The Effect of Re-Registration

[rwanttaja]

Three years ago, the FAA instituted a policy that required aircraft owners to renew their registration every three years. Registrations that were not renewed would be cancelled.

So, what did it do to the US fleet?

I don't have an FAA registration database for 1 October 2010 (the day the new program started), but I do have one for 31 December 2010. On that date, there were:

373,869 total aircraft registered
34,916 were listed as Experimental Amateur-Built

As of 15 November:

317,588 total aircraft registered (About a 15.1% decrease)
27,877 listed as Experimental Amateur-Built (a 14.7% decrease)

The FAA includes a list of deregistered aircraft with the database download.

72,888 total aircraft were deregistered from 1 October 2010 to 15 November 2013
7,672 homebuilts were deregistered over the same period.

Almost 20% of all US aircraft (19.5%) have been removed from the rolls, and about 23.5% (nearly a quarter) of the homebuilts.

The question is, will this be reflected in the FAA's flight-hour estimates when accident rates are computed? The FAA has used a low-annual-flight-time value for computing the accidents per 100,000 hours for homebuilts, because so many were supposedly inactive. Seems they should be using closer to even with the rest of GA, now that many of the inactive airplanes have been pared from the rolls.

Note that these aren't the final figures. The FAA says the deregistration process will continue until the end of this year, so there's ~45 more days for planes to be removed.

Ron Wanttaja

[Floatsflyer]

Three years ago, the FAA instituted a policy that required aircraft owners to renew their registration every three years. Registrations that were not renewed would be cancelled.

So, what did it do to the US fleet?

I don't have an FAA registration database for 1 October 2010 (the day the new program started), but I do have one for 31 December 2010. On that date, there were:

373,869 total aircraft registered
34,916 were listed as Experimental Amateur-Built

As of 15 November:

317,588 total aircraft registered (About a 15.1% decrease)
27,877 listed as Experimental Amateur-Built (a 14.7% decrease)

The FAA includes a list of deregistered aircraft with the database download.

72,888 total aircraft were deregistered from 1 October 2010 to 15 November 2013
7,672 homebuilts were deregistered over the same period.

Almost 20% of all US aircraft (19.5%) have been removed from the rolls, and about 23.5% (nearly a quarter) of the homebuilts.

Ron Wanttaja

Those deregistration numbers are huge. With apologies to Pete Seeger: "Where have all the airplanes gone, long time passing?" There is a story attached to each one of them. I'm wondering how many of them are associated with or related to the high cost of flying?

[rwanttaja]

Those deregistration numbers are huge. With apologies to Pete Seeger: "Where have all the airplanes gone, long time passing?" There is a story attached to each one of them. I'm wondering how many of them are associated with or related to the high cost of flying?

Probably not many. Letting the registration lapse would make the plane difficult to sell. Seems to me a fed-up owner would want to keep their options open for as long as possible; getting $10,000 for an airplane worth $50,000 is better than getting scrap value only. Though there are those who would, of course.

One has to remember that the re-registration process is weeding out airplanes that haven't existed for 70+ years. Without a financial incentive to cancel the registration, registrations just weren't getting cancelled. Heck, there were over 500 Bensen Gyrocopters on the deregistration list....

I don't like paying the re-registration fee, and share others' concerns that it may escallate, but it is cleaning the deadwood out of the rolls.

Ron Wanttaja

[1600vw]

Just because one did not meet this deadline does not mean the airplane is a lawn dart. All one has to do is apply for a new N-number and re number the airplane. Simple...

Tony

[Dave Stadt]

Just because one did not meet this deadline does not mean the airplane is a lawn dart. All one has to do is apply for a new N-number and re number the airplane. Simple...

Tony

Simple but not likely except in a very, very few cases.

[Mike Berg]

I can think of a half dozen 'hangar queens' at our little airport that are most likely not registered. I don't have a problem with the registration process if it's not looked at by the FAA as a 'cash cow' to pay for some other program or operation although I do expect the registration fee will rise over the years (don't they always??).

[1600vw]

Simple but not likely except in a very, very few cases.

As long as all you did was miss the reregitration all you do is apply for another N Number. You must have this applied to the airplane but that is it. Simple maybe not for all airplanes but that is all that needs to be done with the FAA. Reapply for a new N number is what you do, no magic.

[Dave Stadt]

As long as all you did was miss the reregitration all you do is apply for another N Number. You must have this applied to the airplane but that is it. Simple maybe not for all airplanes but that is all that needs to be done with the FAA. Reapply for a new N number is what you do, no magic.

Of the nearly 73,000 aircraft that fell off the registration database my bet is 95% or more will never come back. Like Ron said, this is 70 years worth of clean-up. There was never a reason to de-register a plane that was wrecked, parted out, left to rot on a tiedown, sold out of country, stolen to run drugs, three hulks used to make one airworthy aircraft and a bunch of other reasons. They are gone, never to return. They are not off the registration database simply because someone did not send in the paperwork. In other words, there is nothing left to attach an N number to, simple as that process might be.

[1600vw]

I talked with a man whom has a 172 he flies often. He forgot about the reregistration and let the time lapse. He was having others tell him his airplane was junk. I told him contact the FAA and they will issue you a New N-Number and registration. You will then have to have the old number removed and put the new number back on. Just what he did.
He then asked how did I know about this. I told him.....Webinar......

Tony

[Kurt Flunkn]

The whole re-registration issue was driven by anti-terrorism efforts within FAA. The bogey-man approach was taken after comments over the number of "missing" airplanes and how the whereabouts or location and ownership (or possession) of GA airplanes were not known. This concern led to the tri-annual re-registration (as-if terrorists will follow bureaucratic rules).