aircraft registration

[EzFernando]

I purchased a VariEze fuselage. It was left derelict and the airport auctioned it off. I did not get logbooks for any of it. In the cockpit, it has an oil change sticker due at the next 750 hrs. It also has a data plate whit the build year of 1979.The person who boght it, sold it to me as is. I have been rebuilding it and am getting close to where I will be starting her up for taxi. It didnt come with an engine. Im also looking at registering the craft. looking at the FAA requirements, I see that I need to have a paper trail to the last person it was registered. I only have a bill of sail and nothing eals. Has anyone ever been in this situation, if so, how did you go about registering the airplane.

Edited September 14, 2021 by EzFernando

[Kent Ashton]

3 hours ago, EzFernando said:

It was left derelict and the airport auctioned it off.

Could be easy.  Could be hard.  And it doesn't matter what we say here.  What matters is what your local FSDO will accept.  I would make an appointment with the FSDO _Manager_ and discuss it.  It might help to hire one of the legal firms in OK City that specializes in aircraft title issues.  If you just ask a basic FSDO pogue or DAR, you might get a cryptic "No way" that then becomes set in concrete.

Your problem is to prove legal chain of title.  Your auction bill of sale is good but what authorized the airport to auction off this airplane?   Was there a written law or published rule allowing the airport to take possession of property like this and auction it?  If so, and you can show the FAA that law and show that the airplane was auctioned-sold to you under that law then you may have legal possession and they should allow you to re-register in your name.  If the airport gave legal notice to the last aircraft owner that his airplane was subject to be auctioned for non-payment or other reason, then showing a copy of that notice to the former owner would also help.  However, if the airport simply sent notice to the hangar lessee, that might not be sufficient unless the hangar lessee was the person on the registration.  See what I mean?  There has to be a legal trail of possession leading to you and I don't know how flexible the FAA will be in accepting other paperwork.   The main question is What gave the airport legal title to this airframe?

I imagine the FAA wants to avoid any situation where the former owner or his heirs could pop up and say "This airplane was illegally confiscated and sold without notice to me, the rightful owner."

The easiest thing would be to track down the last legal owner, if he is alive, and ask him to sign an FAA Bill of Sale.  If he is dead, and his estate went through probate, and this airplane was listed as a part of the estate, you might get his executor to sign an FAA Bill of Sale but best consult a probate lawyer on that one.

Logbooks should be no problem.  You can just start  new ones.  I'm not a lawyer but I always find these questions interesting.  🙂

 

[EzFernando]

Thak you for your reply.

I whas told by the person who gave me the bill of sale, that the airplane owner has passed away and there is no next of kin. I looked up the N# and it is no longer registered. It is the last known airplane with this N#. I think it has been used with two more airplanes. I have contacted the person who sold it to me and asked him for help. I am hoping he can provide a bill of sale from the airport. He is going to try to get one form me. There's no guarantee that this is posible. The airport he got it from had been operated by a contract agency. This is no longer the cas, after 20 year of being operated by the agency, it went back to being managed by the county and non of the managers were or old employes were offerd a job with the county.  

[Kent Ashton]

What was the N-number?  You can order the former records from the FAA registry for a small fee.  Look at it this way: if I walked into the FSDO and said "Hey, I've got this abandoned airplane I found on an airport and a guy at the airport sold it to me for $20, can I re-register it in my name?", I doubt that would wash.  That's the situation you're in.

I suggest you consult a lawyer.  I see that California law on abandoned property says there must first be a legal eviction [paperwork] then any property left on the premises can be legally disposed of but the procedure looks complex.  Here's a pretty good summary.

https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/handling-tenants-abandoned-property-california.html

However, I wouldn't take anybody's word that "the owner died with no next of kin".  He had enough money to own an airplane so there might be a probate case on the deceased.  If so, maybe an heir can be located or the probate court can transfer legal possession to you.   I would also look up the California law on abandoned property and how it can be disposed of.

 

[Kent Ashton]

Also find out of a lien was put on the airplane for, say, non-payment of rent.

Edited September 14, 2021 by Kent Ashton

[Marc Zeitlin]

9 hours ago, EzFernando said:

I purchased a VariEze fuselage. It was left derelict and the airport auctioned it off. I did not get logbooks for any of it...

Did you purchase a fuselage only? Wings? Canard? Engine? What?

If the fuselage ONLY, then there may be other options from what Kent is stating.

There is, obviously, always the option of misleading the federal government, but that's NEVER a good idea and IS a crime. People do it, though...

[EzFernando]

Im sorry, I have a completed build minus, sum instruments, radio and engine. It has hangar rash on wing/canard and the fuselage is with primer. So, it is a complete airplane with a data plate from 1979.

Edited September 14, 2021 by EzFernando

[Kent Ashton]

37 minutes ago, EzFernando said:

Im sorry, I have a completed build minus, sum instruments, radio and engine. It has hangar rash on wing/canard and the fuselage is with primer. So, it is a complete airplane with a data plate from 1979.

I say again, what was the N-number?, over.  Who was the registered owner?  Over

[EzFernando]

N45846 

[Kent Ashton]

It appears this airplane was owned by Lee H (Hale) Roan of  Temple City, CA   https://nuwber.com/person/563a2b1d7686b0176b0288c9  

There is a Maule also currently registered to him https://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/Search/NNumberResult?NNumberTxt=474W

However, it appears he is dead now but maybe his wife is still kicking around and the airplane was probated in his estate.    https://www.smartbackgroundchecks.com/people/lee-roan/temple-city/ca/El0mAGx0AmRlZwx1BGH3AmL2ZGZj

Here is a picture of the registration.   The Maule is going to be the same as the Vari if he died without transferring it.   If the airplane was listed in his estate maybe it can be transferred by probate.  Maybe you can also buy a cheap Maule.  🙂  Worth a call to his wife or children, if any.

Edited September 14, 2021 by Kent Ashton