On Mon, 14 Jun 2004 17:34:06 -0400, fred D wrote:

Bought a built experimental powered glider and All I have is a bill of
sale from an individual who is not the builder and does not know who
he was. No data plate, plans or other documentation with kit number.
Is there anyway to satisfy the FAA's chain of ownership requirements ?
It only needs a sprucing up and some minor repairs to be flyable.

Not sure what you're looking for, here. AFAIK, the FAA has no "chain of
ownership" requirement. If the previous possessor was the registered
owner, then you should just be able to submit the Bill of Sale and the
appropriate registration form.

If the airplane had never been registered, and has no airworthiness
certificate, you need to submit an affidavit stating that the airplane has
been built for education or recreation. Was your comment about "chain of
ownership" referring to having no information about the previous builders
of the aircraft, and thus you lack proof that the plane was built for these
reasons?

If so, your ability to get it licensed as an Experimental Amateur-Built
depends on whether the airplane would have been likely to have been a
pro-built project. The odds that an unknown-heritage Volksplane project
might have previously been a for-hire effort is low, while the FAA guy
might be more suspicious of a Lancair. If your aircraft is a one-of
project, I can't see there being much worry about it.

Best bet would be to call the FAA, now. Discuss the situation with them,
and see if they'll accept whether it's unlikely that the plane had pro
builders in its past. They're the folks you're going to have to convince,
anyway, so you might as well bring them into the problem early.

Ron Wanttaja