Wichita, KS, January 30, 2014 – The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) recently released Certification Memorandum CM-S-004 to announce “acceptance of the composite specification and design values developed using the NCAMP process.” NCAMP is the National Center for Advanced Materials Performance, part of Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR).
The EASA memo states that EASA accepts data developed through the FAA process described in Federal Aviation Administration Memorandum AIR100-2010-120-003, “subject to review as required by standard project Certification and Validation processes.”
To put it simply both EASA and the FAA will accept material data generated following the NCAMP process as certification data.
NCAMP works with the FAA and industry partners to qualify material systems and populate a shared materials database that can be viewed publicly.
NCAMP-qualified materials systems include:
- Hexcel 8552
- Newport NCT4708
- Cytec MTM45-1
- Tencate TC250 (available Mar 2014)
- Cytec 5320-1 (available Aug 2014)
- Cytec EP2202 (available Jan 2015)
EASA’s acceptance of the NCAMP process will allow participating material suppliers to more effectively market their materials. It will also shorten the certification process for manufacturers using NCAMP-qualified material, which results in major cost savings.
“EASA has been involved with NCAMP and CMH-17 (Composite Materials Handbook-17) working groups for many years,” said John Tomblin, executive director of NIAR and NCAMP. “Their support of the handbook and NCAMP initiatives is crucial to the ultimate success of the program.”
The CMH-17 working groups develop content for the CMH-17 handbook. Working group members ultimately approve or deny NCAMP-qualified materials for publication in the handbook.
NCAMP began in 2005 as a FAA-funded program within WSU-NIAR and stemmed from NASA's 1995 Advanced General Aviation Transport Experiment (AGATE).
EASA Certification Memorandum number CM-S-004 is available at http://easa.europa.eu/certification/docs/certification-memorandum/%27final%27%20EASA%20CM-S-004%20Issue%2001_Composite%20Materials%20%20Shared%20Databases_PUBL.pdf.
FAA Memorandum AIR100-2010-120-003 is available at http://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgPolicy.nsf/0/a0270c9f1bf8eaa1862577a8004d62ba/$FILE/AIR100-2010-120-003.pdf.
For more information about NCAMP, visit the website at http://www.niar.wichita.edu/coe/ncamp.asp or download the flyer at http://www.niar.wichita.edu/coe/ncamp_flyer.pdf.
NIAR supports the aviation industry by providing research, development, testing, certification and training services. Its laboratories include Advanced Coatings, Aging Aircraft, CAD/CAM, Composites & Advanced Materials, Computational Mechanics, Crash Dynamics, Environmental Test, Full-Scale Structural Test, Mechanical Test, Metrology, Nondestructive Test, Research Machine Shop, Virtual Reality and the Walter H. Beech Wind Tunnel. NIAR operates on a nonprofit budget and is the largest university aviation R&D institution in the U.S., located in Wichita, Kan., the “Air Capital of the World.” www.niar.wichita.edu
