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Repairman cert issued

DaleB

Well Known Member
Last summer I took the two-day LSRI class in Denton, TX from Rainbow Aviation. This afternoon I drove over to the Lincoln FSDO, and was in and out in about 20 minutes and a cup of coffee with my temporary repairman cert in hand. FSDO staff was super easy to work with, and the process was quick and painless. Of course I had sent him copies of all the documentation ahead of time, so today was just a paper signing exercise.

At the end the FSDO guy pointed out that this was only the inspection cert, and does not allow me to do any maintenance or repairs. I let that one go, didn't feel like arguing with him. My -12 is an E-LSA, I could have my dog do maintenance and repairs if only poor Budweiser had opposable thumbs. Technically I guess he's correct, this certificate does not authorize me to do maintenance and repairs on my Experimental airplane. The FARs do. :)
 
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Last summer I took the two-day LSRI class in Denton, TX from Rainbow Aviation. This afternoon I drove over to the Lincoln FSDO, and was in and out in about 20 minutes and a cup of coffee with my temporary repairman cert in hand. FSDO staff was super easy to work with, and the process was quick and painless. Of course I had sent him copies of all the documentation ahead of time, so today was just a paper signing exercise.

At the end the FSDO guy pointed out that this was only the inspection cert, and does not allow me to do any maintenance or repairs. I let that one go, didn't feel like arguing with him. My -12 is an E-LSA, I could have my dog do maintenance and repairs if only poor Budweiser had opposable thumbs. Technically I guess he's correct, this certificate does not authorize me to do maintenance and repairs on my Experimental airplane. The FARs do. :)

I had the same issue when I got my "inspection cert"...as asked who will do repair/work on my plane. My answer "that I would be doing it" brought forth much condemnation....and when I asked the guy if he understood part 43, he continued to rag on me. His boss called me the next day apologizing😎😎
 
I really can't blame the guys. I know they're FAA guys and all, but E-AB is a tiny part of what they do and E-LSA/S-LSA is an even tinier part of that. The LSA rules are very screwy in many respects. That works in our favor in some cases, like being able to get the repairman's certificate for an Experimental plane you didn't build. This mash-mash of who can do what to which kind of LSA is probably one of the least understood parts of the regs, so I'm certainly not surprised that he was mistaken, and didn't want to get into it. They were great about getting me in and out on a Friday afternoon, we had a nice discussion about airplanes and all.
 
Paper Work Required?

Hey Dale,
Can you tell us what paperwork you were required to provide to the FAA to receive the IA for your aircraft? Of course the Certificate of Completion for the 16 hour course, Aircraft Registration, but what else did they want to see?
 
Requirements for repairman certificate.

Hey Dale,
Can you tell us what paperwork you were required to provide to the FAA to receive the IA for your aircraft? Of course the Certificate of Completion for the 16 hour course, Aircraft Registration, but what else did they want to see?

When I do an EAB certification, I issue a letter of recommendation to the applicant for the repairman certificate. At the bottom of that letter I include the following:
To apply for your repairman?s certificate, call your local FAA Flight Standards District Office (FSDO) and make an appointment with an airworthiness inspector. Take the following documents with you and be prepared for a short interview.

This letter of recommendation
FAA form 8610-2 (application)
FAA form 8130-12 (eligibility statement) Signed and notarized
A copy of your airworthiness certificate
Aircraft logbook showing the airworthiness sign off
Inspection checklist showing how you will conduct the condition inspection on your aircraft
 
I also had to bring in my original Operating Limitations which they reissued with an updated copy, which had changes.

On another point, I had a rotax service done and the A&P/AI challenged my condition inspection entry (verbatim from the Rainbow Manual) that I cannot reference Chapter 43. He stated that section does not apply to E-LSA and I should only refence compliance with manufacturers checklist. Anyone have any insight into his observation?
 
I just had to have a form 8610-2, a PBOR acknowledgment, a copy of my completion certificate from the class, and my driver's license. They never asked for any of the plane's documents. I thought that was odd, but I wasn't going to argue with them. And it's not like they can't look up who owns the plane.
 
Is there a directory of somewhere of place that offer the two-day course? I see the occasional note that SportAir workshops does, but they haven't offered it in quite some time, from what I can tell. And I don't want to travel to Texas.
 
I also had to bring in my original Operating Limitations which they reissued with an updated copy, which had changes.

On another point, I had a rotax service done and the A&P/AI challenged my condition inspection entry (verbatim from the Rainbow Manual) that I cannot reference Chapter 43. He stated that section does not apply to E-LSA and I should only refence compliance with manufacturers checklist. Anyone have any insight into his observation?

Part 43 does not apply to "Experimental" aircraft; (about the third paragraph), that is why we can do our own maintenance.
 
Part 43

FWIW, I contacted Rainbow, and they confirmed that part 43, does apply to the E-LSA. They referenced my operating limitations, and sure enough, in my specific operating limitations, reissued to me after the course, it specifically states the condition inspection must be in compliance with Part 43 (also the manufacturer's maintenance checklist).
 
FWIW, I contacted Rainbow, and they confirmed that part 43, does apply to the E-LSA. They referenced my operating limitations, and sure enough, in my specific operating limitations, reissued to me after the course, it specifically states the condition inspection must be in compliance with Part 43 (also the manufacturer's maintenance checklist).

i think folks are getting confused over "repair/maintence" vice "condition/annual inspections". You must attend a 16 hour approved course to get a repairmans license (with inspection authorization)....for E-LSA (120 hr for S-LSA). To sign off your annual inspection in log book. However, maintence/repair of your "experimental" aircraft (I.e. As noted on airworthy certificate)...anyone can due; part 43 specifically...does not apply (at least to maintence/repair), as noted in paragraph 3 (or there about)...that it does not apply to "experimental" designated aircraft.
 
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