Aircraft Ownership
Unregistered ultralights may have to be scrapped
For those 2,000 to 3,000 two-place ultralights whose owners have not bothered to convert to the Experimental Light Sport category, the end is near.
If two-place ultralights are not registered and certificated by Jan. 31 as experimental light sport aircraft, or placed in the Amateur-Built or the Experimental Exhibition categories, they cannot be legally flown again until certificated. Scrapping them may be the only solution if such certification is not completed. The paperwork must be in the FAA system, not simply postmarked, by Jan. 31. In other words, you need to submit it immediately.
Owners interested in converting their aircraft to experimental light sport should call the nearest FAA flight standards district office or manufacturing inspection district office. But here’s the problem; more than 4,000 owners have placed their applications in the system, but there aren’t enough FAA inspectors to inspect all the aircraft by the deadline.
The Experimental Aircraft Association has asked for an open-ended exemption that will last until all owners with pending requests have had their aircraft inspected. The EAA is optimistic that the request for exemption will be approved.
January 3, 2008
