Originally Posted by Hung
If you go with an Experimental (not a LSA), you may have more choices. You still need the medical, but you escape most maintenance/mod regulations.

With an ELSA, you can, with successful completion of a weekend course, do your own condition inspections. There is no 51% rule with ELSA in order to do condition inspections. Anyone can do maintenance and modifications to an EAB or ELSA. With an EAB, you may/will be required to prove you built the aircraft in order to qualify for a repairman's certificate for that aircraft only, but no course is required.If you don't hold the repairman's certificate, an A&P, or the previous holder(builder) of the repairman's certificate signs off the condition inspection, it can not be signed of by an IA. I realize IA's are also A&Ps, but it is signed of as an A&P. FSDO stressed this heavily in an IA renewal I attended this past week.
Terry
One further note a SLSA(factory built) aircraft HAS to be maintained IAW the manufacturers instructions. The manufacturer tells you exactly who and what tasks can/will be done. Failure to follow this theoretically revokes the Airworthiness Certificate. Any modifications or repairs outside of the documentation MUST be approved by the manufacturer, there are no FAA form 337s for SLSAs.

Last edited by Terry_Gardner; 03/06/11 09:54 PM. Reason: added note