# Renting an experimental aircraft

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/renting-an-experimental-aircraft/497332>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 22, 2009, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/renting-an-experimental-aircraft/497332 "2009-05-22T20:29:40Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\
**Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/renting-an-experimental-aircraft/497332/1 "2009-05-22T20:29:40Z")

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I’ve heard that as of a couple of years ago it is now legal to charge for flight instruction in an experimental aircraft. Assuming that someone was willing to let someone else fly an aircraft he spent a thousand or two hours building, is it legal for him to rent it to someone?

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**Author:** ![hopesperson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e95f7d/32.png) [@hopesperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hopesperson)\
**Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/renting-an-experimental-aircraft/497332/2 "2009-05-22T20:48:26Z")

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Believe it or not, I looked into this a while back. This page might be helpful in answering your question:

[http://http://www.eaa.org/news/2007/2007-11-01\_exemption.asp](http://http://www.eaa.org/news/2007/2007-11-01_exemption.asp)

According to the site,

> [@](#):
>
> Experimental aircraft owners who wish to allow their aircraft to be “hired” for flight training will need to contact the Operations Supervisor at their local FSDO and apply for an Experimental Aircraft Flight Training Letter of Deviation as outlined in FAA Notice N 8900.15. Once that letter is issued, the aircraft owner may receive compensation for the flight training use of the aircraft. Remember that the Letter of Deviation is only required if the owner of the aircraft wishes to rent his experimental aircraft to others for transition training. A pilot may receive flight instruction in his own aircraft (once the initial flight test period is complete) without specific authorization. Also, a person may allow others to use their experimental aircraft for flight training at any time so long as no fee is charged for the use of the aircraft.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\
**Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/renting-an-experimental-aircraft/497332/3 "2009-05-22T22:35:45Z")

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> [@](#):
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> the aircraft owner may receive compensation for the flight training use of the aircraft

Does that mean that a person may collect a fee for acting as a flight instructor in an Experimental category aircraft? Or that a fee may be charged to rent the aircraft? The first sentence in the quote seems to point to the latter. The last sentence seems to say that this is not true; but on further thought I’m reading it as saying it is not true unless the Letter of Deviation is issued.

So assume I have a homebuilt Bugsmasher Special. Someone comes up to me and wants to rent it for ‘solo recurrency training’?