Morgans wrote:

Ron Wanttaja wrote

Simple: They just don't tell the FAA. There's no requirement for an FAA
representative to be there for the first flight. What they don't know,
they can't stop.

Right. The sad part is, as president of an EAA chapter, he knew better, and
decided that the rules didn't apply to him.

It makes me mad. Incidents like this give us all a black eye.

We don't know the facts. From:

http://tinyurl.com/2yy7k

(An EAA Members Only web page):

"If there is a situation where the builder has a specific need for
additional crew in the aircraft during the fight test period, FAA
Advisory Circular AC 20-27E, CERTIFICATION AND OPERATION OF
AMATEUR-BUILT AIRCRAFT, offers the following advice:

“If an additional crew member is required for a particular test
function, that requirement should be specified in the application
program letter for the airworthiness certificate and listed in the
operating limitations by the FAA.”

The FAA will review each application on a case-by-case basis, and may
allow additional crew if they feel there is sufficient justification."


So, while unlikely, it is possible that this person got permission
from the FAA and had written into his op-limits that he could have a
2nd crewmember.

Personally, I'm very against this practice and always caution against
it (having done the first flight in my plane solo), but he MIGHT have
had permission, in which case there's no "black eye", or disobeying
the rules.

--
Marc J. Zeitlin
http://www.cozybuilders.org/
Copyright (c) 2007