"Bob Kuykendall" wrote in message
oups.com...

I think the Falcos are classified on a per-aircraft basis. Some were
built in "factories" (if you can classify as a factory a place where
people use simple hand tools and drink wine at lunch). Some were built
from plans out of raw materials in one-car garages. And as you point
out some are built in fully-stocked workshops from the
expensive-but-worth-it Sequoia kits.

Perhaps I misunderstand, but to me it doesn't sound quite right to
question the plans-built status of one example simply because a
different example was built in a production environment (wine at lunch
nonwithstanding).

Bob.............

Oh, I was in no case comparing a production aircraft to an amateur-built. As
for the per-aircraft basis, I don't believe that is the case. From
conversations with Falco owner/builders, I am told that classification as a
plans-built is determined upon registration. Whatever the owner says is
taken for fact and often the registration person automatically assumes that
a Falco is plans-built, not even asking the owner/builder.

The owner of a Grand Champion Plans-built Falco told me that he had not only
used factory kits, but that he had bought another Falco and used several
subassemblies in piecing together his plane. This doesn't seem to be in the
spirit of the rules. Having a "Homebuilt" professionally constructed and
then entering it in judging is a whole 'nother bag of worms. It's hard to
draw the line nowadays. Very few of us build our engines from scratch, to be
sure.

Rich S.