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SB 16-05-26 Data Plate Mod.

E

Ex Bonanza Bucko

Well Known Member
Wow: This either came from someone at FAA on salary with not enough to do or from a retired bean counter longing for the good ole days: Who in heck does not know that Van's is a USA company?

I know, I know, the largest part of Van's business is not in USA but this requirement to mess up that beautiful factory data plate on my SLSA or on your carefully made one on your ELSA should at least be accompanied by an explanation of the reason for the work....and problem.

I sure hope there is not some threat to Van's brand in some far away land....if so please tell us and we'll sign up to defend the USA.

EBB
 
I saw that SB and now have a dilemma. My RV-12 is registered as E-LSA... but the data plate and the paperwork all list the builder as manufacturer, not Van's. I know it's an anomaly and I know that's not how it's supposed to be done, but that's how it got done. FAA didn't squawk when I got the new registration after buying it, so I guess they're OK with it too.

I have to wonder how many other E-LSAs have the builder as the manufacturer instead of Van's.
 
The reason.....

Many of you may have read in the news in the past 1 - 1.5 years about the FAA auditing S-LSA manufacturers for compliance with the consensus standard ASTM's.

The FAA recently audited Van's Aircraft and the RV-12.

The subject of this SB was one of the few items that was found to not be in compliance with the consensus standard (they were all primarily related to documentation, record keeping, etc.).

It is minor.... but none the less it is still a requirement. It was a simple oversight (that numerous other manufacturers have made also by the way....)

The SB has been issued to retroactively bring all E-LSA and S-LSA RV-12's into compliance.
 
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Well....this FAA demand for a fussy SB certainly sounds/looks a lot like a bunch of ADs I had on my dear old Bonanza that got withdrawn when owners told the FAA they were nuts:

A big one was an AD demanding that a sign be put on the door that the pilot had to shut the door and another one was a placard on the fuel selector requiring that the pilot be sure to put the little handle in the correct position.....of two...Right and Left and none other.

I think I have discovered another place for FAA to save some money they can spend on an upgraded bunch of computers at ATC

EBB
 
It could have been worse

Ex Bonanza Bucko said:
Wow: This either came from someone at FAA on salary with not enough to do or from a retired bean counter longing for the good ole days: Who in heck does not know that Van's is a USA company?

I know, I know, the largest part of Van's business is not in USA but this requirement to mess up that beautiful factory data plate on my SLSA or on your carefully made one on your ELSA should at least be accompanied by an explanation of the reason for the work....and problem.

I sure hope there is not some threat to Van's brand in some far away land....if so please tell us and we'll sign up to defend the USA.

EBB
Click to expand...
Well, I don't have to tear the plane apart to get at it, I don't have to crawl into the baggage area and walk hunched over for a week with a sore back, and I don't have to buy/wait for new parts.

I can't gripe too much about this one.
 
rvbuilder2002 said:
.. FAA auditing S-LSA manufacturers for compliance with the consensus standard ASTM's....
Click to expand...

I know some of you just love bashing the FAA, but I think you missed an important part of the quote above (bold mine). The FAA did not set these standards, the industry did. If they don't comply with their own standards then this whole thing just falls apart now doesn't it?
 
I'm surprised the Feds would allow changing ANY info on the dataplate once the AWC is issued. So would this omission keep me from signing ofF that my ELSA aircraft is in a condition for safe operation. Since mine is an ELSA I am not required to incorporate notifications and SBs, so.Why can't I ignore this?
 
redbaron said:
What about am built Aircraft?
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Rich, my guess is that the USA inscription would not be required for EAB aircraft data plates. In the case of an EAB aircraft, Van's is not the Aircraft Manufacturer, the builder is. Also, the SB clearly states "SLSA. and ELSA", not EAB. Besides, think about it. That would mean that every homebuilt out there would require the addition of USA to their data plates.

Tom
 
ccrawford said:
I know some of you just love bashing the FAA, but I think you missed an important part of the quote above (bold mine). The FAA did not set these standards, the industry did. If they don't comply with their own standards then this whole thing just falls apart now doesn't it?
Click to expand...

Exactly

Another way to look at it is that the FAA is actually overseeing the industy and keeping them accountable.

There are a lot of other things within the ASTM's that are important from a quality and safety standpoint for S-LSA's. In that regard, it is to the consumers benefit that they are watching over things.
 
I think its a favorable endorsement of VAN's LSA/SLSA program if this is kind of thing they're finding in their audit!

On another note, thoughts on doing this? Dremel it, remove it and take it to an engraver, magic marker...mostly kidding.
 
does not match

What happens when FAA inspects the airplane for the airworthiness certificate and the registration and data plate don't match exactly? Has FAA made provisions for the differences created by this new SB?

I just received my a/w cert two days ago and they looked carefully at the data plate. The first thing they looked at was the data plate. At this point, the registration, airworthiness certificate, and data plate match.
 
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John,

When the DAR issued my AWC he took a picture of the dataplate for the application package. I'm not messing with mine unless the FAA issues something telling me to do it.

Rich
 
John C said:
What happens when FAA inspects the airplane for the airworthiness certificate and the registration and data plate don't match exactly? Has FAA made provisions for the differences created by this new SB?

I just received my a/w cert two days ago and they looked carefully at the data plate. The first thing they looked at was the data plate. At this point, the registration, airworthiness certificate, and data plate match.
Click to expand...

The registration certificate and airworthiness certificate do not require country of origin as part of the required information so adding "USA" does not change anything that was required on the data plate for registration and airworthiness.
 
Ex Bonanza Bucko said:
Wow: This either came from someone at FAA on salary with not enough to do or from a retired bean counter longing for the good ole days: Who in heck does not know that Van's is a USA company?

I know, I know, the largest part of Van's business is not in USA but this requirement to mess up that beautiful factory data plate on my SLSA or on your carefully made one on your ELSA should at least be accompanied by an explanation of the reason for the work....and problem.

I sure hope there is not some threat to Van's brand in some far away land....if so please tell us and we'll sign up to defend the USA.

EBB
Click to expand...

Have to agree with EBB on this one. Cleaning up the (extremely) minor omission going forward - fine. Requiring retroactive compliance on flying airplanes - absurd. Yeah, like I'm really going to drill out the rivets holding my data plate, take it back to the engraver, and let the tails of those 4 rivets rattle around in my tail cone forever just waiting to get caught in something.
 
EAB RV12s faster

Here's proof that EAB RV12s are faster. You can see from my Data Plate that due to speed, the paint is coming off, also the engravings..haha
DataPlate.jpg
 
SB 16-05-26 Data Plate Mod

Guys: Not to start a controversy here about Data Plates, but IIRC wasn't the data plate a US Customs requirement initially? Drug smugglers changing N-numbers with duct tape or something like that. Minimum requirement was MAKE, MODEL, AND SERIAL NUMBER, mounted outside if the original Data Plate wasn't visible from outside the aircraft. I guess things have evolved with these S-LSA and E-LSA aircraft. Dan from Reno
 
Technically...

Service Bulletins are not required to be done for experimental aircraft, including E-LSA aircraft; however, S-LSA aircraft must comply.
 
olderthandirt said:
So today I took Dremel tool to shop and added "USA" to data plate...have not had DAR visit so did not want some kind of glitch...don't tell anyone but when the DAR is over with I will remove that data plate and put one on that say's builder " Me" ...and they can ramp check me all they want..
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You DO know how many FAA employees read VAF don't you? I'd suggest that you might want to be careful when you post somethgin contrary to the rules on a public forum. Just a suggestion.
 
I wonder how much money this tempest in a teapot cost everyone. It seems somewhere along the line the regulator lost sight of their sacred trust to protect the health and safety of the public.
 
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