What does it mean to "sign off" on a modification to an experimental aircraft?

On Tuesday, November 26, 2013 1:30:43 PM UTC-5, son_of_flubber wrote:
On Tuesday, November 26, 2013 9:40:22 AM UTC-5, JJ Sinclair wrote:


Lets inject some common sense here,

Not sure if it is common sense, but it is a fact that A&Ps (being human) make mistakes. It is the pilot's job to find the A&P's mistakes before they cause a problem.

Anyone who has been around aviation long enough probably has a bunch of horror stories like this. The recent near-fatal accident involving a 2-33 rebuilt with the rudder cables crossed leaps to mind. I treat every annual inspection/condition inspection as if it's a cross-check of my own work. Our German gliders tend to come with pretty extensive annual inspection checklists. I use mine along with a few extras I've added over and above and do my own thorough inspection. When my A&P looks the ship over, it would be a miracle if he finds anything, but I would be more than happy if he did....