What Is an EAB Condition Inspection?

A condition inspectionis the recurring inspection an experimental amateur-built (E-AB) aircraft must pass to remain eligible to fly. It is often called the "annual" out of habit, but it is a distinct requirement from the annual inspection that type-certificated aircraft undergo under 14 CFR 91.409. Understanding the difference matters, because the people who may perform it, the standard it is measured against, and the paperwork it generates are not the same.

The standard annual vs. the condition inspection

For a standard type-certificated airplane, 91.409(a) requires an annual inspection performed by a mechanic holding an Inspection Authorization (IA), against the aircraft's type-certificated configuration. Experimental aircraft are explicitly carved out of that scheme: 91.409(e) provides that the inspection requirements of 91.409(a) through (d) do not apply to an aircraft that holds an experimental certificate. Instead, the inspection program is set by the aircraft's operating limitations, issued as part of its airworthiness certificate.

For an E-AB aircraft, those operating limitations require a condition inspection at least once every 12 calendar months, performed to the scope and detail of Appendix D to Part 43 - the same checklist of areas an IA uses for an annual - and recorded with a specific certifying statement. The practical difference is who is allowed to do it and what they are certifying.

"In a condition for safe operation"

The annual inspection certifies an aircraft as airworthy - meaning it conforms to its type design and is safe to operate. An E-AB aircraft has no type design to conform to, so the standard is reduced to the second half: the aircraft must be found to be in a condition for safe operation. That phrase is the heart of the condition inspection, and it is the practical yardstick for judgment calls - including how to treat a service bulletin or an airworthiness directive against an installed component.

Who performs it

A condition inspection on an E-AB aircraft may be performed and signed by the holder of a repairman certificate (experimental aircraft builder) for that specific aircraft, or by any mechanic holding an Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) certificate - notably, no Inspection Authorization is required. We cover the details, including the light-sport repairman case, in who can perform a condition inspection.

The recording statement

A condition inspection is not complete until it is recorded. The operating limitations prescribe a statement that must be entered in the aircraft maintenance records, identifying the date, the aircraft total time in service, and certifying that the aircraft was inspected in accordance with the scope and detail of Appendix D to Part 43 and found to be in a condition for safe operation - signed with the inspector's certificate number and kind of certificate. The exact wording and references are in the FAA requirements article.

How this app fits

The six-phase workflow in this app mirrors how a careful condition inspection actually runs: a start phase to capture tach and Hobbs and any opening oil change; a checklist phase to work the Appendix D areas; a discrepancies phase to document and resolve findings; an ADs and Service Bulletins phase; a final walkthrough; and a sign-off phase that records the certifying statement and generates the airframe log entry. It is a checklist and a logbook in one - designed to keep you from missing a step under the airplane, not to tell you what the regulations require.