Not quite. This was the subject of discussion at the IA renewal clinic last
year. The FAA could care less if it is there or not. The DEA is the one with
the regulation and the FAA can not and will not enforce DEA regulation. Just
like FAA can not and will not enforce FCC (old radios) regulations.

The required manufacturer's data plate is in the forward port side of the
aircraft, generally on the sill between the door jamb and the floorboard. The
rule is that plate is the ONLY original part of the aircraft that must be on
board the aircraft. You could buy the nameplate and build an entire aircraft
around it with used/owner-manufactured/new parts and it would be a certificated
aircraft.

I shared hangar space with an airline pilot that acquired (don't ask how) the
data plate from a Jenny. Nothing more, just the plate. He spent ten years of
spare time building a perfectly legal Jenny which was absolutely pristine.

Unfortunately, just about the time he completed it, he was coming home
space-available on PSA 182 ...

Jim




-This is normal for many aircraft more than about ten years old. Back in the
-early 90s, the FAA decided that every modern aircraft had to have certain data
-visible outside the plane, and the empennage became the accepted location for
-this data. Most aircraft had something like what you are seeing added to meet
-the regulation. The Cessna 150 I owned simply had the pertinent information
-painted back there.
Jim Weir (A&P/IA, CFI, & other good alphabet soup)
VP Eng RST Pres. Cyberchapter EAA Tech. Counselor
http://www.rst-engr.com