Flight Sims Evaluated Under CAA and FAA Approval Accepted Interchangeably

The FAA and its British analogue, the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) have come together and finalized an agreement that will allow the two countries to share the results of each other’s evaluation and acceptance of flight simulators.

The change will allow the simplification of a unified, streamlined regulatory landscape for increasingly important flight training equipment.

The FAA said, "The agreement will reduce the regulatory burden on business while maintaining aviation safety," as those requiring significantly expensive, high end equipment will see a simpler ecosystem with less legal hang-ups. The updated criteria come from an update to the 2005 Simulator Implementation Procedures (SIP) agreement. That deal set up a framework for evaluating, accepting, and setting qualification standards for each country's flight simulators, and the recent exit from the EU on Britain's part has means the country is no longer covered under pan-European agreements. American customers will see UK-based flight sim products easier without the regulatory hurdles, and the inverse as well. 

The FAA said the change will allow both agencies to "allocate resources to higher safety-risk areas, and ensure continued efficiencies." The FAA recently reopened its office at the American Embassy in London in an effort to increase cooperation between the two regulators. Increasing the amount of technical assistance and safety development could yield benefits for flight safety around the world. 

FMI: www.faa.gov