annual condition report

[Johns]

Hi everyone,seeing as I don't think I have the patience to put together a Sonex of my own, I have been thinking about purchasing one. Everyone seems to think if you don't build it, you can't perform the " condition report".

Well, the Sonex is an e/lsa isn't it? Why can't I take one of those 16 hr courses to get a lsri (light sport repairman inspector) certificate.

What do ya think?

[kmacht]

Most sonex aren't registered as e/lsa. They are registered as e/ab (experimental amateur built) so the 16 hour course can't be used to allow inspections on them. There was only a very short window in which the FAA allowed people to register their homebuiltairplanes as e/lsa. Now the only option is to buy something like the Rv-12. All sonex being registered today only qualify for e/ab certification.

Don't let that turn you off though. You can still do all the maintence and modifications you want just as if you were the original builder. You just need an a&p to do a condition inspection on it once a year. Most eaa chapters know of at least one a&p that will inspect a homebuiltairplanes for a reasonable price. If anything is found during the condition inspection you can fix it yourself and not have to pay the a&p to do it.

Keith
#554

[MichaelFarley56]

Well said Keith!

I have seen a few random Sonexes lurking around that were registered as E/LSA's, but they are rare. Most are E/AB's which means either the original builder (who obtained the Repairman's Certificate for their airplane) or an A&P must sign off the annual Condition Inspection.

If you're worried, call around to local airports and see if you can find a "homebuilt friendly" shop that's okay working on homebuilts, or like Keith suggested, get in touch with the local EAA chapter and see if they have a list of A&P's willing to sign off Condition Inspections. In a lot of cases, the owner can assist on the inspection, reducing cost and speeding up the process.

[daleandee]

Well, the Sonex is an e/lsa isn't it? Why can't I take one of those 16 hr courses to get a lsri (light sport repairman inspector) certificate.

Keith is correct that there are only a few Sonex aircraft that were allowed, at one time, to be registered ELSA. I had one that I registered that way that has since been sold:

http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=28YD

Here is one that is currently on Barnstormers (with an expired registration):

http://www.barnstormers.com/classified_936686_Sonex+Tri-Gear.html

An ELSA Sonex is quite rare but on these you can take the 16 hour course and perform your own condition inspection. Of course you miss the joy of building it yourself but sometimes that just isn't possible.

Dale
N319WF

[Johns]

Thanks for the replies guys. I have been enlightened.

John

[radfordc]

Well, the Sonex is an e/lsa isn't it?

Well, as you know now, the Sonex is an "experimental" and it is "light sport"...but it isn't an E-LSA.