I am currently in the process of importing a Falco from the USA.
The aircraft will be ferry flown from Florida directly to Spanhoe. Has anyone imported a homebuilt aircraft before and are there any paperwork issues that I need to be particularly aware of??
Thanks in advance for your help
Regards
David Mottram
Importing a Homebuilt
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davidmottram
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Brian Hope
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Best check with engineering over its acceptability for a permit. Has it been built exactly to plans? Is there a TADS relevant to the design?
I guess if its a kit-built one, it should basically qualify.
Check out the TL 1.06 on importing homebuilts for all the inspections, AD checks etc that are required.
You may need clearance for each country's airspace that you fly through en-route; UK requirements for foreign homebuilts are in AWN52.
Once here you will need to cancel the foreign registration before you can obtain a G- number. I think the FAA need to see the Bill of Sale to do that.
Somewhere along the line you will also have to pay VAT
I guess if its a kit-built one, it should basically qualify.
Check out the TL 1.06 on importing homebuilts for all the inspections, AD checks etc that are required.
You may need clearance for each country's airspace that you fly through en-route; UK requirements for foreign homebuilts are in AWN52.
Once here you will need to cancel the foreign registration before you can obtain a G- number. I think the FAA need to see the Bill of Sale to do that.
Somewhere along the line you will also have to pay VAT
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davidmottram
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- Location: Blackwater,Surrey
Thank you to Brian and Mark
I THINK:)) I have covered most of the items that you mentioned. In fact the VAT has been paid already and there is an end-user waiver form( I think that's the correct description) that has been lodged at Wick.
The ferry company will remove it from the FAA register as part of their contract. They take temporary ownership of the aircraft for the purposes of the ferry flight. Then I need to register it in the UK and of course the inspection follows. Yuo may know that the type is already approved by the LAA but they inspect each individual aircraft. The aircraft had a non-standard induction system and oil cooler position but these have been brought back to standard by the ferry company.
In addition, a long time ago I also spoke to Francis Donaldson about what I was proposing plus I have been in regular contact with Carl Tyers who already looks after a number of Falcos.
So, maybe I have done more than I realised..???
But, if you think of anything then it's appreciated..
David
I THINK:)) I have covered most of the items that you mentioned. In fact the VAT has been paid already and there is an end-user waiver form( I think that's the correct description) that has been lodged at Wick.
The ferry company will remove it from the FAA register as part of their contract. They take temporary ownership of the aircraft for the purposes of the ferry flight. Then I need to register it in the UK and of course the inspection follows. Yuo may know that the type is already approved by the LAA but they inspect each individual aircraft. The aircraft had a non-standard induction system and oil cooler position but these have been brought back to standard by the ferry company.
In addition, a long time ago I also spoke to Francis Donaldson about what I was proposing plus I have been in regular contact with Carl Tyers who already looks after a number of Falcos.
So, maybe I have done more than I realised..???
But, if you think of anything then it's appreciated..
David
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Will Greenwood
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davidmottram
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Imported Falco
Well...after what seemed like a lifetime my Falco successfully arrived in the U.K. on the 17th September.
The journey started in Florida and ended at Spanhoe a total journey of 3,600 nautical miles.
The imprting procedure was much simpler than I imagined. Far North Aviation took care of everything and that was essentially one document plus a Bill of Sale to allow the V.A.T. calculation.
Hopefully I will be flying it soon
The journey started in Florida and ended at Spanhoe a total journey of 3,600 nautical miles.
The imprting procedure was much simpler than I imagined. Far North Aviation took care of everything and that was essentially one document plus a Bill of Sale to allow the V.A.T. calculation.
Hopefully I will be flying it soon
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Nick Allen
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davidmottram
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Thanks Nick
I have already exchanged emails with Brian about an article. I'm in the process of getting the U.K. paperwork and inspections sorted at the moment but once those are out of the way then I can put some words and photos together. There are a few words already on the Falco website (see N290).
The pilot carried a personal tracking device so that I could track his progress all the way. Those are the images that you can see on the website. I have more pictures of the track and I will include those in my article. Seqair are also proposing to include it in their Falco Builders Letter.
David
I have already exchanged emails with Brian about an article. I'm in the process of getting the U.K. paperwork and inspections sorted at the moment but once those are out of the way then I can put some words and photos together. There are a few words already on the Falco website (see N290).
The pilot carried a personal tracking device so that I could track his progress all the way. Those are the images that you can see on the website. I have more pictures of the track and I will include those in my article. Seqair are also proposing to include it in their Falco Builders Letter.
David
David,
I'm sorry to strike a somewhat negative note, but my experience has been that importing the aeroplane is the easy part! For me it took 3 months to receive the forms to apply for a permit and a further 10 weeks from initial submission of the forms to receiving the full permit. About 6 months in all with many phone calls in between. There is not much advice I can offer to speed up the process, just accept it could take a while and don't get annoyed when things take longer than you think they should.
Peter
I'm sorry to strike a somewhat negative note, but my experience has been that importing the aeroplane is the easy part! For me it took 3 months to receive the forms to apply for a permit and a further 10 weeks from initial submission of the forms to receiving the full permit. About 6 months in all with many phone calls in between. There is not much advice I can offer to speed up the process, just accept it could take a while and don't get annoyed when things take longer than you think they should.
Peter
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davidmottram
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Penguin
You're right about the importing procedure being simple.
The time delays I had to endure were caused by the fact that the aircraft had to be sorted before it was ready to make the journey.
The induction system was a "builder's special" and that was brought back to Falco standard configuration.
One of the radios was performing poorly and it meant a new set of aerials.
With all the delays we then ran out of annual and during that exercise realised the propeller was also out of time so that had a full overhaul.
In some ways, you could say that these issues did me a favour because of the lower cost of taking care of them in the USA.
So, it's got an IO-360 with 130 hours on the clock and a propeller with an overhaul certificate that is 2 months old plus of course, an airframe that withstood the rigours of an Atlantic crossing. Apparently the ferry pilot did almost all the journey in IMC. The main problem was the paint work suffered a little but I always wanted a red one anyway...
[/img]
You're right about the importing procedure being simple.
The time delays I had to endure were caused by the fact that the aircraft had to be sorted before it was ready to make the journey.
The induction system was a "builder's special" and that was brought back to Falco standard configuration.
One of the radios was performing poorly and it meant a new set of aerials.
With all the delays we then ran out of annual and during that exercise realised the propeller was also out of time so that had a full overhaul.
In some ways, you could say that these issues did me a favour because of the lower cost of taking care of them in the USA.
So, it's got an IO-360 with 130 hours on the clock and a propeller with an overhaul certificate that is 2 months old plus of course, an airframe that withstood the rigours of an Atlantic crossing. Apparently the ferry pilot did almost all the journey in IMC. The main problem was the paint work suffered a little but I always wanted a red one anyway...
[/img]