While we specialize in new aircraft sales there is no denying that there are some great used-aircraft deals out there. In these economic times it makes more sense than ever to shop around before you buy. But buying a used trike is considerably more risky than buying a used car, and I don’t just mean in terms of safety. At least four people this year have called to tell me about the unbelievable deal they got. And in each of these cases, the aircraft they’d bought was illegal.

What do I mean by “illegal” and how can you protect yourself? By illegal I mean the aircraft is not properly documented with the FAA and cannot legally fl y in this country -- ever. Let me give you a little background, and then I’ll tell you how you can easily determine if an aircraft is legal. Don’t confuse legal with safe -- that is another issue.

All qualifying ultralights had to register their aircraft by January 2008.

All qualifying ultralights had to get their aircraft inspected by the FAA or Designated Airworthiness Representative (DAR) and receive an Airworthiness Certificate by Jan 2008 (later extended to 2010).

Transitioned ultralight aircraft (ELSA aircraft) could continue to be used for flight instruction until the end of Jan 2010 (after which only SLSA (Special LSA) aircraft can be used for flight instruction unless the  instruction is in your ELSA aircraft).

Essentially the rule stipulated that ultralights that fell into the light sport category had to transition from ultralight to light sport (FAA registered and certificated) by the end of Jan 2008. But the infrastructure lagged behind the rule so EAA and ASC (two aviation organizations interested in the transition process) petitioned the FAA to extend the certification process (the issuance of the airworthiness certificate) for two years -- until the end of Jan 2010. The FAA agreed and extended the period of time for aircraft certification, but they did not extend the registration deadline. So with this change the following transition deadlines were required for transitioning ultralights:

Aircraft registration had to be completed by Jan 2008.

Aircraft certification (the issuance of the airworthiness certificate) had to be completed by Jan 2010, and this was only possible if the aircraft registration was completed on time.

Miss either of the dates above and the aircraft is dead. It can never legally fl y in this country as either an ultralight or light sport aircraft. Some have tried to certify their aircraft under the Exhibition Aircraft rules, but I don’t know of any that have been successful, and even if successful, those rules are considerably more restrictive than the LSA rules. You do not want to buy a trike certified as Exhibition.

Well, the first step is to do an N-number query using the FAA’s database to be sure the FAA doesn’t have any issues with your airplane. The N-number is the aircraft registration number - have the seller tell you what that is - if he can’t or won’t, then walk away.

Go to the FAA Aircraft Certification registration database and enter the N-number.  Using the N-number search you’ll get a report like the one pictured below.

This report is divided into several sections, but I’m only interested in the first and the third.

The first section deals with the aircraft’s registration and the field I’m most interested in is the “Certificate Issue Date.” If that field is blank and this is a transitioning ultralight then I don’t have to go any further. The aircraft has clearly missed both the registration and the airworthiness issue deadlines and is an illegal aircraft.

Assuming the registration issue date is filled in, as this one is (January 8, 2008), then I move on to section three -- the Airworthiness section. In this section either all the fields are filled out or they are all filled with “Unknown” and “None.” In this case all the fields are “Unknown” and “None” which means the aircraft has not received its airworthiness certificate. Since we are well past the Jan 2010 deadline this aircraft can never be flown legally in this country. Unless you are looking to buy the aircraft for parts, walk away.

Assuming everything on the N number search looks good, have the seller send you copies of the registration and airworthiness certificates to be sure he still has them. If the registration certificate is lost, that is easily fixed, but if the airworthiness certificate is lost it is a bit of a pain to correct.

I recommend you have the seller go through the recovery process, but that is up to you.

Finally, when you go to pick up your trike compare the serial numbers on the registration and airworthiness certificates (you should now be looking at the originals, not copies) with the data plate on the aircraft and make sure that all the serial numbers match.

That is the only way to determine that the registration and airworthiness documents you are looking at apply to the plane you are buying. If everything lines up, then the plane is legal as far as certification is concerned.

Bottom line -- if the deal is too good to be true, it is probably not a good deal. Do yourself a favor and be suspicious.

Happy bargain hunting but be sure you are the hunter and not the prey.

buying_used_buyer_beware.pdf