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Conditional Inspection Intervals

G

gleninsand52

I'm New Here
new to RV ownership, My question is when I purchased in March 2026 and last cond. inspect was in January 2026 when do I need to do the next cond. Inspection next?
And is there someplace in Houston that I can get the 16 Hr conditional inspection class? I am a rated A&P.
Glen.
 
gleninsand52 said:
new to RV ownership, My question is when I purchased in March 2026 and last cond. inspect was in January 2026 when do I need to do the next cond. Inspection next?
And is there someplace in Houston that I can get the 16 Hr conditional inspection class? I am a rated A&P.
Glen.
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Read the operating limitations that are part of the aircraft's airworthiness certificate.

It states what the required interval of the CONDITION (it is not a conditional inspection... there is nothing conditional about it) Inspection is and what level of certification is required to complete it.
If your A&P certificate is current, you are likely authorized to complete the condition inspection (once again, refer to the operating limitations).
 
Hey, Glen! Welcome to the best-flying airplane you will ever have the pleasure of owning/flying! And to THE BEST place to get information on just about any questions you may have!

So, several things: I would edit your signature to have your name in it so you don't have to put it in every time. AND, maybe more importantly, put what airplane you have in there as well. That will help us know what airplane we are helping you with.....!

That said, if it was me, especially with you having an A&P, I would jump in and do a condition inspection like.......oh.........Now! Do you have to to be legal? No. It would be strictly for you to become familiar with your New Ride! Nothing like a condition inspection to get you into all the things that are different on your new craft compared to whatever you have been working on. Just a thought...........

Interval: I am in the habit of doing an inspection every 100 hours or every year, whichever comes first. Then either the next 100 hours or next 12 months. Depends on how much you fly. IMHO.

Welcome aboard!
 
Thanks Mike for your comments. The plane is an RV 12 ULS carbureted, although I’ve been flying for the last 50 years this is my third plane and want to take care of it for the longest time. My last ride was a Grumman Tiger so picking up differential breaking was just like flying the tiger, before that I owned a PA 28 to 235 which is if it fits you could haul it but at my age I’ve had to dial back down on wants and needs. Besides my A&P, I am a rated glider pilot and also a VFR private pilot.
So your answer is, I couldn’t change the month, but I can do 100 hour inspection the same way.
 
gleninsand52 said:
Thanks Mike for your comments. The plane is an RV 12 ULS carbureted, although I’ve been flying for the last 50 years this is my third plane and want to take care of it for the longest time. My last ride was a Grumman Tiger so picking up differential breaking was just like flying the tiger, before that I owned a PA 28 to 235 which is if it fits you could haul it but at my age I’ve had to dial back down on wants and needs. Besides my A&P, I am a rated glider pilot and also a VFR private pilot.
So your answer is, I couldn’t change the month, but I can do 100 hour inspection the same way.
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No requirement to do an annual condition inspection based on flight time; that would be a personal choice. Only requirement is once every 12 months. Here's a nice Kitplanes article that'll will provide you with some basic guidance. The "ongoing maintenance" forum has a whole section on condition inspection checklists.
 
gleninsand52 said:
Thanks Mike for your comments. The plane is an RV 12 ULS carbureted, although I’ve been flying for the last 50 years this is my third plane and want to take care of it for the longest time. My last ride was a Grumman Tiger so picking up differential breaking was just like flying the tiger, before that I owned a PA 28 to 235 which is if it fits you could haul it but at my age I’ve had to dial back down on wants and needs. Besides my A&P, I am a rated glider pilot and also a VFR private pilot.
So your answer is, I couldn’t change the month, but I can do 100 hour inspection the same way.
Click to expand...
You can change the month - I have gradually moved up my CI to take place in April due to the normally mild weather. You can either perform it early, and the next one is then due 12 calendar months from then, or you could do it late, but you would not be legal to fly it until it was completed.

Chris
 
gleninsand52 said:
Thanks Mike for your comments. The plane is an RV 12 ULS carbureted, although I’ve been flying for the last 50 years this is my third plane and want to take care of it for the longest time. My last ride was a Grumman Tiger so picking up differential breaking was just like flying the tiger, before that I owned a PA 28 to 235 which is if it fits you could haul it but at my age I’ve had to dial back down on wants and needs. Besides my A&P, I am a rated glider pilot and also a VFR private pilot.
So your answer is, I couldn’t change the month, but I can do 100 hour inspection the same way.
Click to expand...
OK: You would be legal to fly until January 27 without doing another condition inspection, i.e. 12 months from your last inspection. If you wanted to do a condition inspection yourself (if it so stated in your operation limitations....I believe with your A&P you could but you might need an IA....others might chime in here), like in March, just to inspect your new ride, that would reset the month it was next due to March 27. Again, doing the 100 hour is a personal choice for me and NOT necessary to be 'legal'. The Big Guys do 100 hour and it just make sense to me. IMHO only, of course.
 
Pretty sure inspections are based on "calendar month". If you complete your annual condition inspection on January 1, it will be valid until January 31, 12 calendar months later. It does not lapse on the exact calendar day of your previous inspection. FAR 91.409
 
Roadjunkie1 said:
OK: You would be legal to fly until January 27 without doing another condition inspection, i.e. 12 months from your last inspection. If you wanted to do a condition inspection yourself (if it so stated in your operation limitations....I believe with your A&P you could but you might need an IA....others might chime in here), like in March, just to inspect your new ride, that would reset the month it was next due to March 27. Again, doing the 100 hour is a personal choice for me and NOT necessary to be 'legal'. The Big Guys do 100 hour and it just make sense to me. IMHO only, of course.
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It's actually due in 12 calendar months, which means you have til the last day of the month it is due to complete it. You could actually get 13 months if you completed it on the first day of the month.
 
If, as you say, you are a rated A&P and labor cost is a non-factor - then you can set the time of the inspection at your choosing. For instance, I start mine usually at the end of Jan or early Feb to ensure it is complete for the beginning of the popular fly-in's that start usually in April, such as Sun And Fun in Florida.

Beyond that, if the actual act of the inspection is a pain (either labor, dollars, time, whatever) then as pointed out above you can actually stretch it to 13 months easily.
 
Roadjunkie1 said:
OK: You would be legal to fly until January 27 without doing another condition inspection, i.e. 12 months from your last inspection. If you wanted to do a condition inspection yourself (if it so stated in your operation limitations....I believe with your A&P you could but you might need an IA....others might chime in here), like in March, just to inspect your new ride, that would reset the month it was next due to March 27. Again, doing the 100 hour is a personal choice for me and NOT necessary to be 'legal'. The Big Guys do 100 hour and it just make sense to me. IMHO only, of course.
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an IA is never needed to do anything on an experimental aircraft. the job of an IA is to insure that the an aircraft meets the type certificate of the aircraft, as there is no type certificate for an experimental, an IA ia not needed.

your op specs will say exactly who can do the condition inspection.
 
jsalley said:
Yes - my AWC was issued 11/10/2025, DAR said next is due by 11/30/2026.
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Technically it is due at the start of the day (just past midnight) on 12-01-2026, because you are legal to fly, through the entire month that the inspection was completed.
 
wirejock said:
Isn't that interesting. So if a builder had some sort of problem that took a year to resolve, it's possible they would have to perform a CI on an airplane that never flew?
Just wondering.
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If the process is being properly followed, that should never happen.

When the airplane is presented for its airworthiness inspection, the builder signs a maintenance log entry saying they have completed a condition inspection and that it is in a condition for safe operation.
To do that the airplane should have been fully inspected and any ground testing that could be done short of actually leaving the ground, and all problems discovered up to that date should have been resolved.
 
wirejock said:
Isn't that interesting. So if a builder had some sort of problem that took a year to resolve, it's possible they would have to perform a CI on an airplane that never flew?
Just wondering.
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Just do a fresh condition inspection when the aircraft is finally ready to fly and the 12-month clock restarts from that point. There is no need for compliance with a condition inspection if the aircraft isn't flying.
 
Sam Buchanan said:
Just do a fresh condition inspection when the aircraft is finally ready to fly and the clock restarts from that point. There is no need for compliance with a condition inspection if the aircraft isn't flying.
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I tell all of my clients that we will do a condition inspection records entry on certification day.
 
Sam Buchanan said:
Agree and that is the way it has been on my aircraft. I was responding the question about how to handle a lengthy unexpected delay (system failure of some kind??).
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Fair enough
I was responding to the idea of a long delay before certification being suggested. That isn’t a real scenario.
 
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