dhall_polo
Well Known Member
Want to know how to make days seem like weeks?
Be like me and don't start the process of getting your plane registered till you think you're close to done. I started the paperwork learning curve when I thought I was about a 4-6 weeks from inspection. In retrospect, I think there's no reason why I shouldn't have gotten the plane officially registered a year ago. I had an N-number reserved for years, and I mistakingly thought the act of registration was something that you did *after* inspection. Wrong. Like everything else, there's a learning curve on the paperwork, and it takes time and possibly multiple cycles of mailings with the FAA to get it right. My plane is now sitting ready for inspection, but it probably won't get inspected for at least another two or three or four weeks. It's like waking on on Christmas morning and seeing a note from Santa that says he'll check back with you later after Rudolph's nose light gets replaced.
The FAA registration office is actually great. I have to give them "props". If you call their number, a real person answers the phone. They are helpful with questions, and they seem to have fairly good turn around times on paperwork. Even the local FSDO was very helpful in mailing me the critical registration forms rather than requiring me to schedule an appointment in their office to pick them up. They even mailed extras. I only wish it were as easy to deal with any other place I call where I have to argue with a computer that doesn't understand anything I say.
My delays:
1) Bill of Sale from Van's: Only certain people at Van's can sign this. In my case, it took over 2 weeks to get this in the mail because of key people being OOO.
2) I left a field blank on the registration form by accident. Cost 1 week to get another form and send the correction.
3) I didn't send in form 8050-88 with the registration. I don't know where I missed this requirement, but gotta have it. Cost 2 weeks so far.
In the best case, I think it takes 2-3 weeks to get all the paperwork right, but it doesn't take much for this to easily become 2-3 months.
In search of the silver lining, I am using this time productively. After spending 3.5 years heads down on building, I've gotten rusty on "owner/operator" and "pilot" issues. I'm going through all the manuals, refining checklists, looking for additional ground tests to perform, and attempting to get more transition training. My inspector has also been pretty helpful in advance. He had me documenting every serial number in the airplane and then do SB/AD research on everything I can find. He's also reviewed w&b, flight test plans, pictures of the plane, and all the inspection forms and letters. Because of this, I have more confidence that the inspection itself will go smoothly.
Oh well, off to visit my project.
Be like me and don't start the process of getting your plane registered till you think you're close to done. I started the paperwork learning curve when I thought I was about a 4-6 weeks from inspection. In retrospect, I think there's no reason why I shouldn't have gotten the plane officially registered a year ago. I had an N-number reserved for years, and I mistakingly thought the act of registration was something that you did *after* inspection. Wrong. Like everything else, there's a learning curve on the paperwork, and it takes time and possibly multiple cycles of mailings with the FAA to get it right. My plane is now sitting ready for inspection, but it probably won't get inspected for at least another two or three or four weeks. It's like waking on on Christmas morning and seeing a note from Santa that says he'll check back with you later after Rudolph's nose light gets replaced.
The FAA registration office is actually great. I have to give them "props". If you call their number, a real person answers the phone. They are helpful with questions, and they seem to have fairly good turn around times on paperwork. Even the local FSDO was very helpful in mailing me the critical registration forms rather than requiring me to schedule an appointment in their office to pick them up. They even mailed extras. I only wish it were as easy to deal with any other place I call where I have to argue with a computer that doesn't understand anything I say.
My delays:
1) Bill of Sale from Van's: Only certain people at Van's can sign this. In my case, it took over 2 weeks to get this in the mail because of key people being OOO.
2) I left a field blank on the registration form by accident. Cost 1 week to get another form and send the correction.
3) I didn't send in form 8050-88 with the registration. I don't know where I missed this requirement, but gotta have it. Cost 2 weeks so far.
In the best case, I think it takes 2-3 weeks to get all the paperwork right, but it doesn't take much for this to easily become 2-3 months.
In search of the silver lining, I am using this time productively. After spending 3.5 years heads down on building, I've gotten rusty on "owner/operator" and "pilot" issues. I'm going through all the manuals, refining checklists, looking for additional ground tests to perform, and attempting to get more transition training. My inspector has also been pretty helpful in advance. He had me documenting every serial number in the airplane and then do SB/AD research on everything I can find. He's also reviewed w&b, flight test plans, pictures of the plane, and all the inspection forms and letters. Because of this, I have more confidence that the inspection itself will go smoothly.
Oh well, off to visit my project.
