Certificating the SparrowHawk

Operating the SparrowHawk under Part 103 has never made any sense to
me, for several reasons: there are operating restrictions (prior
permission required to fly into an airport with a control tower,
etc.); there's a common "that's not a real airplane" response you get
from airports and tow operators; and from the manufacturer's point of
view it seems unwise to develop a high-wing-loading, high-performance
sailplane and essentially advertise "no license required." (License
or not, you need training to fly something like that.)

I understand you can buy one and apply for an Experimental
airworthiness certificate for it under the Exhibition and Racing
category. Perhaps that's even the "manufacturer's recommended
procedure." I think that's what I'd do.

This, however, creates a new consideration: now we have the prospect
of a US company producing manufactured sailplanes with the explicit
intention that they should be certificated as Experimental. I don't
think this was ever something the FAA had intended. I seem to recall
that they got a bit unhappy about imported gliders being certificated
this way instead of going through a proper certification program.
Anyone got any insight into that? Is it something they would try to
stop? Or would it be fine with them these days?

I actually think it would make a lot of sense in general to allow
manufactured aircraft to be certificated one at a time using the
Amateur-build Experimental flight testing program. This would allow
manufacturers to get sales started without having to go through the
cost of full certification. If the model was successful, a flight
test program could then be done by the manufacturer, allowing them to
get a Normal category type certificate, and all later units would be
sold with type certification rather than as Experimental. Not only
would this help US manufacturers, it could help improve the safety of
the current Amateur-built Experimental market by allowing people to
buy a manufactured version of the same aircraft (instead of being
required to build it themselves). As the buyer, I'd probably want the
factory to do the test flight program...! (Although if they had a
good reputation and a proven design, who'd worry?)

Just some thoughts.