bob gardner

Try to find a copy of FAA Order 8700.1, General Aviation Operations
Inspector Handbook. Volume 2, chapter 56, covers "ramp checks." You will
find that it is essentially a paperwork exercise. If the ops inspector finds
anything out of line from an airworthiness standpoint, he or she must call
in an airworthiness inspector.

Bob Gardner

bob gardner

Try to find a copy of FAA Order 8700.1, General Aviation Operations
Inspector Handbook. Volume 2, chapter 56, covers "ramp checks." You will
find that it is essentially a paperwork exercise. If the ops inspector finds
anything out of line from an airworthiness standpoint, he or she must call
in an airworthiness inspector.

Bob Gardner

bob gardner

Try to find a copy of FAA Order 8700.1, General Aviation Operations
Inspector Handbook. Volume 2, chapter 56, covers "ramp checks." You will
find that it is essentially a paperwork exercise. If the ops inspector finds
anything out of line from an airworthiness standpoint, he or she must call
in an airworthiness inspector.

Bob Gardner

anthony chambers

Been ramped twice. Both times it was "hi I'm with the FAA, can I see your
pilot certificate and medical?".

I showed them and everyone went on their merry way.

I've heard a few horror storries, but for the most part inspectors are cool.
Every now and then you get a grumpy one who is just out looking for trouble.

jgalban@hotmail.com (john

I have been present while others have been ramp checked. For the
most part, it was a simple paper check. The inspectors were friendly
and made no attempt to overreach their authority. I do know a few
people who have been ramped by the FAA equivalent of Barney Fife.
There are some good ones and some bad ones.

Couple of years ago I was helping my friend out with the annual
condition inspection on his homebuilt. He had his head in the cowl
and I looked up to see the FAA guy walking down the line of airplanes
toward us. You can always tell the FAA guys because they wear their
plastic id badges around their necks.
I was a little worried because we had this homebuilt partially
disassembled, with parts lying all around the ramp. Turns out the
guy was a builder and wanted to checkout the homebuilt. He never even
asked to see any paperwork. Just sat around and shot the breeze for 10
min.

I guess you just never know what to expect.
John Galban=====>N4BQ (PA28-180)

mackd@andrews.edu (david

I was ramp checked a few years ago while working on my private. The
inspector wanted to see my student pilot certificate/medical and pilot
cert/CFI cert of my instructor and then let us go on our way. No
hassle and he was quite friendly. We are a fairly small rural airport
as well, but the local FSDO is only 25 miles away. The inspectors
like to take our airplanes out for currency and they do the occasional
ramp check while they're here. As far as I've heard from other pilots
at our airport, my experience is the norm.

I did my instrument checkride with an FAA observer (the DE was getting
a renewal) and they went over everything (certificates, airplane logs,
etc) with a fine tooth comb.

David

crwdog69@hotmail.com

I've never been ramped, but seen it happen twice.

First time, I was taking my private glider add-on ride. The FSDO sent
out an expert to observe the way the DE did the ride. Of course he
could only observe the oral (the glider was 2 place) and the oral was
all glider-specific (since it was an add-on). He was a real expert -
he had been in a glider. Once.

While we flew, he ramp checked the tow pilots out of boredom.

Second time, a friend gave me a lift to another airport to pick up my
plane. Weather was marginal at the destination airport, but since it
was Class G we landed in legal VFR. The inspector ramped my friend,
then chewed him out for flying illegally (vis was reported 2.5 miles;
legal VFR in Class G is 1 mile clear of clouds). My friend didn't
argue, and that was the end of it.

A friend of mine is a DE. He says he never flies his plane to the DE
conferences he has to attend - seems there are always feds there, and
every DE who flies in gets ramped.

Michael