The FAA Aircraft registry website is at :
http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry
and the FAA SDR database query site is here
http://av-info.faa.gov/sdrx/Query.aspx
and the public FAA SDR data download site at :
https://av-info.faa.gov/dd_sublevel.asp?Folder=%5CSDRS
So we begin by going to the FAA SDR data download site.
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This website is auto-updated by the FAA every Monday morning. All record layouts are identical going back to around 2010 - not a problem, we already have the data going back to about 1974.
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The FAA accepts SDR reports in a "Preliminary" format. This means it can often take months/years for a given report to finally appear on the FAA ftp website, until such time as the report has been marked "reviewed" by a Technical inspector. ( They frequently contact the submitter with supplemental questions, and that exchange can take an extended period ).
The FAA data files themselves are compiled by Date_of_Occurence_Year, but the entry date of any given record can be current year.
Note: In January of any given year, it may take a few weeks for "current year" data to appear on the website. Possibly Contact FAA SDR management if the issue persists into February.
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