New owner - throwing myself to wolves

[Colonel Sanders]

I'm not a big fan of export C of A's .... you can
spend a lot of money at a shop in the USA, and
when it gets here, your AME might want to spend
a lot of money again (worst case scenario).

Buying an airplane in the USA? Get an AME that
knows the type. You see an aircraft you like?

Get the 337's (and liens - check for liens) from
the FAA and give them to your AME. You don't
even need to contact the owner to do that - you
just need the N-reg.

AME likes what he sees? Contact owner and
get copies of airframe and engine logbooks sent
to your AME, to check for paper AD compliance
and detailed maintenance history - hours flown
per year, etc.

AME likes what he sees? Both of you get airline
tickets and go down and look at it. If AME is
any good - and knows the type - in a few hours
of poking around he should have a yes/no answer
for you. It's an SEL, for Christ's sake.

Have the owner fly the N-reg aircraft to Canada,
pay the HST when it lands. Get it inside your
hangar, contact FAA to de-register. Get MSI-26
going, apply for C of R. Paint (or decals) for
C-letters. Your AME starts new logbooks, does
an annual/100hr inspection.

Should be NO EXPENSIVE SURPRISES. As mentioned
above, you might need to update W&B, eqpt list,
fire extinguisher, etc. Minor stuff.

MDM comes, hands you C of A after looking at
data plates and logs.

I cannot emphasize how important it is, to have
YOUR AME do the pre-purchase inspection, of both
the paperwork and the physical aircraft, to avoid
nasty and expensive surprises during the first import,
first annual, etc.

[CID]

Don't forget that your ferry permit that you obtain in the USA is not valid in Canada so you have to obtain one for a modest fee from TC as well.

Flight authorities seem to be misunderstood. (a lot)

First of all, once the airplane is paid for and you have a receipt, the US C of R is instantly invalid as you are now the registered owner. You can no longer legally fly the airplane with the N registration. One option is to have the owner agree to either let you fly it home or have him/her fly it there before you pay (as Colonel Sanders suggests). Sellers tend to shy away from that sort of thing but you can sometimes convince them to do it for a fee. As a seller I would ask for enough money for fuel both ways and expenses for a few days before I turned a prop.

If the airplane is flown to Canada with the N registration before money changes hands, you will not need a "ferry permit" or any other special flight authority. The US C of A will still be in force.

If the airplane is registered to the new Canadian owner before moving it and getting a C of A, a Canadian flight permit will be required and it will need to be validated by the FAA for the portion of the flight over the US. There is normally no charge for that.

This information is contained in CAR 507. The part about validation of foreign flight authorities is almost identical to the working the FAA uses.

[eaglepilot]

Personally if I were you I would have the annual done in the USA, set up a trust to own the aircraft and keep it N registered. You'll save yourself the import costs + 2K annually on insurance to start.

I would verify that first, my understanding is that a N registered aircraft can only be in Canada for 6 months a year. I last looked at it in 2009, so things may have changed.

[Colonel Sanders]

Correct - a trust doesn't work very well.

[cgartly]

Why doesn't a trust work very well? Granted its only been a year but it is working well for me so far.

There are tons of airplanes in Europe on the N register setup under trusts.

I've been unable to find anything in the CARS that states one must import the aircraft to the C register in any time frame.

I did however have to import it according to the CBSA which resulted in paying taxes, I was aware of this and have no problem with it.

[xysn]

I would verify that first, my understanding is that a N registered aircraft can only be in Canada for 6 months a year. I last looked at it in 2009, so things may have changed.

I did however have to import it according to the CBSA which resulted in paying taxes, I was aware of this and have no problem with it.

Is this the reference?

202.42 (1) Subject to section 203.03, no person shall operate in Canada an aircraft that is registered in a foreign state that has been present in Canada for a total of 90 days or more in the immediately preceding twelve-month period unless

(a) the foreign state is a contracting state;

(b) the operator of the aircraft is
(i) the foreign state,
(ii) an individual who is not a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident but is a citizen or subject of the foreign state, or
(iii) an entity that is incorporated or otherwise formed under the laws of the foreign state

(c) if the operator of the aircraft is an entity described in subparagraph (b)(iii), the aircraft is operated in Canada

(i) in accordance with an air operator certificate, or
(ii) in any operation other than an operation that would require a private operator certificate if the aircraft were registered in Canada.