RST Audio Panel Legality

RST Engineering wrote:


Reading that sentence, can you POSSIBLY construe "owner built part" from the
process? He PAID somebody to do the work that the owner was supposed to do
himself. We are VERY CLEAR that the owner of the aircraft must do the
assembly or the part cannot be legally installed on a certificated airplane.

Not so fast Jim. I can't say based on the limitted info presented by the
original poster, but your statement isn't true on face value. The FAA
doesn't require the parts under the owner-produced rule to actually be
constructed by the hand of the owner. If I need a part made, I can go
write up a list of specifications, go to a machine shop, have it made up
to those specifications, inspect it to verify that the work has been done
properly, and then have it installed. This isn't a rule like the amateur
built where the part has to be done for the education of the builder.

However, this only covers the production of the part. Just because you
build the part yourself, doesn't mean that you are free to install it in
your plane any more than if you bought it from a FAA-approved manufacturer.
The authority to produce the part, and the authority to have it installed
are seperate.