in Inhofe's <seemingly> intentional violation of the law and spirit of the rules governing Experimental/Amateur builts...
 
News Reports

I think you guy's are missing the main issue. Did you notice the difference in tone of the two articles. Tulsa World. "crash landed" & "out of control". We don't know it an experianced RVer built the plane, flew it, then sold it OR the Senator had it built. Point is you need to take reporting (especially newspapers) with a grain of salt untill you get the entire story.




Shannon Evans
Native OKIE(West Side of I-35)
 
Snakebit?

Senator Inhofe seems to have an unfortuante run of bad luck....a few years back, he lost the prop off of his Tiger in flight (it was improperly installed....).

Paul
 
Yeah, and the FAA, too

prporter said:
You might want to ask him if its now OK for us to have ours "professionally built".


http://inhofe.senate.gov/contactus.htm
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Great plan! And how 'bout the FAA, too! Let's see if we can get the only RV'r in Congress banned from RV's -- or flying altogether, for that matter! Let's make sure that priviledged ### knows we pilots don't give a **** how much he's done for aviation. We just want our precious FAA rules OBEYED!

<< brother! >>
 
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jonbakerok said:
Great plan! And how 'bout the FAA, too! Let's see if we can get the only RV'r in Congress banned from RV's -- or flying altogether, for that matter! Let's make sure that priviledged ### knows we pilots don't give a **** how much he's done for aviation. We just want our precious FAA rules OBEYED!

<< brother! >>
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Be careful what you wish for. Banning one fool might help. But getting this cr#p started might not be in OUR best interest.

Ace
 
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Seems to me the litmus test here would be whether the Senator also is named on the Repairman's license. If so, that's bad. If not, well, the "hired gun" approach isn't all that much different than approaching a guy with a freshly completed RV, handing over a pile of cash and flying it home with bill of sale in hand. Yes, it flies (pun intended) in the face of conventional wisdom in interpreting the amateur built "for education and recreation" aspect of this sport. But hey, no harm no foul? At least Inhofe is one of the good guys and wants us all to keep flying.

To be honest, if I had the means (read: deep pockets and governmental connections), would I contract with a highly talented builder to build me up a really sweet -8, -10 or Rocket? Yes, I probably would. NO, I would not apply for the repairman's license. The regs don't say "thou shant pay thee a king's ransom to another builder such as to avoid the trials and tribulations of drilling/deburing and riveting thy flying machine together. Obey thee fully this law lest thy wings falleth off upon first flight".

Or, maybe they do and I just missed it.
 
We have the most freedom of any homebuilders in the civilized world and need to protect those freedoms by respecting the regulations that cover our hobby.

The justification for the amateur/experimental category is recreation and education as mentioned in the reg's that cover the construction of our aircraft. Clearly, contracting to build an airplane for someone else is against those rules. I also believe that building an airplane (or multiple airplanes) with the intent of selling immediately after getting the sign-off or the Phase 1 testing is against the intent and possibly the letter of the law. It is certainly against the spirit.

One day, something will cause the FAA or Congress or some Government organization to take a hard look at homebuilding. When the FAA study or the Congressional Investigation is complete, they will have found enough people flaunting the rules to provide the justification to wreck our hobby. When that happens, everyone will suffer, not just the people who are bending and/or breaking the rules. I can see it now... No IFR, no aircraft with more than 2 seats, no complex aircraft, no high performance aircraft, etc.

That's gonna be a bad day and WE are the ones who need to help prevent that day by doing whatever we can to discourage hired guns and others who flaunt the rules.
 
In the article refered to earlier, the good Senator stated to the media that his son and someone else built the plane. I would suggest that we not rush to any conclusions. We have very few friends in the Senate, and I don't think we should start any trouble based upon guesses. What we have is much more fragile than we realize. If you want to know a little more about Senator Inhofe, read: http://inhofe.senate.gov/floorspeeches.htm and click on "Hot and Cold Media Spin Cycle". You may not think it is related to our freedom to fly, but it is directly related.
 
Why are you guys on his case?

Like I said in the other thread, I watched him build that plane. I know that he did not personally drive every rivet, but I also know for a fact that he worked on it as much as his schedule allowed. No rule was broken that I know of. I saw a friend helping. I never saw any money change hands.

Besides, even if he did pay the guy, what the heck do you care if some stupid, arbitrary FAA rule that actually INHIBITS safety was broken? Why shouldn't a person be able to hire a professional?

Do you think anybody else in congress gives a hoot about your right to build your own plane? This man is your best friend in Washington. Give him a break!
 
jonbakerok said:
Like I said in the other thread, I watched him build that plane. I know that he did not personally drive every rivet, but I also know for a fact that he worked on it as much as his schedule allowed. No rule was broken that I know of. I saw a friend helping. I never saw any money change hands.

Besides, even if he did pay the guy, what the heck do you care if some stupid, arbitrary FAA rule that actually INHIBITS safety was broken? Why shouldn't a person be able to hire a professional?

Do you think anybody else in congress gives a hoot about your right to build your own plane? This man is your best friend in Washington. Give him a break!
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That is EXACTLY why I speak out. Because "anybody else in congress" DOESN'T give a hoot, and he should be more careful of how he presents it, to keep it from getting shut down.
 
I agree with Jon

We have a high ranking person in Washington who actually owns and flies an RV! As far as our interests, it just doesn't get any better than that.
I don't understand why anyone is so anxious to kick him in the shins.
Lots of us get quite a bit of paid assistance from our friends in the Phillipines or in the Czech Republic. ;) Have I driven every rivet in my RV-8QB? Of course not. Do I feel like I'm actually building my plane? You bet, and I've got 501 hours of labor logged to prove it, with plenty left to go.
Lighten up people!
 
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jonbakerok said:
Like I said in the other thread, I watched him build that plane. I know that he did not personally drive every rivet, but I also know for a fact that he worked on it as much as his schedule allowed. No rule was broken that I know of. I saw a friend helping. I never saw any money change hands.
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Nothing wrong with that.

jonbakerok said:
Besides, even if he did pay the guy, what the heck do you care if some stupid, arbitrary FAA rule that actually INHIBITS safety was broken? Why shouldn't a person be able to hire a professional?
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If the law is stupid or arbitrary, work with your representatives to change it. Don't just flaunt the law because you think it's wrong. The whole point of homebuilding aircraft is for recreation and education. If you are just going to pay a pro to build your plane then you aren't being educated and there isn't really all that much fun in it for you either. If a pro is going to build an aircraft, he needs to be certified just like all the other pros. That is unless the FAA wants to further break down Experimentals in to Experimental - Amateur Built, and Experimental - Professionally built. But as soon as you go down that road, we won't be able to build our own airplanes exactly because we're not pros.

jonbakerok said:
Do you think anybody else in congress gives a hoot about your right to build your own plane? This man is your best friend in Washington. Give him a break!
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I have to agree with you. I mean come on, how many congressmen fly, much less fly an RV-8? Didn't he own an RV-4 at one time too? I seem to recall an RV-4 being up for sale a few years ago buy a politician. Had to be him.
 
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