K

KirkGrovesRV8

Well Known Member
Just a friendly reminder guys and gals! I had Dakota Queen at a nice little fly in today and a nice fellow walked up and Ramp Checked me :D
I must have looked devious :D
Anyway don't forget to carry your Airworthiness as well as your registration and Operating limitations.
And don't worry all my paper work was in order.
All the Best

P.S. Stay tuned "Dakota Queen" has some new adventures in the works!
 
Ramp Check

My-My. How things have changed. Years ago these guys had standing orders not to harrass and ramp check at Fly-Ins.
 
Kirk,
Just curious, do you know if it was some type of official
flyin and was it connected with the EAA in any way?
Tom
 
Not 100% sure

Hi Tom,
The fly in was at DMW in Westminster, MD I do believe it was held with the local EAA chapter, But don't hold me to it.
The Feds are definitely out there, but on a happier note during the course of our little visit it was mentioned that the Washington ADIZ may in fact be reduced sometime in the near future :)
 
mannanj said:
My-My. How things have changed. Years ago these guys had standing orders not to harrass and ramp check at Fly-Ins.
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I got ramp checked at Lubbock at a fly-in around 3 or 4 years ago. I had all the ducks in a row but it sure left a bad taste.

"Howdy, welcome to Lubbock. I would like to see your documents." It was an official, announced, fly-in and airshow. Kind of put me off ever going there again.
 
Remember A-R-R-O-W that you should have learned in your private pilot training days. Experimentals are not immune. We always had the docs on airliners and corporate jets I've flown.

In my -7A, I was ramped at Put-in-Bay on a nice Sunday afternoon, partly because the Cleveland feds had received complaints of some experimentals not complying with the regs, i.e. operating without Airworthiness Certificates. Production-built planes landing the same afternoon were not ramped. My paperwork was in order.

Charter, corporate and airline are accustomed to being occasionally ramped. Generally, it's no big deal. Just make sure the fed is legit by asking for his/her ID.

Mike
 
No biggie

mannanj said:
Years ago these guys had standing orders not to harrass and ramp check at Fly-Ins.
Click to expand...

Big difference between a ramp check and a harrassment. In 11000+ hours of mostly airline flying, I have been ramp-checked plenty of times. Always ended in "nice talking to you, have a nice flight." Keep your ducks in a row, never "cop an attitude," and remember that they have a quota to fill.

John Clark
RV8 N18U "Sunshine"
KSBA
 
Ramp Check

Sorry for the misunderstanding. No attitude here. Just remembered what a friend told me back in the late 70's-early 80's. He worked at the Los angeles office when I was stationed at Vandenberg AFB, Ca.. At that time, he told me his orders were-"Don't harrass or ramp check people at fly-ins."

As you can see this was a long time ago when we were young and innocent, and were'nt subject to the World Wide Terrorism Threat that is present today.

I for one, sure miss those days. Guess, like other things, they're gone forever.:(
 
I got ramp checked one time while washing my 172. He asked if it was my plane and how the plane got to the wash bay. I told him I brought it up from my hanger. He them preceded to ask for every piece of paper you could think of. He was going to write me up for having a copy of my medical and not the original but I convinced him to hang around long enough for me to run to the house and get the real one. After 30 years my wife got tired of checking my pockets before washing my jeans and so in my infinite wisdom I thought it better to carry a copy and keep the original in a safe and dry place. The silver lining in all this I have learned to check my pockets. :D
 
Shortly after I landed at S&F, an guy with an FAA came up to me. Half a heart attack later I found out he was a photograph from the FAA and just wanted to take some shots. I just received a very profesional looking CD from him. If you want to see the picture, they're on my website: www.p-thomas.com/shared/S&F

While you might have a bad one, most of them are good.
 
It really irritates me when faa personel go out of their way just to find a mundane detail to violate you on. Thier sole purpose is aviation safety, and when you get the third degree while washing your airplane... I'm sorry that's just not right. Probably someone with a new badge wanting to flex their authoritave mucles. If you're showing signs that you obviously don't know what you're doing with an aircraft, you need a ramp check, and the good guys need to be left alone. What a way to ruin a fly-in or a lazy saturday at the airport.
 
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Now wait a minute - washing an airplane is not an FAA-regulated activity. He can bust you for OPERATING or INTENDING to operate the airplane without proper paperwork - but I would be very tempted to tell him to get naked and climb a tree if I got that treatment while washing the plane. You can wash an unairworthy aircraft to your hearts content with no problems whatsoever, so long as you move the aircraft by hand and not under power.
 
He probly can't violate you while washing it, but if you give him cr*p about it he's gonna follow you around like a little puppy every time you come to the airport.
 
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Paper work

What paper work was he interested in, I know we have to carry our license, medical on us as well as have airworthiness, and W&B in the plane. I believe the pilot operating handbook may also be required. I do not keep my logs in the plane which contain the transponder, and static system check. Was this required?
 
[email protected] said:
What paper work was he interested in, I know we have to carry our license, medical on us as well as have airworthiness, and W&B in the plane. I believe the pilot operating handbook may also be required. I do not keep my logs in the plane which contain the transponder, and static system check. Was this required?
Click to expand...
This is what I understand is necessary.
For the pilot:
License
Medical (if other than Light Sport Pilot)​
For the aircraft:
Airworthiness Certificate
W&B papers
Any flight limitations (i.e. Phase I limitations if flying Phase I)​
 
joeboisselle said:
He probly can't violate you while washing it, but if you give him cr*p about it he's gonna follow you around like a little puppy every time you come to the airport.
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So he can make sure to prove to you he can:
joeboisselle said:
flex their authoritave mucles.
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:rolleyes:
 
papers

RVbySDI said:
This is what I understand is necessary.
For the pilot:
License
Medical (if other than Light Sport Pilot)​
For the aircraft:
Airworthiness Certificate
W&B papers
Any flight limitations (i.e. Phase I limitations if flying Phase I)​
Click to expand...

i think they want to see registration also.
 
RVbySDI said:
This is what I understand is necessary.
For the pilot:
License
Medical (if other than Light Sport Pilot)​
For the aircraft:
Airworthiness Certificate
W&B papers
Any flight limitations (i.e. Phase I limitations if flying Phase I)​
Click to expand...
Add for aircraft.......Registration, Operating limitations (phase I or II) or POH, whichever applies
Add for pilot...........government issued photo ID
Add for sport pilot...valid driver's license
 
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Don't forget a picture ID

RVbySDI said:
This is what I understand is necessary.
For the pilot:
License
Medical (if other than Light Sport Pilot)​
For the aircraft:
Airworthiness Certificate
W&B papers
Any flight limitations (i.e. Phase I limitations if flying Phase I)​
Click to expand...
The Pilot also needs a government issued picture ID - typically a driver's license.
 
Thanks for the corrections guys. I shouldn't go off of my memory on things like this. Especially considering I have that dreaded memory loss disease called OLD AGE SYNDROME. :p
 
As a local, well-respected pilot once told me, "Pretty RV's attract attention, some of that attention is unwanted (FAA). Always be prepared."
 
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