Marvin Kaye wrote:

Hi guys,

I'm attaching a reprint of a short post which I just sent to everyone at
the Lancair Mail List.  Since there is a considerable sharing of ideas
going on here, I thought it appropriate that this info be made available to
our little group of 'researchers' to insure that no one finds themselves on
the fuzzy end of the lollipop should the unthinkable occur and there is a
flight accident along the way (God forbid!!).  In particular, I aim this
post at my good friend Ed Anderson, who I know is implementing some changes
to his cooling system...

This information begs a question, perhaps someone here knows the answer...
does the FAA have to approve "major alterations" during the flyoff period,
that 40-hour testing period assigned to experimentals with alternative
powerplants which precedes the issuance of a standard airworthiness
certificate?  This enquiring mind would like to know.

Anyway, here's that reprint:

Bill Bartlett pointed us to the Ellison Fluid Systems page for a pitot
switch (thanks, Bill)... while there I noticed a banner at the top of their
home page which said "Click here for an interesting court decision about
homebuilt aircraft which may affect your insurance coverage."  The link
takes you to the report of the appellate court decision in the case of
Avemco v. Davenport.  Having read that page I thought it would be a good
idea to refresh my memory as to what constituted a "major alteration" in
the eyes of the FAA.  While I couldn't find the exact document (14 CFR Part
43, Appendix A) which identifies those changes on the web, I _did_ locate a
document published by the Long Beach FSDO under the auspices of the
Aviation Safety Program entitled "MAKING A MAJOR ALTERATION DETERMINATION".
 Its purpose is to help take some of the grey area out of deciding what
does and what doesn't constitute a "Major Alteration" in the eyes of the FAA.

That being said, I would like to suggest that everyone take a look at these
two pages and tuck their URLs away for future reference...  the former as a
reminder that not getting the FAA involved after an alteration can turn
into a very expensive and protracted legal nightmare WITHOUT BENEFIT OF
YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY, and the latter as a useful guide for determining
whether said alteration is major or minor.

The court decision can be found at:
http://www.ellison-fluid-systems.com/homebuilt_court_decision.htm

The FSDO newsletter article can be found at:
http://www.awp.faa.gov/fsdo/long_beach/rel_paul.htm

(If you know of someplace on the web where I can locate Part 43, Appendix
A, please pass it along to me, as I'd like to group this list of links
under a separate heading on the LML homepage.  This is the kind of
information that we should all have readily at hand, and it would be my
pleasure to have it available at LML Central.)

Keep those posts coming!

    <Marv>
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