Updated . Educational only — not tax, legal, or lending advice. Confirm figures with your CPA, the state revenue department, and a lender before you close.
Know the Operating Limitations Before You Apply
An experimental amateur-built aircraft is not a standard-category airplane with a different paint job. The limitations attached to the airworthiness certificate say where you can fly it, whether you can carry passengers, and what Phase 1 testing remains. Why most lenders decline the category is on lender objections. This page is the airplane you are asking them to take.
Read these before the application
- Operating limitations, including Phase 1 hours if they are not complete. Passengers and geography may be restricted until they are.
- Who may sign the condition inspection. A repairman certificate for that aircraft is not an A&P for every airplane.
- The builder’s log. “Plans-built,” “kit,” and “builder assist” are different stories to an insurer.
- Engine and prop origin. Automotive conversions and one-off props are a harder hull quote.
Insurance is the first call, not the lender. If you cannot bind hull and liability for the pilots who will actually fly it, stop. Cost to build is not market value. When you do model a loan, use a conservative value and a large cash down payment in the calculator. If the payment only works when you borrow most of the receipts, it does not work.
Questions buyers actually ask
Can I give instruction in an E-AB?
Only if the operating limitations and the insurance allow that use. Many do not. Do not promise a school a training airplane the limitations forbid.
Is a light-sport aircraft the same file?
No. A special or experimental light-sport aircraft has its own certificate and its own insurance market. Say which one you have on the first call.