Marc Ramsey wrote:

...I mean, really, does "amateur-built experimental" mean anything anymore?

Answer 1 Yes. He really did build it.
But that doesn't mean that the owner-builder wants to expose himself and
his family to penury through litigation. I think a Lancair has four
seats so I assume he intends to carry passengers. That's a worry. I
think I'd put construction and ownership into a couple of $2 companies.
Are they domiciled in Delaware?

Has the construction company already folded? That's what happens with
construction companies here - from apartment buildings to bridges and
tunnels. I'd be surprised if it doesn't happen over your way too. It's
a rational reaction to lawyers (judges) extending the duty of care
further than reasonable men think is reasonable.

Answer 2: No. It's all a charade.
Bending the meaning of Experimental as far as you can is a rational
reaction to the money-devouring cloud (miasma?) of regulations and
bureaucracy surrounding the manufacture and maintenance of aircraft.
The more expensive and difficult it is to comply with normal
certification rules, the more worth while it is to undermine them with
Experimental.

Think of the tax-avoidance (evasion?) industry for a similar economic
model. If you make complying with the rules expensive enough, you make
it worth people avoiding them.

Graeme Cant


Marc