What Kind of Airplane?
I should like to clarify on one point. You use the term
"experimental
airplane" to describe a Berkut 360. To an uninformed reader,
this
would suggest a level of technological sophistication which is at
variance with the facts. In American aviation law,
"experimental
airplane" is what the lawyers call a "term of art." Typically it
means
a small, simple, inexpensive airplane sold in kit form to
hobbyists,
sometimes called a "homebuilt." There are regulations about the
amount
of work the manufacturer may do, with the intent of requiring the
buyer
to actually put a good deal of his own handiwork into building
the
airplane. The Federal Aviation Administration feels that someone
who
simply buys an airplane is more likely to fly it in a
reckless
fashion, as opposed to someone who actually wields a wrench. These
regulations are evaded to a certain extent. There are certain
significant restrictions on the use of such airplanes, to
prevent
innocent bystanders from being flown around in an airplane which
has
not passed the usual industrial safety tests. The term
"experimental"
derived from the idea that an amateur inventor would design and
build
his own airplane. However, in practice, there are almost no
"experimental" airplanes which are not kits.
http://archive.theargus.co.uk/2005/5/10/102896.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkut_360