It would seem that Ed is right when he says that the FAA is a bit sticky about allowing certified aircraft being moved into the experimental/homebuilt category, which is a shame because it would allow interesting but neglected classic aircraft to be made airworthy again without the high cost of a professional restoration.
There is at least one ercoupe flying here in Canada that has been rebuilt into the homebuilt category, with possibly one more to follow. Transport Canada has a slighty more liberal approach, plus the 51% inspection requirments are slightly different here. I believe that in both countries the 51% is for tasks done by the builder, rather than parts to be fabricated, as Ed had suggested. I would bet at least 2 of the contributors to this list have done enough work on their a/c to easily reach way beyond the 51% quoter. Once the a/c has been rebuilt into the new category, it is considered a new aircraft, it can no longer be called an Ercoupe, but can have its weight category changed. So it would be one way to move a 'D' model back into the 'C' weight limits, and fly in the LSA category. Or you could stuff a turbine up front and really freak out those RV guy's. John H --- In [email protected], "Ed Burkhead" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > Prof. Ed asked: > > > Does anyone know of any experimental Ercoupes around. > > > > Prof. Ed, > > > > The FAA seems to be sticky about allowing any certificated aircraft to be > moved into experimental status except for a short time to test a > modification. > > > > I once saw a Coupe in test phase for a 3-bladed composite prop. Once the > testing period was done, he would have to change it back to certificated > status either with the original prop or, with the testing successful, with > the new prop. > > > > I don't think there's any such thing as a permanently experimental Coupe. > > > > There was once the "Wasp" built by Leonard Page. The inspector required him > to fabricate 51% of the parts. He was able to use the Coupe wing spars and > some other parts and, from a distance, it looked like a Coupe. The Wasp, > however, was tandem seating and aerobatic. It was pretty cool. I don't > think it is still flying. > > > > Ed > > > > Ed Burkhead > > http://edburkhead.com/Ercoupe/index.htm East Peoria, Illinois > > ed -at- edburk???head.??com (remove the ? marks and > change -at- to @) >
