Sequoia Aircraft Corporation F.8L Falco, Construction Manual

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F.8L Falco Construction Manual 5–3 Revision 4, March 1, 2002
new friend who is offering a few suggestions and telling you about the horrible thing he saw the
other day.
Perhaps the most telling experience was that of a Falco builder who had the head of the local
GADO office do his inspection. The man was very impressed, not only with the workmanship
but also with the design of the Falco. He unexpectedly broke off the inspection and left. Shortly
thereafter, he reappeared with the
entire GADO office in tow. He made them all come see the
Falco (in his words) “to see how an airplane should be designed and how an airplane should be
built”.
Because of the load of inspection work put on these inspectors by the popularity of amateur-built
aircraft, the number of inspections has been reduced to a minimum and some of the inspection is
farmed out to local mechanics who hold Airframe Inspector (“AI”) certificates.
Notifying the FAA
Before you begin your Falco, you should notify the nearest GADO or EMDO office that you are
building a Falco. They will assign an inspector to your project. They will want to talk to you
about the airplane, its construction (if they are not familiar with it) and tell you when they will
want to see it. They will also tell you how much lead time they will need to schedule the
inspection.
The number of inspections has changed from one office to another and over time. In the past, the
normal was two or three inspections. In some cases, they would schedule an early inspection to
determine the quality of your work. If this inspection is satisfactory, the inspector would usually
turn over subsequent inspections to a local mechanic, or he will ask to see the airplane before you
put the skin on the airplane. There is always a final inspection just prior to the first flight. This is
usually done by the FAA inspectors.
In recent years, the FAA has been swamped by inspections of homebuilt aircraft and they have
also found that the workmanship was so good that nothing was gained by interim inspections. As
a result, the current policy is to inspect the airplane only once, just before the first flight.
Typically, they will want the weight-and-balance done, the engine running and initial taxi tests
done and with all inspection panels off the plane. They also like to see a photo album of the
construction process.
The key to your relationship with the FAA is the quality of your workmanship and your conduct.
Your contact with the inspector is not the time to express your rugged individualism or your
dislike for government. Take the proper attitude, and you will be able to turn the situation into
an enjoyable and informative session.