FAA Inspection of Expramental aircraft.

[Blue Chips]

In the early 70's I built a helicopter and it was inspected and signed off by a representative of the district area FAA at no charge.
Do they no longer do this?

Thanks
Ken

[cub builder]

Yes. And no. There are still a few FAA inspectors that you can get to come out for a "free" inspection, but the FAA strongly discourages their inspectors from doing so. We do have one locally that will do inspections, but we always schedule an inspection with him in conjunction with him speaking at the EAA meeting the same evening representing the FAA FAASTeam. Otherwise, they won't let him have a vehicle, and don't want to cover his time. In many (nearly all) places, you can't get an FAA inspector, so you hire a DAR (Designated Airworthiness Representative). Their pricing runs anywhere from $250 - $750 plus mileage.

The rules changed from mandatory FAA phase inspections to the current system with EAA tech counselor inspections with a DAR to do the Airworthiness Inspection in 1980.

-CubBuilder

[gbrasch]

In the early 70's I built a helicopter and it was inspected and signed off by a representative of the district area FAA at no charge.
Do they no longer do this?

Thanks
Ken

An FAA inspector from a FSDO 125 miles away is inspecting a friends RV-8 for free today as I type.

[Blue Chips]

Well, hopefully when the time comes I'll be connected to a FAA inspector that is not shackled by his superiors. I'd think the individual inspectors would love this task.
Likely the local EAA chapter here will have current first hand experience on the likelyhood of the FAA doing the inspection.

Thanks for the replies.
Ken