Seems to be a ton of Canadian-registered Skywagons on TAP and Barnstormers- mostly on floats, many via a broker. What's up? Is importing one to the US practical for the average buyer? Are these ads worth consideration, or is it too much of a PITA?

Thanks,

-DP

Follow-up question: If a plane was Canadian-registered, and later on became US registered, the FAA record of 337s obviously only goes back as far as the date of US registration. Is there some way to search for the Canadian equivalent of 337s, to discover any major repair history?

Thanks

Hey DP. I'm no expert so hopefully someone else will chime in as well. On the furst question, I believe it is easier to import to the US then it is into Canada. We have stricter rules such as constant speed props being calender items, and engines having to be O/Hd by certified shops and so on.
As for the 337s, I'm really not sure. I believe it is just logged in the journey log. I know I damaged my empenage last November and no forms were filled out, but an extensive entry was made in the journey log.
Hope that helps somewhat.
David

Transport Canada has a 'file' on your airplane.. So if the owner of the aircraft or the maintenance shop actually filled in a 'major repair/modification report' and sent it in to Transport canada, you can get a copy of all the major modifications/repairs. But this form a lot of times, does not get filled out and sent in. (i just asked for copies of stuff from transport canada for my dads tcraft, because transport canada was trying to tell me we couldn't have the engine in it, that it currently has installed. We have a letter on file from 1980ish from the import written out by transport canada saying that 'the a75 is such a negligible change that no stc's where needed.' (not in those words but i don't have the letter in front of me')


The tech records should be able to show you the major repairs also,

Almost all 'modified airplanes' in Canada should be done by stc, or lstc, and would have paperwork saying this. Technically Canada doesn't have '337 field approvals,' which makes 'exporting from canada easier.. Because STC's and LSTC's are covered under the bilaterral agreement.

Thanks very much for the helpful answers. I was on an official Canadian registry website today, in fact, but it seems they only have digitized data back to 1982. Prior to that and you get referred to a historical archive website that covers every topic imaginable. I will try a phone call tomorrow.
Thanks,
DP

Importation into the US is fairly easy...especially if the aircraft is fairly stock.

The place to start is the Type Certificate (TC). Be sure that any equipment on the plane such as engine, props, floats, wheels, etc listed on the Type Certificate are actually on the plane and that any deviations to the TC are are validated by an STC. Don't make the mistake of thinking that just because all the 185s you have seen have 8.50 tires, that they are on the Type Certificate...do your homework with this kind of stuff.

Aircraft in Canada are required to have four logs...the journey log, airframe log, engine log, and prop log. Any major repairs or modifications must be detailed in the journey log but the other logs will have all the real information such as parts trace-ability, design or repair approval numbers, STCs and so on. STCs may be incorporated by reference in the appropriate log book but the STC paper work itself is most often included in the log.

Don't get excited if you see a few different methods of log/record keeping for various aircraft. Transport Canada approves various procedures for logs/record keeping for commercial air carriers so if you see some different record keeping methods it's not a big deal. Continuity in the dates/information is what you really need...not continuity in the methods used to keep logs/records.

The US accepts the the information in the Canadian Logs because they meet ICAO standards and, although it's a slightly different way of doing things, the FAA is obligated to accept the format (maybe not all the content though) of these logs as an ICAO member themselves.

Canadian Aviation Regulation Standard 571 Appendix L - Major Repair or Major Modification Report details that major repairs or modifications be reported to Transport Canada ("the Minister"). Ideally you should see a copy of this report with a corresponding entry in the log book. Unfortunately though, there is no Regulation requiring the owner to keep these records and Transport Canada's data base is not always complete.

Finally, if the airplane was registered in the US before coming to Canada, any work conducted in the US using an FAA 337 is accepted in Canada unless it originates from Alaska. So if the records for the Canadian plane you are looking at has 337 forms, don't get worked up. Unless they come from Alaska... because I understand the FAA will not accept Alaskan 337s in the lower 48...(maybe somebody could set me straight on that)...337s are accepted here and, while not a Canadian document, they may form part of the aircraft's Canadian Logs. However...if old US logs show work done without a 337 or STC there is a problem. The 337s should have come with the plane but sometimes airplanes are imported into Canada without them under a "condition inspection" process...you don't want to go down that road $$$$$.

Short Answer...if the plane conforms to the TC and/or has supporting STCs or major repair approvals if required; you should have no issues importing a plane from Canada into the US. It's done all the time.

What about the newer ones that say "Homebuilt". Is that the equivalent of an experimental in the US? Different terms would apply to those, I'm guessing?
Thanks for the great responses so far.
-DP

Yep...a "home built" is a home built and it has a Certificate of Airworthiness that reflects this, So the FAA would look at it as such. Now...if there is a regulation that limits aspects of a home built in the US such as weight, speed, and so on...and the home built 185 exceeds this; you are probably out of luck. I think this is unlikely though.

I believe the homebuilt 185s are super cyclone kits. Nice looking planes.