On Thu, 08 Jul 2010 20:34:52 -0500, "Lloyd E. Sponenburgh"
lloydspinsidemindspring.com wrote:

Tim Wescott fired this volley in news:-
:


Not just because it's for a plane -- if I knew the guy already I might
make a part or two. It's the fact that a couple of grooves in a pulley
morphed into a design/engineering task -- that means that the guy is
clueless, which means that you can't trust him to build the rest of the
plane right.

You don't have to trust him to build the plane; it's an experimental.
The _instant_ he puts a non-STC'd part on any aircraft, commercial or
otherwise, it becomes an experimental aircraft.


Not strictly true.

If it is on a certified plane, it becomes an ILLEGAL plane - but not
an experimental.
I, too, would turn down the task because the guy didn't have
specifications -- only hopes. But the liability risk is actually pretty
small. NTSC doesn't have jurisdiction over experimental craft, and
experimental pilots crack up all the time.

Of course, owners do all sorts of "custom" minor modifications to their
commercial craft: instruments, decorations, minor fittings like latches
and knobs. But the moment you modify the controls, the airframe, or the
powerplant (this pulley) you're off the chart, and on your own. And this
doesn't even seem to be a modification, but a build.

Mostly, I'd turn him down because he doesn't really know what he wants,
and not being an A&P mechanic myself, _I_ don't know what he wants,
either.

LLoyd (SEL pilot with about 1000 hours)