Company can now authorize its own STC's for customers at Colorado facility

The FAA has awarded the coveted Designated Alteration Station (DAS) authorization to the ARIC Aircraft Services facility in Colorado Springs (CO). This certification is only the fifth DAS awarded to any company that provides business aircraft repairs and modifications.

"This makes us one of just a handful of non-OEM companies in the U.S. to have FAA DAS authorization, and we are already seeing significant interest and opportunity," said John May, ARINC's DAS Administrator.

The award means ARINC will be able to reduce the time required for designing, certifying and implementing aircraft modifications by developing and approving its own STC's at Colorado Springs. It enhances ARINC's ability to deliver modifications for many different aircraft from Raytheon, Bombardier, Cessna, Falcon Jet, Gulfstream and others.

"ARINC plans to develop and approve a range of new modification kits for purchase by authorized repair stations, which will benefit the industry as a whole," May continued. "We can also assist in certification activities of avionics OEM's by qualifying hardware that can only be installed under an STC."

"DAS authorizations create a partnership between the FAA and the industry," stated William Shields, ARINC Senior Manager, System Integration Engineering. "We're authorized to obtain STC's using normal FAA guidelines and procedures, but without the day-to-day involvement of standard approval methods. For certification customers, obtaining an STC through a DAS like ours can significantly reduce their downtime."

ARINC can now speed up any number of avionics modification programs, such as RVSM systems, and the retrofit of new safety equipment such as TAWS. "We'll be able to control scheduling to a much greater degree because we can perform certain functions internally," added Shields.

ARINC expects to reduce the time needed to approve aircraft data, conduct conformity and compliance inspections, approve inspection reports, plan and approve tests and results, issue Type Inspection Authorizations and Experimental Certificates, amend Standard Airworthiness Certificates, approve Airplane Flight Manual Supplements and issue, amend or reissue DAS STC's.

FMI: www.arinc.com