Rob,
See my reply to John. The purpose of the existing reg is clear. If
other requirements are needed, such as for hand building airplanes under
contract or for immediate resale, then lobby for a new reg, don't mess with one
that works.
I didn't build my airplane(s) with the objective of selling them.
Assuming I don't crash the one I am flying, when I become more senile I shall
sell it. There is a difference to the buyer - I custom built it to my
specs, not his. If he wants one according to his specs, he can modify the
one he bought or have one built under the new "professionally built"
category. Oh darn, I got ahead of the times.
Grayhawk
PS An A&P is trained to fix stuff designed in the middle of the
last century. I don't believe modern construction materials, Electrics,
etc. were a part of their training or testing.
In a message dated 7/23/2008 9:03:59 A.M. Central Daylight Time,
rwolf99@aol.com writes:
It has
been suggested that a contractor-built kitplane will always be safer than an
owner-built airplane. I don't agree. Some builder support centers
provide first-class workmanship. The one I went to (Aircrafters) was
certainly one of those. I have also visited private individuals who
build airplanes for other people and seen excellent work being done.
However, just because someone is charging for their services doesn't make them
an expert. We've all seen good car mechanics and bad ones. And
we've been shown several pictures on this forum of some pretty shoddy
workmanship done by "professionals" (or at least people who got paid to do
it). So charging for building services is no guarantee of
safety.
If we were going to claim that builder support shops always
provide airworthy services, we'd have to insist that they be regulated and
licensed. But wait, the FAA does that already, don't they? It's
called an A&P certificate. Would we be willing to say that the owner
can purchase as much support as he wants, as long as it is done under the
supervision of an A&P? That might work.
How about
motivation? The owner wants to stay alive -- the builder support center
wants to get paid. Who is more motivated towards safety? You do
the math.
What about resale? Suppose I buy a plane that someone
else built? Why is that okay when paying someone to build it for me is
not? Isn't it really the same thing? The answer is simple --
presumably it has flown enough that it's airworthiness has been
demonstrated.
As far as contractor help is concerned, I only have a
problem with awarding a repairman's certificate to an owner who paid a guy to
build his airplane for him. Unless the owner is an A&P, they may not know
enough to maintain it. But letting someone buy assistance -- that should
be fine, as long as it is done under the supervision of an A&P. And
if you don't do "the majority" then you don't get a repairman's
certificate.
- Rob Wolf