Dave Hadfield wrote:
Wow, that's a heck of a lot of homework. Nice job!
Thanks!
Dave Hadfield wrote:
It's useful to understand that not all the categories translate to regulatory approval in other countries.
We have no Experimental category, for example.
And the USA does not recognize our Owner Maintenance category.
And for me to take the new Hurricane XII to OSH, I will have to apply for an approval with the FAA even though it has an Approved flight authority here.
Interesting. I'm not familiar with the categories in Canada. What are they?
One of the curious aspects of limited category that made me want to learn more about it was that the description of it in the Code of Federal Regulations is very short and vague when compared with the other categories. The definition is basically a self-referential statement that amounts to "a limited category aircraft is any aircraft with a limited type certificate" with no further explanation. I did a quick word count (not including the section headings) on the definitions of various non-standard categories according to
Part 21 of Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (aka the FAR in "FAR/AIM") and here's how they break out:
- Primary Category: 418 words
- Restricted Category: 414 words
- Light Sport Category: 440 words
- Experimental Category: 896 words
- Limited Category: 89 words
Also, with the exception of the limited category, all of the above were last amended by 1992 or later. The limited category, however, was last amended in 1965.
The other thing I didn't realize before looking into it was that limited and restricted are two different categories. I think I had always just assumed that they were two different terms for the same thing since the words have a similar meaning. Ironically, the CFR entry for the restricted category mentions "surplus aircraft of the Armed Forces", but the entry for limited does not. In regards to the latter the phrase "surplus military aircraft" only appears in
FAA Order 8130.2.
If you read through some of the LTCs in the list above (also, I think someone pointed this out to me before), the common thread appears to be that they all allow use of military manuals. So, the defining characteristic of limited category aircraft seems to be the exception that they don't have to conform to FAA standards.
I just took a look at the
FAA's history of n-numbers and I noticed that the requirement to include a "C", "L", "R", or "X" was dropped at the end of 1948 - which is right about when the last of the restricted category aircraft were original certified. So I wonder if there might be some connection between the two. The other interesting thing it notes is that, although not stating exactly when, the "R" for restricted was added "later" than the other letters. While I could already pretty well guess that the limited category did not exist until after the war, it does point out that the restricted category predated it. This means that, for some reason, the CAA (the FAA did not exist until 1958) decided that the aircraft that would eventually be registered as limited should be separate from the restricted category.
One other consideration that might explain the emergence of the restricted category is the
expected boom in postwar air travel that never materialized.
Chris Brame wrote:
I'm surprised I don't see an LTC listed for the B-18 or B-23 - were there any?
Interesting point. I didn't see the B-18 or B-23 mentioned either, so I have to assume not. You would think there would have been given their use as executive aircraft after the war, but I guess no one ever bothered with it.
There really aren't that many. I myself was surprised when I found out that the a list of limited category aircraft could fit entirely on one page. It's really a strange category because: a) all but one or two of the aircraft were registered in a three year time span, and b) the parameters for inclusion are not really all that well defined.
It really seems to be a product of a very specific time period in American history. If I had to venture a guess, this might partially explain the
current situation with Warbird Adventures and the FAA. It's an old regulation that is paradoxically very specific, but also very poorly defined. Not to get off track with current issues, but if you look at the arguments in the case, one of the central issues is that the operators had one understanding of the law (specifically in regards to what constitutes compensation) and the FAA had another.
I have to wonder: Could any aircraft receive a limited category type certificate today? What if I wanted to register, say, an F-16? Would it be allowed? Or would it go under some other category like restricted?