Building and flying

[Marty_d]

Hi all,

 

Being a bit of a newbie I hope you'll forgive my ignorance. Having read a few posts on here I see there's people who have built multiple planes, are LAME's, pilots of many years experience and sometimes all three at once. As a contrast I'm building my first plane (CH-701 from plans only) and although I got my restricted PPL when younger, I haven't flown for years.

 

My questions are to do with inspections during building, registration of aircraft when finished, and flying training/licencing.

 

At the moment I'm just happily building away, taking lots of photos, but as this thing will likely take me years to finish I haven't joined RAA or any other organisation yet. At what stage does the aircraft need to be inspected? Do things like the wing skeleton need to be approved before skinning? What are the costs involved in inspections? Are there qualified inspectors in southern Tasmania?

 

When the plane is finished, I assume it has to be registered either with CASA as a VH or with an organisation such as RAA. (Correct me if wrong!) What are the benefits and downsides of each? Is it true that VH registered planes have a much more rigorous maintenance schedule which needs to be done by a LAME, where the owner of a non-VH registered plane is allowed to maintain it himself?

 

Flying training: what are the options? When I finish building, I'd like to be able to park my plane at a local strip and jump in and fly when I want. Probably do some long cross-country trips occasionally. What sort of licence would I need - guessing there's an equivalent of PPL - and again are there any flying instructors in southern Tas?

 

Sorry about the wordiness of the post, if you got to here then thanks for reading and hope you can answer a question or two!

 

 

[Camel]

Why not go for a Trial Instructional Flight now and get back into flying so when you finish building you can hop in and fly. You will be flying again quicker than building a plane.

 

 

[.Evan.]

Flying training: what are the options? When I finish building, I'd like to be able to park my plane at a local strip and jump in and fly when I want. Probably do some long cross-country trips occasionally. What sort of licence would I need - guessing there's an equivalent of PPL - and again are there any flying instructors in southern Tas?

Hey Marty, I'm not sure about the building side of things but as for the licencing either ones (CASA or RA-Aus) will allow you to do what you describe. With RA-Aus once you have completed your cross country endorsement, aside from controlled airspace you can fly wherever you want day VFR.

 

 

[skyfox1]

Hi Marty

 

If you are building under the 19 category you don't need to have inspections done but if you are a first time builder it would pay to have a second pair of eyes check over your work .

 

It needs to be inspected on completion by Lame to have the report done for RAA rego take heaps of photos during the build.

 

 

[rgmwa]

Keep a build log as well as taking photos. Doesn't have to be elaborate. A notebook will do, or you can use a program like KitLog Pro. I suggest you also contact the Sport Aircraft Association (SAAA). They have a Builders Assistance Program (BAP) and will assign you a technical counsellor. He/she will come and inspect your build at various times and can answer questions. The service is free, but it's good manners to cover their expenses. You don't need to register VH to join their assistance program. The counsellor will prepare a written report after each inspection, and you will get discounted insurance rates with QBE if you give them your BAP number. I believe there is an SAAA Tech Counsellor in Tas (Hobart), but I suggest you contact SAAA for details: http://www.saaa.com/

 

If you register it as VH, because you are the builder, you can maintain the plane and sign the maintenance release (annual/100 hourly). You don't need a LAME (although a knowledgeable pair of eyes looking over your shoulder is not a bad thing). You will need to take the 2 day Maintenance Procedures Course to be able to sign the maintenance release (CASA requirement). SAAA run the courses.

 

If you are VH registered you will need to upgrade your GFPT/restricted to a PPL if you want to do more than fly around the airfield (10 mile radius if I recall correctly). I'm not so familiar with RAA, but I know you need a NAV endorsement.

 

rgmwa

 

 

[Yenn]

rgmwa has describet it correctly for VH rego, but you need to got into SAAA before you go too far in the build. You will have to pay SAAA for membership, and inspections guring the build and for the final inspection by an AP (approved person), plus a one off fe for registration. RAAus build will mean you need to join RAAus, wiyh their annual membership and annual registration fees.

 

Building with SAAA and registering VH will in my opinion run our less expensive in the long run, especiall as you can now get a GP to do your medical , unless you want to do aerobatics, night flight or carry more than one passenger, Not likely with your build.