EAA STORE
Building and flying our own aircraft . . .
These privileges are at the very heart of EAA
Everyone who participates in aviation benefits from the efforts of the amateur-building community. Learn more and make your voice heard to protect these valuable activities.
Victories Won … But More To Do
Over the past few years, the FAA has expressed concern that some modern-day practices involving prefabrication of aircraft kit components and commercial builder assistance leave too few construction tasks to the amateur builder. The agency said it must more strictly enforce the “51% Rule” — the requirement an amateur builder or group of amateur builders must personally complete a majority, 51% or more, of the aircraft construction tasks.
The FAA on July 15th, 2008, published in the Federal Register its Official Notice of revised policies for interpretation and enforcement of the amateur-built aircraft regulations. The published terms confirmed two key victories for the many members of the EAA community who have expressed concerns to the FAA:
- The FAA’s proposed policy statement preserves the amateur builder’s privilege to design, build, and fly an aircraft of any airworthy design, without limitations on the aircraft's complexity, power, size, performance, or other specifications.
- The proposed terms also provide for “grandfathering” — that is, the new interpretation and enforcement policy will not disqualify any aircraft kit that the FAA had already placed on its published list of approved amateur-built kit designs.
These protections are good news to the EAAers who rallied to preserve an activity that provides recreational and educational benefits, and that advances the development of all aviation.
However, the EAA community is concerned that, in an attempt to apply more stringent oversight of amateur-built certification, the FAA is proposing a convoluted formula to measure not only the amateur’s overall contribution to construction, but also the proportion of tasks to be completed within two broad categories; fabrication and assembly.
Amateur-Built Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC)
On November 4, 2008, FAA Order 1110.143.A, re-chartered the Amateur-Built ARC. On January 27-29, 2009, the ARC met in Washington DC to:
- Advise the FAA on disposition of public comments
- Assist with a new definition of fabrication
- Assist in the formulation of the Grandfathering policies of FAA listed amateur built aircraft kits
The period for public comments was July 15, 2008 through December 15, 2008. 2,273 comments were submitted with over 98 percent opposed to changing the current FAA policy.
The main recommendations of the ARC included the following main points:
- Fabrication – Consensus was reached on a new definition of fabrication
- Grandfathering – Existing FAA approved amateur-built kits continue to be approved
- Reevaluation of the need for the 20/20/11
- New Amateur-Built fabrication and assembly checklist
- National Kit Evaluation Team (NKET)
EAA supports the recommendations of the ARC and fully expects the FAA to publish revised guidance incorporating the recommendations of the ARC. The FAA published the final ARC report on September 16, 2009 with the new FAA policies being published at a later date. Suggestions by the ARC and EAA are expected to be incorporated into the new policies. This will enable current builders to continue on with their plans, future builders to decide on an approved kit, and kit manufacturer customers to gain confidence in their products.
Amateur building is a core value to all EAA members.
The Amateur-Built category and the 51% rule were created 55 years ago. In 1953, EAA Founder Paul Poberezny organized a small group of aviation enthusiasts to seize this new regulatory opportunity to build and fly their own aircraft. This small cadre of amateur aircraft builders worked from a few published plans or created designs of their own. No one then envisioned the scope of the amateur built industry in the 21st century.
Today the amateur-built marketplace offers a dizzying array of pre-built assemblies, aircraft kits, “quick-build” kits, and builder assistance services from manufacturers. An entire industry of suppliers, designers, manufacturers, and service providers has grown up around the amateur-building movement and the FAA’s precedent interpretation and enforcement of amateur-built certification.
Amateur-built aircraft are the heart of EAA and the heart of aviation!
It all started with an amateur-built aircraft and two amateur builders named Orville and Wilbur Wright. The Amateur-Built Category, created in 1952, gives amateur builders the freedom to build an aircraft on any complexity, power, or performance, from a powered parachute, to SpaceShip One. Innovations that were pioneered by amateur builders have found their way into private, commercial, and military aircraft. These include:
- Composite materials and construction
- Glass-cockpit instrumentation
- Winglets
- Ballistic recovery systems
- Epoxy adhesives in wood construction
- Vinyl-based coatings for fabric-covered aircraft
- Lightweight engines with high power-to-weight ratios
- Electronic ignition systems
- Spring steel landing gear
- Private spacecraft
Looking ahead
The amateur-built movement stimulated the revitalization and modernization of general aviation’s single-engine marketplace in the 1980s and 1990s … when the traditional industry was in deep decline.
Entire categories of modern recreational aviation are rooted in the amateur-building movement. These include ultralights, powered parachutes, and light-sport aircraft.
Looking ahead, amateur builders are leading the way in developing electric powerplants for general aviation aircraft. If history and the collective experience of EAA’s amateur-building community are any indication, amateur-builders will remain at the leading edge of progress in aviation.
