Originally Posted by
mixed
thanks Squawk7700 - can I also ask:
* when buying a 2nd hand LSA (e.g. Jabiru / Tecnam etc) what would you want to see from the seller to make sure satisfies the requirements? e.g. Just evidence it was factory built, and this along with the model would confirm this...
* in terms of determining whether a particular model is ok is there a way to do this? e.g. is there a register of manufacturer/models that CASA has somewhere? or is there a regulation that describes what type of non-CASA registered plane criteria that can enter controlled airspace & towered airport? [so you confirm for yourself say whether all Jabiru's are covered: J120, J160D, J170D, J230D?]
* when you actually then do fly into a controlled airport (with your RPL/PPL) what checks could the airport possibly ask of you to cover this? e.g. would they be wanting to ensure you manufacturer/model of aircraft is one that is "allowed" so to speak?
The easiest way is the registration prefix.
23- 24- 25- and 55- are all factory built. But not 10, 28 or 19.
Theres not a lot more to it than this... it’s either factory built or it isn’t. Sometimes someone will advertise an aircraft as factory built or built at the factory, such as a Jabiru, but that may be a builder assist program where the builder was helped to build it by factory staff, however this would still be registered with a 19- prefix, despite the owner saying it was built at the factory.
RA-Aus aircraft register, in number sequence
How would an airport operator check? By the rego number.
There may be other requirements like a transponder but many of the factory built ones will have those.
Soar for example operate in Class D Moorabbin with Raaus registered Foxbats and Bristells.
Now there is a curve ball... the regs say that a homebuilt can actually be approved for entry into controlled airspace by the RAA tech manager, however I have no idea of how many of these approvals have been given. I personally only know of one of them and that is a home built Savannah, so don’t count on that and it’s worth checking with raaus if you find an amazing home built that sparks your interest. I wanted to purchase an aircraft once that appeared to tick all the boxes, but CASA said no to that approval.
The other curve-ball here is that GA registered experimental, eg an RV is home-built and CAN enter controlled airspace and class D and can be flown on an RPL.