Type Certification

A Type Certificate is a design approval issued by the FAA when the applicant demonstrates that a product (aircraft, engine, or propeller) complies with the applicable regulations. The TC includes the type design, the operating limitations, the Type Certificate Data Sheet (TCDS), the applicable regulations, and other conditions or limitations prescribed by the FAA. The TC is the foundation for other FAA approvals, including production and airworthiness approvals. Obtaining a TC requires a highly skilled engineering staff, submission of a certification plan, and the ability to show compliance to all of the applicable airworthiness standards. Most certification plans are multi-year projects (either 3 or 5 years), and require close coordination with the FAA prior to, during, and post-certification.

Applicants may also apply for a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC). An STC is a TC that the FAA issues to an applicant who alters a product by introducing a major change in type design. The STC process is essentially the same as the TC process.

Certification of articles (everything else) is generally achieved either by obtaining a Parts Manufacturer Approval (PMA) or a Technical Standard Order Approval (TSOA). Both PMA and TSOA are considered to be dual approvals. What that means is that both design and production capabilities are required in order to be issued the approval.PMA can be accomplished through a variety of methods, including by Test and Computations, STC, or Identicality (with or without a licensing agreement). Which method your company chooses depends on your company's engineering skill level, as well as the amount of time and money you wish to devote to obtaining a design approval.

A TSOA is an authorization issued once an applicant shows compliance to a TSO. A TSO is a minimum performance standard, defined by the FAA, used to evaluate an article. Each TSO covers a certain type of article intended for use on civil aviation aircraft and provides a baseline standard intended to support compliance with airworthiness or operational requirements. However, compliance with a TSO or multiple TSOs cannot ensure the installation of the article will comply with airworthiness requirements. This determination is made during installation.

Technical specialists here at AviationRCS can assist your company in determining which method of design approval is most appropriate for your business model.

Production Certification

Production Certification includes both Production Certificates (PC) and Production Approvals (PMA and TSOA). Typically, a PC is issued when an applicant shows the capability to produce a complete product (aircraft, engine, or propeller). There have been instances where the FAA issues a PC for something less than a product, but those instances are rare, and must be approved by FAA Headquarters. Currently, there are approximately 100 PCs that have been issued.

The FAA issues production approvals in the form of PMA or TSOA for the production of anything less than a product. PMA and TSOA are considered to be dual approvals, and require FAA approval of the design data and the production quality system prior to issuance of the approval. Currently there are approximately 1700 PMA and TSOA holders.

Whether you are seeking a PC, PMA, or TSOA, the quality system requirements are the same. Those requirements are called out in FAA regulation 21.137, and include design data control; document control; supplier control; manufacturing process control; inspections and test; inspection, measuring, and test equipment control; inspection and test status; nonconforming product and article control; corrective and preventive actions; handling and storage; control of quality records; internal audits; in-service feedback; quality escapes; and issuing authorized release documents. There are other regulatory requirements within Part 21 that all three certificates/approvals have in common, as well as some requirements that are unique to the type of certificate/approval.

Setting up a production quality management system can be difficult and time consuming. Our specialists here at AviationRCS can help you to navigate the regulatory requirements, determine which type of certificate/approval is most applicable to your operations, prepare your quality manual and procedures, and perform a review of your system prior to submission to the FAA for approval. We also offer post-evaluation activites such as assistance with addressing noncompliances, developing corrective actions plans, and other certificate management activites such as supplier audits or pre-audit preparation.

Airworthiness Certification

Airworthiness certification comes in the form of an Airworthiness Certificate or an Airworthiness Approval. Airworthiness Certificates are issued for aircraft, while Airworthiness Approvals are issued for engines, propellers, and articles. Airworthiness Certificates can be either original or recurrent. The types of Airworthiness Certificates that the FAA issues are either Standard or Special. Standard Airworthiness Certificates are issued to aircraft in the Standard Category (normal, utility, acrobatic, commuter, transport, manned free balloons, special classes, and airplanes with turbine engines). Special Airworthiness Certificates are issued to aircraft in the Special Category (primary, restricted, multiple, limited, special light sport, experimental, special flight permit, and provisional). The type of certificate issued depends both on the type of aircraft for which application is made, and also the aircraft's intended purpose.

Airworthiness Approvals can be issued for either domestic use or export. As previously stated, Airworthiness Approvals are used for engines, propellers, or articles. When an Airworthiness Approval is issued by the FAA or a representative of the FAA, it is considered to be an Authorized Release Certificate. When an Airworthiness Approval is issued by a company representative, it is considered to be an Authorized Release Document. Both the FAA and the company use the same FAA Form 8130-3, often refered to as an Airworthiness Approval Tag. Airworthiness Approval Tags can also be used by repair stations to document return to service after maintenance, preventive maintenance, rebuilding, or alteration. When documenting return to service, block 14 of the tag should be used for signature.