Definition
A special airworthiness certificate category issued by the FAA for aircraft that do not meet, or are not required to meet, the standard type certification rules. It permits operation for specific purposes such as research and development, showing compliance with regulations, crew training, exhibition, air racing, market surveys, and operating amateur-built or kit-built aircraft. Aircraft holding this certificate are subject to operating limitations attached to the certificate, including restrictions on carrying passengers or property for hire and on the airspace in which they may be flown.
Plain English
A type of airworthiness certificate for aircraft that haven't gone through the normal FAA approval process used for standard production airplanes. The aircraft is legal to fly, but only under specific limitations written into the certificate.
Context Anchor
Seen on an aircraft’s airworthiness certificate and in the operating limits that must be carried with the aircraft.
Derivation
From the Latin 'experimentum,' meaning a trial or test. The aviation use keeps that flavour: these aircraft are treated as outside the standard production rules, often because they are being tested, built by an individual, or used for a non-standard purpose.
Why Pilots Care
Pilots must know and obey the specific limitations on the certificate, which can restrict passenger carrying, flight over populated areas, or certain maneuvers.
Intuition Check
Experimental does not simply mean “dangerous,” “unfinished,” or “not legal.” In this FAA context, it means the aircraft has a special certificate with specific FAA-approved uses and limits.
Example Sentence 1
Because the homebuilt aircraft was issued an Experimental airworthiness certificate, the pilot had to inform the passenger before flight that the aircraft did not meet standard certification requirements.
Example Sentence 2
With the Experimental certificate in place, the pilot could fly the homebuilt airplane but could not carry passengers until the flight-test phase was complete.