Can anyone tell me what is involved in importing a cessna from Europe? One that I'm looking at is near Geneva. I realize shipping cost will be an issue but as far as registrating a Reims plane here in the States, will that be a big issue? Are the Rolls-Royce/continental 135hp engine parts readily available?
The Reims aircraft have a separate type certificate and are technically a different airplane. Many of the STC'ed mods that are approved for the Cessna 150-152 series
(TC 3A19) [
airweb.faa.gov] are not approved for the Reims 150-152 aircraft
(TC A13EU) [
airweb.faa.gov] You would need to check this very closely before installing any aftermarket STC'ed mods. You would also want to make sure that any FAA-PMA replacement parts list the Reims aircraft on their elegibility list, otherwise the part could not legally be installed on it as a direct replacement part. In both cases, I highly suspect you could obtain FAA Field Approval on a Form 337 for such identical installations.
The O-240 is really overstressed and a number of Reims Aerobat aircraft have been converted back to the standard O-200. Continental provides parts and technical support for the engine, but it is skimpy at best.
