Sender: <marv@lancaironline.net> (Marvin Kaye)
To: lml
Date: Wed, 04 Sep 2002 07:49:20 -0400
Message-ID: <redirect-1721317@logan.com>
From: Newlan2dl@aol.com
Subject: Re: [LML] Aircraft Log
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Hi Bill (et. al.)

I was speaking with a friend of mine that is a DAR (Designated Airworthiness 
Representative) regarding kit planes and he had a number of suggestions 
regarding certification, unfortunately you may be too far along to really 
make any use of it.  He provided me with a 4 page list of "reminders" that 
the FAA inspector should look for.  This isn't a formal document but a list 
of single sentence reminders that says things like "Certificate of compliance 
on manufactured parts?"  "Weave indicators for fabric orientation?", "Areas 
preped for bonding were sanded without faying the surface" and such.  Since I 
work with him on the airline's "heavy iron" all over the world, we get to 
talk about these things quite a bit.  One of the best pieces of advice he had 
was to write a QC document to illustrate that you have looked at the parts 
and pieces, have a way of evaluating them and if required, rejecting them if 
they are not up to standard.  Since I do composite design and fabrication 
professionally, I plan on keeping retains and testing the resin at regular 
intervals with gel time and Shore hardness.  This shows the inspector (and 
insurance company and a buyer after I'm ready to move on), that I tested 
these materials to make sure they were in spec and that they passed my own 
QC.  I may also get a Barcol hardness tester to verify that the prepregs in 
my kit also pass the test to insure complete cure, or alternately get a cert 
from Lancair that they have a QC system that certified my parts passed their 
test and include that with my documentation.

And of course this is on top of a log and photo's.

I also plan to have production samples that show examples of properly bonded 
joints and such on some scraps I have of prepreg honeycomb panels.  All of 
this is designed to show the inspector that I know what I'm doing and give 
him a level of comfort that it was built acording to a prescribed set of 
rules and not some hobby shopper that can barely stick the plug for his drill 
into the wall socket.

I'll try and scan the document and post it here for everybody to read.

Since I am only getting ready to begin, it's not a problem but unfortunately 
that still doesn't help you much.  What I can suggest is that you contact the 
EAA technical counselor.  They are GREAT and can get you the information in 
the unlikely event they don't know it themselves.  Next I'd contact Lancair.  
 Those folks have been absolutely super, as I'm sure you already know.  

And in the end, and having dealt with the FAA often, I can say that they can 
require you to do just about anything.  If they feel that you have 
substandard bonds, YOU are the one that has to prove them wrong.  They are 
under no obligation to pass you, and their first priority is not to get your 
plane flying but to protect everyone else from you.

It's for reasons like that which cause most DAR's like my friend to outright 
not do homebuilts!

Dan Newland

ES #61