I picked up a plane that has not flown in 15 years and pretty much rebuilt the entire thing. I have my first conditional scheduled for tomorrow. I've never been through the "Annual" process. I have the cowling and all inspection plates and covers removed. I also have safety wire and pliers and a bunch of miscellaneous hardware like pins and castle nuts available. I have a brand new log book as the originals were lost and I put together a binder with a ton of pictures from the rebuild. Weight and balance is done and is in there along with receipts of all the parts I bought also. Anything else I should do tonite to get ready so that I don't waste any of the IA's $reciou$ time? Thanks This is my last step before I call out the DAR to get my new AW cert issued and get this poor airplane back in the air where she belongs.
First Conditional tomorrow...am I ready?
- Thread starter AvidFlyer
- Start date
jnorris
MEMBER
Wisconsin
Any A&P can perform the condition inspection on the experimental airplane. (It is not a "conditional" inspection, is is a "condition" inspection, as you are inspecting the condition of the airplane. The inspection is not conditional on anything!)
Note that the issuance of the airworthiness certificate also counts as a condition inspection, but the DAR (or FAA inspector) will want to have a condition inspection recorded in the aircraft records before he/she performs the airworthiness inspection. This is to verify that the owner/operator is the one attesting to the condition of the aircraft. The FAA is really only attesting to the legality of the aircraft. You will note that the entry made by the FAA inspector/DAR does not mention anything about the condition of the aircraft. That's up to you.
As for preparation, make sure everything is properly marked. Switches, controls (other than primary flight controls) etc. must be clearly and properly marked. Don't forget the placard near the fuel filler(s). This one is commonly missed. You must mark each filler location with the minimum grade of fuel and the capacity of that particular tank.
Make sure you have the passenger warning placard in place (if the aircraft has more than one seat) and the "EXPERIMENTAL" placard near the door(s). Also make sure your N number meets the requirements of FAR Part 45. This is another stumbling block for many inspections.
Hope all goes well!!
Cheers!
Note that the issuance of the airworthiness certificate also counts as a condition inspection, but the DAR (or FAA inspector) will want to have a condition inspection recorded in the aircraft records before he/she performs the airworthiness inspection. This is to verify that the owner/operator is the one attesting to the condition of the aircraft. The FAA is really only attesting to the legality of the aircraft. You will note that the entry made by the FAA inspector/DAR does not mention anything about the condition of the aircraft. That's up to you.
As for preparation, make sure everything is properly marked. Switches, controls (other than primary flight controls) etc. must be clearly and properly marked. Don't forget the placard near the fuel filler(s). This one is commonly missed. You must mark each filler location with the minimum grade of fuel and the capacity of that particular tank.
Make sure you have the passenger warning placard in place (if the aircraft has more than one seat) and the "EXPERIMENTAL" placard near the door(s). Also make sure your N number meets the requirements of FAR Part 45. This is another stumbling block for many inspections.
Hope all goes well!!
Cheers!
