Quote Originally Posted by WLIU View Post
There is no reason why we could not take a series of knowledge tests to qualify for a repairman certificate. After all, we pay to take a computer based knowledge test so there is a financial incentive to read part 43 and not blow multiple test attempts. So passing some subject matter tests and an 8 hour course should get the job done.
I'm going to respectfully disagree. I've built a Quickie Q2 and a COZY MKIV. I currently make a living working on canard composite aircraft, and I'm an A&P and do Condition Inspections on other folks' aircraft (RV's included). You can see my CV at my BA website, if you care about my qualifications to make the following statements.

I can barely familiarize a non-builder owner with a Long-EZ/Varieze/COZY/Berkut aircraft in 8 -10 hours, if they hang around the whole day while I'm doing the CI, are interested and ask a lot of questions. It's a brief overview of all the aspects of the plane, at best.

The owner should be intimately familiar with the aircraft plans and build process - that could take 100 hours of study, easy. The owner should be intimately familiar with all of the aircraft's newsletters, updates, mandatory changes, etc. That can take another 100 hours of study (both studies while poking at the airplane so that the owner can see what the words mean and apply to). Next, as you say, the owner should be familiar with the Part 43 Appendix D requirements for inspections, as well as any aircraft particular inspection requirements - I've got a checklist I use that includes over 250 individual items to check for each aircraft.

Merely understanding and memorizing the words in Part 43, Appendix D is about 1% of what's required to be qualified to do a REAL Condition Inspection on these aircraft. Learning the rest of the FAA CFR requirements (Not FAR, Ron :-) ) might be another 1 - 2%. Every one of the E/AB aircraft types has it's own knowledge requirements - someone would have to put together a complex curriculum that would require both class learning as well as hand's on work for every aircraft type. This would be 100's of hours (hence the length of time it takes to get an A&P, much less an IA) and would be far more than some multiple choice computer test.

With all the experience I've got in composite aircraft, if I purchased a rag and tube plane and someone told me that I could learn everything I'd need to know to do a CI on one (even just MY plane) in 8 - 16 hours, I'd say they were deluded, and if I thought I was competent to do so, I'd be deluding myself.

My $0.02.