The AEA has filled ANN
in on some pivotal developments over the Field Approval quandary
that has so befuddled the aviation business. The FAA's FAA Advisory
Circular (AC) 43-210 may eliminate a lot of confusion.
SUMMARY: This AC publishes in a standardized
Advisory Circular much of the previously published policies that
have dictated Field Approval procedures for over 40 years.
MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS: The AC provides standardized
information on alteration data, the field approval application
process, aircraft flight manual supplements, and instructions for
continued airworthiness, including samples of various checklists
that MAY be used to streamline the application process, but are not
required.
AEA
COMMENTARY: The Association is pleased that the FAA
has finally, after 40 years, published public
guidance on the use of, and application for, field approvals. For
much too long the FAA has been directing the public procedures for
field approvals through internal FAA employee policy.
However, the AC is not and cannot be used as a
“stand-alone” document. It is a guidance document that
leads the applicant to the appropriate certification regulations
that may be applicable to a particular alteration or installation.
The language of the AC does not always make that clear and can
easily be misinterpreted. The AC provides an example of the means
of compliance to the certification regulations in Parts 23 and 25,
it does not change the regulations nor does it change the
definition of what constitutes a major alteration.
As an example: A change
to a flight manual (AC 43-210, Chapter 4), by itself, does not
constitute a major alteration. An alteration that would cause a
change in the operating limitations section of the aircraft flight
manual as required by FAR 23.1583 would typically have an
appreciable affect on the performance, powerplant operation, or
flight characteristics of the aircraft, which would be the reason
that the alteration would be considered major. The requirement to
change the flight manual is a result of the major alteration; it is
not the change to the flight manual or the need for an AFMS that
made the alteration major.
The AC is a significant step forward in standardization of the
field approval process. It is also expected to place an additional
administrative burden on the applicant for field approvals. This is
the “new cost” of field approvals. It is being imposed
universally by the FAA on all of industry and should not be
considered the “cost of doing business” but rather the
cost of a “field approval” and should be passed on to
the consumer.
The Association is challenging the AC for adding an additional
cost to alterations. While we acknowledge that the material within
the AC came from various previously published internal FAA
policies, the administrative burden to the regulated public has
never been accounted for. The FAA has failed to properly account
for the additional administrative burden as mandated by Congress
and the President. In addition, the FAA has failed to justify the
need to hold the public to a higher administrative standard than
the original equipment manufacturer with regards to flight manuals
and instructions for continued airworthiness.
Overall, the Association commends the FAA for publishing this
long overdue public guidance. AEA will continue to work with the
FAA to clarify misleading information and to minimize the
administrative burden and cost of the field approval application
process.
This AC will be discussed at the AEA convention and regional
meetings throughout 2004.