About five years ago, EAA
and the FAA got together to discuss a problem: a shortage of DARs—designated
airworthiness representatives—available and willing to certificate
amateur-built aircraft. DARs work under the direction of FAA FSDOs
(Flight Standards District Offices) or MIDOs (Manufacturing Inspection
District Offices). DARs work with aircraft manufacturers (including
amateur builders) to ensure aircraft meet flight safety standards and to
facilitate the certification process. When a new aircraft is ready to
fly, it is the DAR who signs off the aircraft, certificating it for
flight in its particular category.
By the year 2000, the
growing number of amateur-built aircraft was creating a greater demand
for DARs, but there weren’t enough DARs to go around. Few existing
DARs wanted to deal with amateur-built aircraft (in part because of
liability concerns). And for the FSDOs and MIDOs, whose DARs were
already overbooked, certificating amateur-built aircraft was a
relatively low priority. For mechanics familiar with amateur-built
aircraft, who wanted to become DARs, the existing qualification
standards presented a formidable obstacle. As a result, amateur builders
were facing long, sometimes indefinite delays while waiting for (or
trying to find) a DAR willing to certificate their aircraft.
Partnering to solve a
shortage
Working together, EAA and
the FAA worked out a new set of qualification standards for a new
category of "amateur-built DARs" who would be authorized
specifically to meet the needs of the amateur builders. Those new
standards became FAA Order 8130.33. The training requirements and
qualifications embodied in the new rule reflected the industry’s
experience with amateur-built aircraft. The new standards made it easier
for experienced mechanics and EAA Technical Counselors to qualify as
DARs authorized to inspect and certificate amateur-built aircraft,
special light-sport aircraft (S-LSA), and experimental light-sport
aircraft (E-LSA).
S-LSA are factory-built
aircraft designed and built under LSA category standards. E-LSA fall
into two categories: amateur-built aircraft built under Experimental
standards that qualify for certification as light-sport aircraft and
"fat" ultralights—two-place ultralight trainers that qualify
for LSA certification.
Under the new rule, an
A&P mechanic who has built an aircraft and has performed at least
three condition inspections of amateur-built aircraft can qualify as a
DAR authorized to certificate amateur-built and E-LSA aircraft. An
A&P who has experience with light-sport aircraft can qualify as a
DAR authorized to inspect and certificate special light-sport aircraft.
And an EAA Technical Advisor who acquires five years of experience can
qualify as a DAR authorized to certificate amateur-builts, E-LSAs, or
both, depending on his or her specific experience.
Building a cadre of
amateur-built DARs
If you meet the
qualifications, you can apply to the FAA’s National Examiner Board
(NEB). If your application is approved, the NEB will send it to the FSDO
or MIDO nearest to you. The FSDO or MIDO can then appoint you as an
amateur-built/light-sport aircraft DAR (AB/LSA-DAR) to certificate
aircraft under the supervision of that FSDO or MIDO. After you are
appointed, you’ll head to Oklahoma City for a three-day Initial DAR
Standardization Course. The first day, taught by the FAA, covers rules,
regulations, and requirements related to the DAR’s functions. The
second day, taught by EAA, introduces you to the world of amateur-built
aircraft and all the weird and wonderful things you might be called upon
to certificate as an AB/LSA-DAR. On day three, FAA staff will walk you
through the certification process.
Back at your local FSDO or
MIDO, you’ll be given a one- to two-day orientation. To keep that
authorization, you need recurrent training every two years. For the past
four years, that six-hour AB/LSA-DAR Recurrent Training Course has been
taught here, at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. On Monday, the course was taught
entirely by FAA staff, who used AirVenture’s flightline as a classroom
to introduce DARs to the latest innovations and ideas.
This year’s course also
introduced changes to FAA Order 8130.2F, which contains certification
procedures for S-LSA and E-LSA. The new light-sport aircraft rule is
still a work in progress in some ways, with the FAA, EAA, and the
aviation community working together to refine it. The FAA issued the
latest revisions to Order 8130.2F in response to "field input"
from EAA and others.
Everybody wins
The new rule has been a boon
to EAA chapters and amateur builders. It has provided a cadre of
specialized DARs willing and able to certificate homebuilts and E-LSAs.
For FSDOs and MIDOs, who appoint and supervise the amateur-built DARs,
the new rule has the advantage of meeting the needs of the growing
amateur-built community without diverting the FAA’s
"regular" inspectors from other tasks. And it positions the
FAA to meet the needs of a new and growing light-sport aircraft
community.
According to Randy Hansen,
EAA director of government relations, the new AB/LSA-DAR qualification
standards are the result of an ongoing partnership between EAA, the FAA
Flight Standards Service, and FAA’s Aircraft Certification Office.
Getting the MIDOs and FSDOs "onboard" took a little effort at
first, Hansen said, but once they saw the advantages of it they fully
endorsed it.
If you’d like to learn more about
qualifying as an AB/LSA-DAR, contact Randy Hansen, EAA director of
government relations, at 920-426-6522; e-mail: rhansen@eaa.org.
