From Certified to 'Homebuilt'

[MikeGodsell]

Now this is a new one for me! I am selling my much loved ATL due a fixed pension & huge increase in cost of living and hangarage charges etc.
A Spanish guy is very keen to buy, but he intends to replace the Limbach engine with a Rotax 912.
Thought he was joking at first, but apparently the Spanish CAA allow non commercial light aircraft older than 25 years to fall off the certified regs and become effectively homebuilt?

Could'nt happen here? For example replace the Lycosaurus engine in a spam can with a car diesel and call it a homebuilt?

[Nigel Hitchman]

Interesting! Of course there are many vintage aircraft here in the UK on LAA permits, which similarly could be seen as being treated like homebuilts. Unfortunately the CAA have virtually stopped this in recent years, but still many Cubs, Luscombes, Jodels etc went onto LAA permits upto the early 90s. Of course recently we have had the oprhan aircraft like Austers and Condors. Of course not quite like what they allow in Spain.
It would appear that a similar system exists in Sweden, there are things like Cessna 172s and 150s on the SE-X** registration sequence which is for "experimental" aircraft. All have various modifications, such as Rotax engines etc.
In France there are some relativly modern aircraft on the F-AZ** registration sequence, which has been used for warbirds and vintage aircraft. These again seem to have some sort of modifications and restricted airworthiness.