News & Events

Nov 27, 2008: Monthly Chapter Meeting at John Abbott College: Investigation report on a Cirrus aircraft accident near Greenland while crossing the Atlantic, by Joe Galliker, and, uncontrolled airport procedures with Doug Remoundos.

December 11, 2008: Xmas dinner. Location to follow...

Lecture Series: Frank Hofmann's lectures are for pilots and/or (potential) aircraft owners

Upcoming Topics:
- Aircraft design and wind-tunnel testing

Other Items:
Young Eagles Webcast/Webchat

Classified Ads

Tools/Test Equipment

Importing Aircraft - Guidelines

Adventures in Cross-Border Shopping, by Scott Black.

The ad on barnstormers.com read "Jodel F-11 - immaculately constructed and beautifully maintained". One reads stuff like that with a certain amount of skepticism. But the price did catch my eye and it was a nice photo. My Dad had flown a D9 and, other than the fact that it had no brakes and no canopy and he got bugs in his teeth, he had found it to be a delightful airplane. So I decided to go to Upstate NY and have a look, since I had nothing better to do that weekend, and I told Michel Moreau at the September Chapter meeting. Being a Frenchman, the word Jodel got his attention and he asked if I would like some company. So off we went Saturday morning, bright and early to Cambridge, NY, which is right near the VT border about 2 hr drive south of Burlington. We met Bill Rich, one of the 2 builders and he showed us the airplane. Due to the weather we could not get a flight but the airplane looked decent and I had the impression that Michel was in love. That night there must have been some serious discussions at the Moreau household however I guess they went well because that night Michel called me and asked if I was interested in a partnership, provided we based it at St Lazare. Being new at this game I figured that having an experienced hand to guide me both in owning, maintaining and flying would be a good idea and splitting expenses has its advantages as well, so I agreed.

The airplane was built by Bill and his friend John Sherin between 1964 and 69, back before the days of Bingelis books, Aircraft Spruce, the internet and even Oshkosh - in fact it has been flown to the previous EAA convention site - Rockford, Il. It has a C-75 that has been modified with the carb from a C-85 and an O-200 crankshaft. The airplane has basic electrics and a starter. It has the Falconar spring steel landing gear (not the French rubber pucks) and gull wing doors that follow the natural curve of the canopy. The aircraft has mechanical flaps and a tab that provides elevator trim based on flap deflection in addition to the usual elevator trim tab. Bill built several airplanes in his career including an RV, a homebuilt Champ and this one. This is the last airplane he kept and according to his wife he had a lot of fun with it over the years. Both he and John had health problems and had decided it was time to retire from flying.

We made a second trip, this time with Frank Hofmann (nice to have a partner who is connected!) to inspect the airplane in detail. The wood was in good condition as it had been hangared its whole life except for trips to Rockford and Oshkosh. The fabric tested fine though the paint had been touched up in places and was less than perfect. We told Bill that once we figured out how to import the airplane we would let him know. So we looked on the COPA site, asked around, figured we knew what we were doing and sent Bill a cheque. We arranged for George Coy at Border Air Services in Swanton, VT to fly the airplane to Lachute via Cornwall. George is a real airplane guy - he owns a Champ and a DC-3! A real character with lots of great flying stories and we enjoyed his company. So now we had our airplane and could go ahead and get it licensed…or so we thought.

There are 2 scenarios whereby a homebuilt can be imported from the US. One is when it is still parts, in which case all the usual inspections are required and the structure cannot be closed out until it has been inspected. The second is when it can be shown that the aircraft has been approved in the US and has flown at least 100 hrs, in which case the pre-cover inspection is waived but a final inspection is required. This airplane had some 900 hrs on it, so clearly it met the 2nd requirement. So off we went to import….not so fast though. Due to a breakdown in communication with MD-RA, we did not submit a form called "Report on the Eligibility of Foreign Amateur Built Aircraft For Importation". This is supposed to be done BEFORE you bring the aircraft in so that you don't end up importing something that cannot be approved for whatever reason. When we found out about this, the airplane was already sitting in a hangar in Lachute and had been deregistered by the FAA. It was now, in terms of registration, in no-man's land. To top it off, the US certificate of registration had errors on it when compared to the dataplate, which is a no-no. Technically it could not be proven that the papers belonged to that airplane because of this discrepancy. An anxious few weeks followed and I won't bore you with the details but it looks like the kinks have been ironed out, partly by persistence and partly by luck, I suspect. Please, if anyone is considering bringing in a homebuilt, for heaven's sake please check out the links at the bottom of the article. You don't want to be in this situation. Incidentally, unless we missed it, I don't believe this requirement is spelled out in the COPA information on importing a homebuilt, so don't rely on that information as definitive. Also, the importation checklist on the TC site says that a TC inspector handles the importation inspection, whereas now it has been delegated to the MD-RA. It seems that there is a lot of confusion in this area and the government documentation is lagging behind the current practice. The form I have is from MD-RA yet I can't find it on line. I will post it to the Chapter website (see links). Please, if anything I have said is incorrect let me know so that I can ensure that our members get the right story - I will see that it gets clarified in the next issue.

As winter had closed in it looked like St Lazare would be difficult to fly into and working on the airplane would also be difficult in the open shed in January. Luck intervened again and Michel found a hangar in Lachute that had space due to the owner's other airplane being recovered. The price - free! And heat was available as well. Again - connections (not mine). Had we ended up at St Lazare we would not have been able to work on it conveniently. This was quite fortunate, as the required upgrades were much longer than intended (like that is a surprise). As it is, we have been working on the airplane for a few hrs every weekend and Michel, being retired, has occasionally gone up during the week. Dave Cyr has also been pressed into service and thanks to him we have a nice schematic of the electrics. Since January, we have replaced numerous non-fireproof nuts in the engine compartment, the gascolator and some fuel lines, applied Canadian registration letters, the applicable placards and cleaned up numerous odds and ends (new tires etc) to prepare for the MD-RA inspection. The application has been made for a Cert. of Registration, which is required before the inspection, and we are just about ready, I think. It is a question of Transport Canada processing the paperwork now. After that we will need a canopy cover, new seat cushions, installation of a radio and we will be ready to fly. I will have to get my Recreational license and a tailwheel endorsement before I can be PIC, but until then I will be co-pilot and I am looking forward to it.

I will keep the Chapter informed as things develop. Hopefully next month will bring good news, TC willing.

Scott Black
Program Director, EAA 266