Purchase of an Aircraft Certified under FAR Part 21.195 (a)

I am purchasing an aircraft that has a manufacturer experimental certificate under Part 21.195(a) that state it will be used for: 1) Market Surveys; 2) Sales Demonstrations; and 3) Customer Crew Training.

I will be doing none of these things, but will simply fly the aircraft for pleasure and will allow my friends and associates to fly it for pleasure.

What do I need to do to have it registered correctly and to allow it to be insured so that it can be used for this purpose?

ANSWER: I don’t know the details surrounding the purchase of the aircraft, or what type of aircraft it is, or the certification basis before it was placed in the experimental category. So, without this information I will try to answer as best I can.

A U.S. manufacturer of aircraft or engines and persons that alter aircraft may apply for a special airworthiness certificate in the experimental category for the purpose of market surveys, sales demonstrations, and customer crew training under FAR 21.195.

When applying for an experimental certificate in this category, the applicant must provide the FAA with the estimated time or number of flights required for the market survey operation as well as the area or itinerary over which the operations are to be conducted.

The duration of the certificate will be limited to the time needed for the described operations, normally not to exceed 90 days. A longer duration may be provided for a Production Certificate (PC) / Approved Production Inspection System (APIS) holder who has an approved procedure for experimental operations.

If you are not the manufacturer you cannot operate the aircraft with the current experimental certificate. You will have to apply for a new airworthiness certificate. If you can give me more details about the aircraft, I can provide you with information on how to proceed. Just click on the "Click here to post comments" link to provide further information.

It is possible (depending on the reason for the issuance of the experimental certificate) that it cannot be issued an airworthiness certificate without further modifications.