Aircraft Electronics Association Applauds FAA’s Next Gen of Certification

Thursday, July 30, 2009, Oshkosh, Wis. -- At a press conference on the grounds of the Experimental Aircraft Association’s annual AirVenture, AEA President Paula Derks commended the FAA for its formation of a Small Airplane Certification Project Study for Part 23 aircraft.

The set of recommendations, developed by the FAA and industry participants, form the basis for a Part 23 regulatory review in 2010. A review of Part 23 certification requirements has not been undertaken in nearly 25 years.

“Improvements in certifying low-cost, safety-enhancing digital technology, particularly as it relates to AML STC processes, are imperative to AEA members,” Derks said. “While avionics technologies have advanced with the computer age, many of the FAA standards for these systems date back to analog, tube-type radios. The AEA applauds the FAA in its efforts to modernize its rules and processes as AEA members modernize avionics technologies.”

The Part 23 Certification Project Study working group included industry representatives from the AEA, GAMA, AOPA and EAA, along with the FAA’s Small Airplane Directorate.

“In addition to the certification of new aircraft and products reviewed during the certification review, the AEA is looking forward to the improvements of continued airworthiness as it relates to the maintenance regulations of Part 43,” said Ric Peri, vice president of government and industry affairs for AEA, who hosted the working group meetings at the AEA’s international headquarters offices in Lee’s Summit, Mo., a suburb of Kansas City.

The Aircraft Electronics Association is an international trade organization representing government-certified repair stations and avionics equipment manufacturers and distributors.

www.aea.net