Import of Aircraft

[steven Myron]

I am currently looking to buy another Cessna and found one in Canada. I see from past post this can be an ordeal. I see that I will have to have a Pilot bring the plane into the country. Not sure of the process. Will the registry happen here or while still up north? The logs look good and the plane was moved into the north from the states in 2014. That paper work was perform or originated at the FBO that owned the aircraft.

 

[steingar]

Word has it that there are lots of those things this side of the border.

 

[Grum.Man]

Experimental airplanes seem to be much easier to import. The tricky part is there are things that can be done to a certified airplane there that are a no no here. You would need to take a very good look at the logbooks and ADs. Not sure what else will be involved but I agree, the prices can be very tempting from north of the border.

 

[Tom-D]

Get the aircraft to your maintenance facility prior to reregistering it in Canada.

then your maintenance facility can start the process, of registering it in the US.
first step, request an N number from OKC.
next do an Annual and AD compliance.
place new N on the aircraft.
When it is all completed request a compliance inspection (DER or FED) and issuance of AWC.

AND note on all correspondence to the FAA that this is a "import" your letters go to the top of the pile

 

[GRG55]

Before you do anything have your maintenance facility review the logs, especially for any modifications that were done after the plane was imported into Canada. Anything. Something as simple as changing an antenna can hang you up if the log entries are not complete. Your best chance of a clean import will be if the plane has not been modified in any way since it left the USA.

 

[SkyDog58]

Get the aircraft to your maintenance facility prior to reregistering it in Canada.

then your maintenance facility can start the process, of registering it in the US.
first step, request an N number from OKC.
next do an Annual and AD compliance.
place new N on the aircraft.
When it is all completed request a compliance inspection (DER or FED) and issuance of AWC.

AND note on all correspondence to the FAA that this is a "import" your letters go to the top of the pile

You likely meant deregistering it in Canada, not reregistering. And you likely meant DAR rather than DER. Also the owner must register it in the US, not the maintenance facility. And noting it is an import only prioritizes it with OKC registration branch, not the FSDO if an ASI (FED?) is used.

But you got the general idea.

 

[Tom-D]

You likely meant deregistering it in Canada, not reregistering.

yep,, typo

 

[Vince R]

I imported my Bo from Canada, and while it took a few weeks, it wasn't a huge ordeal.

The seller and I worked out a deal where he'd bring it to Bangor ME for a prepurchase, and if it looked good, we'd just do the transaction there. The folks that did the prepurchase did the annual and arranged the DER, and the escrow folks helped with the registration and the FAA paperwork. I hired a broker to help with US Customs - in the end, it was worth it.

The folks in Bangor just put the new N-number on with temporary decals - I had the "real" one painted on a few weeks later.

Don't forget things like the ELT and transponder - both have to be reprogrammed with the US info.

Total cost, including the annual, DER, US customs, getting the new N-number painted and the instruments reprogrammed was about $7K. The longest part of the process was getting the DER lined up - she had about a three week lead time.