What are the inspection requirements when an aircraft is out of annual?
I often see this term on used aircraft for sale, and it has an ominous implication; but are the requirements more rigorous or not?
Thanks in advance. -glen
What are the inspection requirements when an aircraft is out of annual?
I often see this term on used aircraft for sale, and it has an ominous implication; but are the requirements more rigorous or not?
Thanks in advance. -glen
Depends if you are talking Experimental or GA airplanes.
With Experimental EAB type airplanes, not a lot of info on some airframes. Its up to the owner to know what to check during a Condition Inspection. This inspection is just that, the person is making sure the airplane is in the same condition it was in when the FAA gave it its airworthy certificate. This inspection is not stating the airplane is in fact any thing more or less then what they FAA stated it was when inspected by the FAA inspectors or DAR.
GA, it's a complete different ball game. That is an Annual Airworthy inspection and must be handled in a certain way.
In its simplest form.
Tony
It only means the annual inspection is past due. So the question becomes, how far past due? And why? Let's say for instance, the plane is being sold because the pilot is no longer able to pass a medical, but the plane is in otherwise good condition and the annual has just lapsed, the implication for a buyer is that you would need to get a ferry permit to take the plane to another field or to your own mechanic to have the annual inspection done. Someone has to look the plane over to get the ferry permit, so there is some expense implied, but it's really not a big deal to do. However, if the plane has been sitting for a number of years or the annual was allowed to lapse because it was going to be prohibitively expensive to get the plane through another annual, then the implications can get a bit expensive to get the plane moved unless you plane to dismantle and trailer it home. The rules are the same if it's an Experimental. It's just a matter of who can look at it and approve it for flight.
-CubBuilder
The rules for an annual for a GA and a Condition inspection for a experimental are not the same. The wording logged into the log book are different as are many other things. Experimental does not have to comply with any standards like a GA airplane.
It does not matter if the airplane is two days or two years out of annual. Its all the same.
He did not ask about ferry permits.
Tony
no. same standards apply.Originally Posted by N404CX
As everyone has been saying, the requirements are no different whether the plane is in or out of annual.
However, the *implications* might raise some flags. If the airplane has been idle and neglected, some significant deterioration may have occured. An A&P friend recently looked at an "out of annual' airplane. Turns out it hadn't flown for eight years. It took several days' work to get the plane in good enough shape to sign off the annual.
"Out of annual" is not enough data to automatically reject the airplane. As the OP says, it does have an ominous ring, but an airplane one week "out of annual" is probably in better shape than one that's a full decade out. You're going to want an A&P or the like to inspect the plane anyway, just be prepared for some problems if it's been sitting a while.
Ron Wanttaja
Assuming we're talking about a part 91 airplane, the requirements are in FAR part 91, sub-part E titled, "Maintenance, Preventative maintenance, and alterations. The performance requirements are in FAR part 43. Look at:
91.403 - General - states that the owner is responsible for maintenance
91.409 - Inspections - lays out the requirements for inspections for the different type of operations. This is an annual inspection for most non-experimental and non-for-hire operators.
91.411 and 91.413 establish the requirements for pitot-static / transponder checks (although an airplane can pass an annual with an expired pitot-static / transponder check, it just cannot be flown).
Appendix D of FAR 43 contains the scope and detail of items to be included in an annual inspection.
You only need a static check for IFR; and you only need a transponder check if you need to turn on the transponder. Neither of those prevent the airplane from being flown VFR.
....unless you happen to live in or need to fly within the airspace that requires a transponder.
If you fly a single seat and a Non-electric airplane, transponder or radio not required.
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