I have a question for those that have finished their planes.
I am halfway through a Xenos build. If I was able to find or build all the parts that I still needed to purchase, would I still be able to register the airplane without the final paperwork from Sonex?
Alan
I bought my Onex kit third hand. I didn’t understand at the time that the FAA requires a complete trail of ownership to register the aircraft. I got the Sonex BOS from the paperwork included with the purchase. The original owner had passed away. I managed to find his widow, and she was a princess about providing me with a BOS from her to the second owner. This also required some legal documents to prove that the widow had the legal right to provide me with a BOS. The second owner was a real jerk about it. He wouldn’t even take my calls. In any event, I finally got it done.
What a hassle!
BTW, welcome to the group!
Wes
I am still unclear. I have all the paperwork that Sonex made me fill out to order the wing kit. I have since ordered and received the tail, and Xenos B gear and dual controls kit. I am thinking that until I buy all of the kits and get final paperwork from Sonex, I can not register the airplane with the FAA. This is of course if I am able to finish building the aircraft.
Alan
Alan,
I can’t give a definitive answer. Hopefully someone else can. When I registered a Bearhawk, I had to have plans number, fuselage serial number, and the serial number off of each wing. The serial number the FAA has is 093-177/178-1044.
I do despise paperwork.
Wes
I was once told that the FAA couldn’t require the official kit bill of sale if the company was no longer in business, since obviously it would be impossible to obtain. You’d want to verify that yourself.
The other option is to state that it was build from misc parts and materials. That doesn’t require any bills of sale, and if you are indeed having to scrounge parts from other builders, it seems legitimate enough to me.
Rusty
See Rusty’s reply and note about scratch-building.
Remember that if you put together 51% of the airplane, you are the manufacturer of record. You can register it the make as “Alan Sonex” [or whatever you want], and a serial number of your choice (most builders use their plans serial number, but its truly up to you).
If you have any concerns about filling out a BoS specifying a scratch-built aircraft check out the EAA’s webpages on the topic, check out their certification kit, and/or reach out to them. They’re a helpful bunch!
–Noel
Sonex #1339
I agree with Noel, but maybe Joe Norris will chime in to confirm from his perspective of working for both the FAA and Sonex?
Maybe try messaging him directly. He’s in the users list on this forum (Sonerai13 ?).