DAR Inspections at Cost?

[Bob H]

Back around 2003, the EAA realized that more DARs were needed to signoff builder's planes. The EAA gave $1000 scholarships to individuals completing the DAR program with the proviso that the new DAR do builder inspections at his cost to the EAA member builder for one year. I selected such a DAR in 2004 to inspect the Pulsar I was finishing and the final cost was around $100, a very reasonable price.
I'm getting close to completing a Zenith 701 and would like to know if such DARs are still doing inspections at cost?
Bob H

[Frank Giger]

I don't know about DAR's, but it's worth the phone call to the FDSO to see if they have someone available to do the inspection. I'd long been told that the only real route was through a DAR as the FAA was simply too busy to do them.

When our preferred DAR was no longer able to do them (medical reasons), I had finally found a guy that with transportation would have come out at around a grand. On a whim I called our local FAA office and was told that I may have to wait as long as two weeks before they could send someone out.



Yeah, two weeks was okay.

[Scooper]

I am in the process of setting up an appointment with Brian Carpenter, principal at Rainbow Aviation and a DAR, to inspect my AMD CH601XLi SLSA and to help me with the paperwork to convert it to an ELSA. Carol Carpenter quoted me roughly $450 for the service.

[1600vw]

I believe it depends on location and who you know. A friend told me when he had his airplane inspected the DAR only wanted gas money for doing it. The DAR had to travel an hour or more to get to him.

[cub builder]

DARs are independent contractors, so they charge what they consider to be a reasonable rate for their time. It's not fixed by the FAA. Most also charge travel time. I've never heard of them doing inspections for "cost", but that doesn't mean the program doesn't or didn't exist.

Also, the FSDO is supposed to do the inspections for free, but most FSDOs will tell you they are far too busy and will either schedule you 6 months out, or won't do it at all. However, every once in a while, you can find an Airworthiness Inspector at the FSDO that is willing to come do an inspection. We had one available in our area for a while, but the only way the FSDO would let him have a car to come out here was if he was doing a FAASTeam presentation for a group. So the chapter would schedule him to do a presentation when someone had their plane ready to inspect, and he would do both the same day. That way, the inspection was free. You might contact your local FSDO and see if one of their FAASTeam presenters is also an Airworthiness Inspector and would be willing to do an Airworthiness Inspection for an Experimental if the opportunity was presented. If that's the case, schedule him to do a presentation to a pilot group in the evening, and while he's there...

-Cub Builder

[gbrasch]

I tried but could not get the FAA to inspect my plane for free, so I found a local DAR to do it, $500 cash for the 30 minute event.