Airworthiness paperwork

[Wilfred]

I built an RV6A and had the FAA do the airworthiness inspection. No engine run was ever made or required.
I built an RV-12 and had a DAR to the inspection; again, no engine run ever made or required.
I have about 6 friends who built experimental aircraft and none of them were asked or required to do an engine run.

Some DARs might ask for this, but I wonder if anyone can show the regulatory citation that requires it.

[WLIU]

Ask and you shall recieve....

For certificated airplanes. 14 CFR 23.955 states what fuel flow must be demonstrated. As noted previously, you do not have to run the engine to satisfy this requirement, you just have to demonstrate adequate fuel flow in the most critical attitude. The FAR specifically says that you can use a mock-up, so any guidance that suggests a real engine run is required is going beyond what is required for certificated airplanes. For single engine tractor engine installations, the critical attitude is nose up. For single engine pusher installations, the most critical attitude is nose down.

While 23.955 arguably does not directly apply to an experimental amateur built aircraft, especially a kit built aircraft where the manufacturer has already investigated this, the test does not need to take a long time and can be very educational. For a typical tractor engine airplane, pick up the front of the airplane using an engine hoist and a sling around some of the engine mount tubes to get the right attitude, disconnect the fuel line from the fuel control or carburetor, and measure how much fuel flows into a bucket in 60 secs. The amount of fuel in the bucket must calculate out to a minimum of 150% of the sea level full throttle fuel consumption of your engine. Done.

Best of luck,

Wes
N78PS