On Sat, 07 Feb 2004 12:42:27 GMT, "CFLav8r"
wrote:

My question is about the aircraft not the ability to fly it in IFR
conditions.
I recently showed my instructor an ad for a Glasair and he remarked that
you could never get it IFR certified with the FAA.

There are a lot of homebuilt aircraft designs that can't pass the CFR Part
23 requirements necessary to receive a type certificate. Typically, a
design does not meet the stability requirements. Hence, a given design
cannot receive an airworthiness certificate in the normal, utility,
aerobatic, or transport categories. It doesn't make them harder to fly,
but their lower stability does make them less-suitable as IFR platforms.

As several other folks have pointed out, there is no such thing as "IFR
Certified"...if any aircraft is equipped in accordance to CFR 91.205(d) and
receives the required regular equipment checks, it can legally be used to
fly IFR. But unless it meets the requirements of CFR Part 23, it cannot
receive anything other than an "Experimental" certification, and certain
restrictions apply in the form of the operating limitations assigned by the
FAA.

There are probably thousands of Experimental aircraft whose operating
limitations specifically permit IFR operations.

Ron Wanttaja