Homebuilt Pilots’ Currency Clarification

A story in Monday’s NewsWire unintentionally threw a scare into thousands of homebuilt pilots who quite legally fly their aircraft and will continue to do so without the prying eyes of the FAA determining whether they are capable. As the story noted, the FAA wants to make sure that those flying passengers in their homebuilts are properly rated for the aircraft they are flying. What we didn’t say is that since most homebuilts are single-engine land planes and that’s the certificate most pilots have, there’s no action required for the vast majority of pilots. However, some folks who have built water-capable or multi-engine planes don’t carry those endorsements. The rule is intended to ensure those pilots are proficient and current in the particular aircraft they fly before they can take passengers. To recap, if you have a recreational or better certificate in the class and category of aircraft that you fly, no action is required. We apologize for the confusion created by our incomplete explanation of the notice. For more information read EAA’s complete description of the notice.