"Ron Wanttaja" wrote in message
...
On 23 Feb 2004 05:46:33 GMT, JD Butler wrote:

Totally aside from the technical/mechanical side of things.......
Once a certified airplane has had the engine removed and swapped out
with a Mazda rotary engine and aftermarket reducer drive, what steps are
nessary to fly without the FAA crawling up my butt?

Go through the entire certification process, including demonstrating that
the engine meets all the Part 33 and many of the Part 23 requirements.

Otherwise, your plane is permanently(*) in the Experimental category.
What's worse, it cannot be licensed as a Experimental Amateur-Built
aircraft because you did not build the airplane, hence it has to be
licensed in one of the other Experimental sub-categories (R&D, Market
Research, etc.). Requirements for each sub-category differ, but they are
all more-restrictive than the Amateur-Built one. Depending on how your
FSDO interprets the rules, you may be restricted to solo flight only
and/or
have to get permission for every flight beyond a limited distance from the
based airport.

(*) It actually can have the original engine re-installed and revert back
to its original certification.

Ron Wanttaja

And I believe you have to go through the certification process every year.