[QUOTE=cdrmuetzel@juno.com;45336]
Quote Originally Posted by Jonathan Harger View Post


Advisory. Not regulatory for Pt 91 ops. And yes, it does refer to passengers. Not essential personnel, not flight crewmembers. Which were specifically allowed by the language of the standard E/AB ops limit #10. So it was never a legal requirement to fly Phase I solo, and it still isn't. At least, it isn't if the aircraft's operating limitations (which are regulatory, not advisory) contain the cookbook phrases listed in the memo.

As I see it, the Order and the AC say the same thing with slightly different wording, basically: during Phase I, no person may be carried in the aircraft during
flight unless that person is essential to the purpose of the flight. Examples of essential personnel, as I understand it, are pilots, co-pilots, flight engineers, and navigators.
So, as I see it, there are no experimental amateur-built aircraft that would have an "essential" or "required" crew of more than one. The AC does allow for an exception to allow a non-flying pilot aboard a test flight, but that exception must asked for, granted, and written directly into the operating limitations, just like the Additional Pilot Program.
People have, and still do, interpret "person... essential to the purpose of the flight" however it suits them, and many people believe that there is wiggle room in the phrasing. I would only say that I would not want to be ramp checked after a Phase I test flight that had another pilot on board for whatever reason, unless that other person were accounted for in my ops limits. I am certain that the FAA inspector wouldn't buy the "essential" safety pilot/data recorder/radio operator gambit and my ticket and I would be temporarily separated.