licensing for homebuilts

I've been reading some of the FAA documents and am sort of confused about
something.

I don't see any requirements for a pilots license when applying for
registration and such for a homebuilt. is it implied that you already have a
license or is none required?

I see talk about reserving your N number then getting inspected, then
getting your 25 (or 40) hour permission.

note: I am talking about what's required, not what is heavily recommended.

"Tater Schuld" wrote in message
...
I don't see any requirements for a pilots license when applying for
registration and such for a homebuilt. is it implied that you already have a
license or is none required?

You don't need a pilot's license to own or even build an airplane. Now if
you wish to actually fly it...

Vaughn

In article ,
"Tater Schuld" wrote:

I've been reading some of the FAA documents and am sort of confused about
something.

I don't see any requirements for a pilots license when applying for
registration and such for a homebuilt. is it implied that you already have a
license or is none required?

I see talk about reserving your N number then getting inspected, then
getting your 25 (or 40) hour permission.

note: I am talking about what's required, not what is heavily recommended.

Tater, did you wake up as a troll again today? I had just started to
take you seriously!

But I'll bite. Yes, you need a pilot's license, unless the plane is an
ultralight.

You can own a car, and register it, but you can't drive it without a
license. Same with a plane.

"Smitty Two" wrote

Tater, did you wake up as a troll again today? I had just started to
take you seriously!

Your bad. When did he not wake up a troll? g

But I'll bite. Yes, you need a pilot's license, unless the plane is an
ultralight.

Yes, to fly the plane, but he asked about registering it.

The * plane* gets an OK to fly, along with the required number of hours
assigned. A trained monkey can fly it, if he is a certificated pilot.

You can own a car, and register it, but you can't drive it without a
license. Same with a plane.
--
Jim in NC

No One Give This Man An Airplane

"Tater Schuld" wrote in message
...
I've been reading some of the FAA documents and am sort of confused about
something.

I don't see any requirements for a pilots license when applying for
registration and such for a homebuilt. is it implied that you already have
a license or is none required?

I see talk about reserving your N number then getting inspected, then
getting your 25 (or 40) hour permission.

note: I am talking about what's required, not what is heavily recommended.
ok, I gave a lot of you the incorrect questions.

lets see if this makes more sense.

in the following documents

AC 20-27E
AC 20-139
AC 21-12B
AC 39-7C
AC 65-23A
AC 90-89A
AC 103-7

Which I picked up at the FAA booth at Oshkosh, bound together as the
"Amateur Built Aircraft Reference Manual". I could not find the Pilot
licensing requirements. can someone point them out to me?

I keep reading through them, but cannot find anywhere that states that a
certified pilot is needed to fly the aircraft. maybe I am looking in the
wrong set of documents.

like I said above, I am talking about what's required, not what is heavily
recommended.

Earlier, Tater Schuld wrote:

...I keep reading through them, but
cannot find anywhere that states that
a certified pilot is needed to fly the
aircraft. maybe I am looking in the
wrong set of documents...

The booklets you collected are mostly about building and resistering
homebuilt aircraft, not about flying them.

Except when they're ultralight, homebuilt airplanes are civil aircraft
subject to 14 CFR part 61, 91, and a few others.

What you're looking for starts with 14 CFR 61.3:

(a) Pilot certificate. A person may not act as
pilot in command or in any other capacity as
a required pilot flight crewmember of a civil
aircraft of U.S. registry, unless that person-

(1) Has a valid pilot certificate or special
purpose pilot authorization issued under
this part in that person's physical
possession or readily accessible in the
aircraft when exercising the privileges of
that pilot certificate or authorization.
However, when the aircraft is operated
within a foreign country, a current pilot
license issued by the country in which
the aircraft is operated may be used;
and..

You can find all current FARs in the links from this FAA Web site page:

http://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/

Thanks, and best regards to all

Bob K.
http://www.hpaircraft.com/hp-24

On Sat, 18 Feb 2006 10:52:42 -0600, "Tater Schuld" wrote:

I've been reading some of the FAA documents and am sort of confused about
something.

I don't see any requirements for a pilots license when applying for
registration and such for a homebuilt. is it implied that you already have a
license or is none required?

A pilot license is not required to either build or register an aircraft, whether
Normal or Special categories. A pilot license *is* required to operate them.
See FAR 61.3. The FAA documents addressing certification and registry of
homebuilts do not address pilot qualifications, as that has nothing to do with
certification or registering.

It's perfectly legal for someone without a pilot's license to build an
Experimental Amateur/Built plane, just as it's legal for someone at Boeing to
assemble an airliner without a pilot's license.

Ron Wanttaja

Ron Wanttaja wrote:
A pilot license *is* required to operate them. See FAR 61.3.

If I build a Flybaby, can I do the first flight and subsequent testing
while using my "Sport Pilot" classification?

How about a one-off Experimental Category design that is engineered to
comply with the Light Sport Aircraft operating limitations?

Thanks, Hawkeye Hughes

On Sun, 19 Feb 2006 20:55:21 -0500, "Morgans" wrote:


"Hawkeye" wrote

If I build a Flybaby, can I do the first flight and subsequent testing
while using my "Sport Pilot" classification?

How about a one-off Experimental Category design that is engineered to
comply with the Light Sport Aircraft operating limitations?

Thanks, Hawkeye Hughes

Yes, and yes.

Ditto, and Ditto. :-)

If an aircraft meets the Light Sport definition, it can be flown by a Sport
Pilot regardless of its certification category.

The only issue that might come up is if some FAA'ian wants to dispute whether
your one-off Experimental aircraft meets the definition. If it weighs 1,000
pounds, has only 50 sq.ft of wing area, and an IO-540 for power, it's probably
likely the plane can't meet either the speed requirements...top OR bottom. But
as far as I know, there are no formal procedures for legally establishing
whether a unique aircraft (and each Experimental/Amateur Built aircraft,
legally, *is* unique) meets the definition. There are certification
requirements if the plane is to be *licensed* as Light Sport, but they don't
apply if the plane is in some other category.

Ron Wanttaja