Important information for builders outside The Netherlands

Many European builders are confronted with limited possibilities to build an aircraft in their home country due to stringent or absent regulation.

Many of those will therefore explore the possibilities of building their aircraft according the Dutch regulation. This is not impossible and you are welcome to become member of our association and register your project with us and receive technical advice along the way.

It is however very important to be well aware of the risks and limitations that comes with this option. Before becoming a member and registering your project, take good note of the following:

• NVAV is not the Certifying Authority for Dutch Homebuilts. According to the current regulation, there is no prohibition for registering an aircraft that is built outside of The Netherlands. There is no guarantee however this will remain like this. There can always be changes in the regulation or a change of its interpretation. This is beyond control of NVAV. The risk of registering your build in the Netherlands is fully your responsibility. If problems arise with Dutch or local authorities NVAV cannot be claimed for this.
• You will need a local agent in The Netherlands to handle all the paperwork on your behalf. There are several agents outside NVAV that provides this as a paid service.
• Some countries impose a 28 days per year limit for foreign aircrafts staying in their country.
• Enforcement of the 51% rule has following implications:
  1. The builder must prove being the original builder of the airplane by invoices and a build log.
  2. In some cases, a builder buys an unfinished project from another builder. It is imperative that the builder is able to show that at least 51% of the aircraft is built by an amateur
  3. Aircrafts with a previous registration (already completed aircrafts) in another country cannot be registered in the Netherlands.
  4. Your project needs to be registered with NVAV at the start of the project. In order to ensure quality, the builder will invite an NVAV inspector during the build at critical stages, such as final closure of the wings, elevator, etc. Usually, two visits suffice but more are encouraged. NVAV technical advisors and inspectors are volunteers.
• For projects outside of The Netherlands all expenses and compensation need to be paid by the builder. The NVAV official and project owner will agree on this before the start of the assignment.
• For the yearly renewal of the Certificate of Airworthiness (CoA, sBVL in Dutch) an inspector with Ducth certification needs to check the maintenance records and is free to inspect some samples. In particular application of SB’s and ADs are investigated. The mandatory instrument calibrations (new and every two years) as well as weighing and weight and balance calculations may be carried out by a local EASA certified party.