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Data Plate

Tacco

Well Known Member
What date do I use on the Data Plate and do I have to mount it before the Airworthiness Inspection?
 
Yes, you need to have it mounted for the inspection.

The only data required is the manufacturer, model and serial number. So unless you?re positive of the month and year for the inspection, I?d leave it blank. Better yet, use the EAA data plate which only has the three required fields anyway.
 
Use Registration as a source

Make sure the data plate matches the information on your registration card, in the same format. Make (usually your name unless SLSA or you decide something else like a corporation, model (usually Van's RV or whatever you want to call it), and SN (usually the one given to you from Van's or a SN you can make up).

I use Van's in the example since this is a Van's forum. Obviously other kits could have different makes and models. :)

A common error is to use your name as the Make, such as Joe Airplanebuilder, but the Registration says AIRPLANBUILDER JOE. Just look up your registration on the FAA website under your N-number and have it engraved the same way and you will be fine.

Vic
 
To expand on what the previous replies have stated, I recommend that you put ONLY the required information on the data plate, even if the data plate you have has room for more info. For an experimental aircraft, there is NO regulatory requirement for the date of manufacture, the gross, weight, address of the builder, or any of that info to be on the data plate. Just list the builder name, aircraft model, and aircraft serial number, and leave any other available spaces blank.

And to reiterate what Vic said, make sure those three items of data match the info on the registration certificate exactly. If the builder name shows a middle initial on the registration, make sure it is also on the data plate. Conversely, if there is no middle initial on the registration, leave it off the data plate as well. Another place where people get messed up is the serial number (especially when not using a kit serial number). For example, if the serial number on the registration is 001, then it can't be 01, or just 1, on the data plate. Same goes for aircraft model. If it's Van's RV7" on the registration, don't put only "RV7" on the data plate.
 
And when picking a serial number you might want to take note of this from the Vans factory... :)

?Happy Tuesday, RV owners and builders! Today, while ferreting out a serial number, I discovered in the faa.gov database that there are 101, yes, 101, RV?s of various flavors registered as ?001.? This poses a challenge when transferring ownership of accounts as well as distributing service bulletins and letters.

If anyone has a serial number ?001? or any other serial number besides the original number issued by Van?s, and is aware of that assigned serial number, please contact Van?s to ensure that Van?s database is correct.

Thank you in advance!"
 
Since the topic is dataplate mounting... can i mount it on the belly of the plane, by the tail? (i.e. completely out of sight).

The regs (AC 45-2D) say:
"Outside the aircraft so that it is legible from the ground, either just behind and next to the rear-most entrance door or on the side or bottom of the fuselage near the tail surface"

My thought is that if you're literally on the ground.. it is legible. and it is literally on the "bottom of the fuselage"
 
Since the topic is dataplate mounting... can i mount it on the belly of the plane, by the tail? (i.e. completely out of sight).

The regs (AC 45-2D) say:

My thought is that if you're literally on the ground.. it is legible. and it is literally on the "bottom of the fuselage"

I think so. I was just looking at a V35 Bonanza and it had the data plate directly on the bottom of the fuselage. First time I ever saw that...
 
Since the topic is dataplate mounting... can i mount it on the belly of the plane, by the tail? (i.e. completely out of sight).
The regs (AC 45-2D) say:
My thought is that if you're literally on the ground.. it is legible. and it is literally on the "bottom of the fuselage"

Yes! The regs say it must be "readable by a person on the ground". It says nothing about a required "position" of the person on the ground.
 
And when picking a serial number you might want to take note of this from the Vans factory... :)

?Happy Tuesday, RV owners and builders! Today, while ferreting out a serial number, I discovered in the faa.gov database that there are 101, yes, 101, RV?s of various flavors registered as ?001.? This poses a challenge when transferring ownership of accounts as well as distributing service bulletins and letters.

If anyone has a serial number ?001? or any other serial number besides the original number issued by Van?s, and is aware of that assigned serial number, please contact Van?s to ensure that Van?s database is correct.

Thank you in advance!"

Where was this? I'll admit being one of those with a "non-Van's kit number" serial number, but I don't mind sending them an email to let them know.

I just didn't care for some random meaningless 5-digit number being MY airplane's serial number. :)
 
Where was this? I'll admit being one of those with a "non-Van's kit number" serial number, but I don't mind sending them an email to let them know.

I just didn't care for some random meaningless 5-digit number being MY airplane's serial number. :)

It was right here on the front page news of VAF :)
 
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