Posted for "Justin Hawkins" <
JustinH@lancair.com>:
EAA
Asks Members to Urge FAA: Preserve Rights For All
Homebuilders
February 28, 2008 - The rights and privileges enjoyed by
homebuilders
over the past half-century have not only given citizens the
freedom to
build and fly their own aircraft, they also led to innovations
that have
found their way into type-certificated products and created an
entire
industry of suppliers, designers, manufacturers, making all of
aviation
stronger. Recent developments, however, have caused considerable
angst
in the homebuilt community about whether or not that freedom will
exist
in the same form after the FAA unveils its new policy
regarding
amateur-built aircraft certification, which will occur later this
year.
Any substantive changes could cause negative effects to
ripple
throughout the homebuilt industry.
The FAA affirms that it
wants to preserve the 51 percent rule and 14 CFR
part 21.191(g), the
homebuilt aircraft regulations. The agency is
questioning whether
"quick-build kits" result in aircraft that are
compliant with the original
regulations, even though the agency has
consistently approved such
aircraft.
To help the FAA have a better understanding of what it takes to
build
even a "fast build" aircraft, EAA is asking homebuilders to write
the
FAA and urge policymakers to maintain and protect the rights of
ALL
amateur builders.
When the agency announced its intentions to
re-examine 51 percent
regulations at EAA AirVenture 2006, it appointed an
industry-government
aviation rulemaking committee (ARC) to come up with
recommendations on
the amateur-building issue. (EAA's Earl Lawrence was ARC
co-chair with
Dick VanGrunsven of Van's Aircraft.) FAA published those
ARC
recommendations in the Federal Register earlier this month and
also
announced a temporary suspension of amateur-built aircraft
kit
evaluations, meaning it will not add any new kits to its "51
percent
approved
list"
<http://www.faa.gov/aircraft/gen_av/ultralights/amateur_built/kit_listin
g/Complete_mfr_model_listing/>
until the new policy is published.
Not included in the ARC report was
EAA's position, shared by the kit
manufacturers:
1. Protect the
current rights of builders to build the
"quick-built" aircraft kits that FAA
has included on the 51 percent
approved list, and that our members have been
building over the last
decade. The FAA has to recognize that for more than a
decade it has set
precedent regarding the various kits and practices that
they have said
meet the standard. The FAA needs to honor its precedent and
continue to
approve those kits.
2. Protect the 51 percent rule and
with it, the builder's ability
to build an amateur-built aircraft of any
complexity, power or size.
A Call to Action
With these points in
mind, EAA asks its members to get involved and
write to the FAA.
If
you're a homebuilder: Write and share your experience as an amateur
builder
with those who are spearheading the new policy. Share with the
FAA your
experience of building your aircraft, why you consider yourself
a true
amateur builder in every sense of the word, and that you advocate
preserving
the precedent established by the FAA when it approved today's
fast or quick
built kits as 51 percent-compliant. EAA has provided a
sample letter
<http://www.eaa.org/news/2008/public_comment_letter.pdf>
with topics
for you to consider including in your letter to the FAA.
If you're not a
homebuilder: We sincerely hope that this issue is
important to you, too. If
you believe in the homebuilt movement and all
the innovation that comes from
it, be ready to act when the FAA
publishes its new policy as to what
qualifies under the amateur-built
regulations. Watch the EAA website for
further details.
To learn more about this critical issue,
visit
www.EAA.org/govt/building.asp
<http://www.eaa.org/govt/building.asp> ,
plus explore the information
located under the Amateur-Built menu in the
blue reference box on the
left.
Justin Hawkins
Lancair Airframe &
Technical Support
Lancair Int. Inc.
2244 Airport
Way
Redmond, OR 97756
justinh@lancair.com
<mailto:justinh@lancair.com>
541-923-2244 ext
121