FAA has issued a (SAIB) Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin. It informs the aviation community about supporting the COS (Continued Operational Safety). These includes owners, operators, and certificated repair and maintenance providers of the responsibilities of type and production certificate (TC/PC) holders, supplemental type certificate (STC) holders, and the parts manufacturer approval (PMA) holders
FAA stressed the reason why replacements parts has evolved, it's because owners and operators are continuously searching for ways to reduce maintenance expenses. This has affected some engine manufacturers. They are concerned that support for these replacement parts will be limited.
The problem was anticipated by FAA. They are aware that TC/PC holder has no information or records about the PMA and STC parts installed in the product so they, can only evaluate the airworthiness and systems effects of their parts installed in the product. For that reason, FAA established supplemental ICAs, new airworthiness limitations, and other conditions to ensure the safe integration of the PMA and STC parts into the product as they addressed the need for it.
Owners and operators are eventually accountable for the safety and airworthiness of the parts, which involves being accountable for the configuration control of the parts. They must guarantee that any replacement part installed in the product is approved for that installation. Also they need to make sure that they pursue any supplemental ICA that may have been made for that part.
FAA provided notes with regards to the to the installation of FAA-approved replacement parts. The recommendations from FAA were as follows:
1. "FAA-approved TC/PC holder, PMA, and STC parts are interchangeable within the certificated product since they are approved only after a full demonstration of compliance to the applicable requirements of Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR). A PMA or STC part, when FAA-approved for installation on a certificated product, is a valid replacement part to the TC/PC holder part according to 14 CFR;"
2. "Unless stated otherwise as a limitation to an STC, the FAA has determined and the applicant has shown that FAA-approved life limits established for the TC/PC holder parts remain unchanged for those TC/PC holder parts when PMA or STC parts are installed elsewhere within the product. For example, the life limit for a TC/PC holder disk is unchanged and remains in effect when PMA blades are installed in that disk;"
3. " The FAA approves the content of an ALS and ICA based upon its review of the substantiating data provided by an applicant. Applicants for PMA or STC parts are required to assess the ICA requirements. A PMA or STC applicant either shows and states that the product's ICA are still valid with their part installed or provides a supplemental ICA for any differences; and"
4. "TC/PC holders, PMA holders, and STC holders are responsible for the COS support in accordance with the applicable standards for their parts and products which they have designed and produced."
Sunday, February 22, 2009
A Global Aircraft Parts Supplier
Aerosup is a worldwide value-added supplier of aircraft parts and aviation services to the airlines, aircraft operators, airframe manufacturers and MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) operations. Headquartered in Los Angeles, U.S.A., the company offers its products and services through an international network of offices and agents around the world and their e-commerce website www.aerosup.com.
Aerosup offers a wide range of supply chain related aerospace products and services for the global air transport industry. Aerosup aviation services include parts sales, parts sourcing, Just-In-Time delivery, AOG (Airplane-On-Ground) services, repair and overhaul management, consignment services and inventory management.
Utilizing highly trained staff with extensive experience in aviation industry and state of the art technology Aerosup maintains an extensive inventory of airplane parts under most stringent quality management system. All aircraft parts for sale are acquired or consigned through the OEMs, Airlines or FAA certified repair facilities and have complete certification and traceability documents.
At Aerosup our goal is to be your valued aviation supply partner offering superior aviation products and service and access to thousands of airframe, engine and landing gear components, parts and accessories, including avionics, flight controls, aircraft lights and wheels and brakes. Whether you are looking to purchase the required airplane parts or would like to use our aviation parts seller services to sell your aircraft parts, we can assure you that you will receive the highest level of service and support available in the commercial aviation industry.
Aerosup offers a wide range of supply chain related aerospace products and services for the global air transport industry. Aerosup aviation services include parts sales, parts sourcing, Just-In-Time delivery, AOG (Airplane-On-Ground) services, repair and overhaul management, consignment services and inventory management.
Utilizing highly trained staff with extensive experience in aviation industry and state of the art technology Aerosup maintains an extensive inventory of airplane parts under most stringent quality management system. All aircraft parts for sale are acquired or consigned through the OEMs, Airlines or FAA certified repair facilities and have complete certification and traceability documents.
At Aerosup our goal is to be your valued aviation supply partner offering superior aviation products and service and access to thousands of airframe, engine and landing gear components, parts and accessories, including avionics, flight controls, aircraft lights and wheels and brakes. Whether you are looking to purchase the required airplane parts or would like to use our aviation parts seller services to sell your aircraft parts, we can assure you that you will receive the highest level of service and support available in the commercial aviation industry.
Aircraft Instrumentation
A coordinated group of instruments that provide the flight crew with information about the aircraft and its subsystems. These instruments provide flight data, navigation, power plant performance, and aircraft auxiliary equipment operating information to the flight crew, air-traffic controllers, and maintenance personnel. While not considered as instrumentation, communication equipment is, however, directly concerned with the instrumentation and overall indirect control of the aircraft.
Situation information on the operating environment, such as weather reports and traffic advisories, has become a necessity for effective flight planning and decision making. The prolific growth and multiplicity of instruments in the modern cockpit and the growing need for knowledge about the aircraft's situation are leading to the introduction of computers and advanced electronic displays as a means for the pilot to better organize and assimilate this body of information.
Instrumentation complexity and accuracy are dictated by the aircraft's performance capabilities and the conditions under which it is intended to operate. Light aircraft may carry only a minimum set of instruments; an airspeed indicator, an altimeter, an engine tachometer and oil pressure gage, a fuel quantity indicator, and a magnetic compass. These instruments allow operation by a pilotage technique. See also Airspeed indicator; Altimeter; Pilotage.
Operation under low visibility and under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) requires this same information in a more precise form and also requires attitude and navigation data. An attitude-director indicator (ADI) presents an artificial horizon, bank angle, and turn coordination data for attitude control without external visual reference. The attitude-director indicator may contain a vertical gyro within the indicator, or a gyro may be remotely located as a part of a flight director or navigational system. Flying through a large speed range at a variety of altitudes is simplified if the indicated airspeed is corrected to true airspeed for navigation purposes and the Mach number (M) is also shown on the ADI for flight control and performance purposes. Rate-of-climb is provided by an instantaneous vertical-speed indicator (IVSI). Heading data are provided by a directional gyro or data derived from an inertial reference system. See also Gyroscope; Inertial guidance system.
Navigation aids include: very-high-frequency omnidirectional radio ranges (VOR) that transmit azimuth information for navigation at specified Earth locations; distance-measuring equipment (DME) that indicates the distance to radio aids on or near airports or to VORs; automatic direction finders (ADF) that give the bearing of other radio stations (generally low-frequency); low-range radio altimeters (LRRA) which by radar determine the height of the aircraft above the terrain at low altitudes; and instrument landing systems (ILS) that show vertical and lateral deviation from a radio-generated glide-path signal for landing at appropriately equipped runways. Some inertial navigation systems include special-purpose computers that provide precise Earth latitude and longitude, ground speed, course, and heading. See also Air-traffic control; Autopilot; Direction-finding equipment; Distance-measuring equipment; Electronic navigation systems.
Engines require specific instruments to indicate limits and efficiency of operation. For reciprocating engines, instruments may display intake and exhaust manifold pressures, cylinder head and oil temperature, oil pressure, and engine speed. For jet engines, instruments display engine pressure ratio (EPR), exhaust gas temperature (EGT), engine rotor speed, oil temperature and pressure, and fuel flow. Vibration monitors on both types of engines indicate unbalance and potential trouble.
Depending on the complexity of the aircraft and the facilities that are provided, there is also an assortment of instruments and controls for the auxiliary systems.
Electronic technology developments include: ring laser gyros, strap-down inertial reference systems, microprocessor digital computers, color cathode-ray tubes (CRT), liquid crystal displays (LCD), light-emitting diodes (LED), and digital data buses. Application of this technology allows a new era of system integration and situation information on the aircraft flight deck and instrument panels. Commercial jet transports will use digital electronics to improve safety, performance, economics, and passenger service. The concept of an integrated flight management system (FMS) includes automatic flight control, electronic flight instrument displays, communications, navigation, guidance, performance management, and crew alerting to satisfy the requirements of the current and future air-traffic and energy-intensive environment.
Effective flight management is closely tied to providing accurate and timely information to the pilot. The nature of the pilot's various tasks determines the general types of data which must be available. The key is to provide these data in a form best suited for use. If the pilot is not required to accomplish extensive mental processing before information can be used, then more information can be presented and less effort, fewer errors, and lower training requirements can be expected. Computer-generated displays offer significant advances in this direction.
The electronic horizontal-situation indicator (EHSI) provides an integrated multicolor map display of the airplane's position, plus a color weather radar (WXR) display. The scale for the radar and map can be selected by the pilots.
Situation information on the operating environment, such as weather reports and traffic advisories, has become a necessity for effective flight planning and decision making. The prolific growth and multiplicity of instruments in the modern cockpit and the growing need for knowledge about the aircraft's situation are leading to the introduction of computers and advanced electronic displays as a means for the pilot to better organize and assimilate this body of information.
Instrumentation complexity and accuracy are dictated by the aircraft's performance capabilities and the conditions under which it is intended to operate. Light aircraft may carry only a minimum set of instruments; an airspeed indicator, an altimeter, an engine tachometer and oil pressure gage, a fuel quantity indicator, and a magnetic compass. These instruments allow operation by a pilotage technique. See also Airspeed indicator; Altimeter; Pilotage.
Operation under low visibility and under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) requires this same information in a more precise form and also requires attitude and navigation data. An attitude-director indicator (ADI) presents an artificial horizon, bank angle, and turn coordination data for attitude control without external visual reference. The attitude-director indicator may contain a vertical gyro within the indicator, or a gyro may be remotely located as a part of a flight director or navigational system. Flying through a large speed range at a variety of altitudes is simplified if the indicated airspeed is corrected to true airspeed for navigation purposes and the Mach number (M) is also shown on the ADI for flight control and performance purposes. Rate-of-climb is provided by an instantaneous vertical-speed indicator (IVSI). Heading data are provided by a directional gyro or data derived from an inertial reference system. See also Gyroscope; Inertial guidance system.
Navigation aids include: very-high-frequency omnidirectional radio ranges (VOR) that transmit azimuth information for navigation at specified Earth locations; distance-measuring equipment (DME) that indicates the distance to radio aids on or near airports or to VORs; automatic direction finders (ADF) that give the bearing of other radio stations (generally low-frequency); low-range radio altimeters (LRRA) which by radar determine the height of the aircraft above the terrain at low altitudes; and instrument landing systems (ILS) that show vertical and lateral deviation from a radio-generated glide-path signal for landing at appropriately equipped runways. Some inertial navigation systems include special-purpose computers that provide precise Earth latitude and longitude, ground speed, course, and heading. See also Air-traffic control; Autopilot; Direction-finding equipment; Distance-measuring equipment; Electronic navigation systems.
Engines require specific instruments to indicate limits and efficiency of operation. For reciprocating engines, instruments may display intake and exhaust manifold pressures, cylinder head and oil temperature, oil pressure, and engine speed. For jet engines, instruments display engine pressure ratio (EPR), exhaust gas temperature (EGT), engine rotor speed, oil temperature and pressure, and fuel flow. Vibration monitors on both types of engines indicate unbalance and potential trouble.
Depending on the complexity of the aircraft and the facilities that are provided, there is also an assortment of instruments and controls for the auxiliary systems.
Electronic technology developments include: ring laser gyros, strap-down inertial reference systems, microprocessor digital computers, color cathode-ray tubes (CRT), liquid crystal displays (LCD), light-emitting diodes (LED), and digital data buses. Application of this technology allows a new era of system integration and situation information on the aircraft flight deck and instrument panels. Commercial jet transports will use digital electronics to improve safety, performance, economics, and passenger service. The concept of an integrated flight management system (FMS) includes automatic flight control, electronic flight instrument displays, communications, navigation, guidance, performance management, and crew alerting to satisfy the requirements of the current and future air-traffic and energy-intensive environment.
Effective flight management is closely tied to providing accurate and timely information to the pilot. The nature of the pilot's various tasks determines the general types of data which must be available. The key is to provide these data in a form best suited for use. If the pilot is not required to accomplish extensive mental processing before information can be used, then more information can be presented and less effort, fewer errors, and lower training requirements can be expected. Computer-generated displays offer significant advances in this direction.
The electronic horizontal-situation indicator (EHSI) provides an integrated multicolor map display of the airplane's position, plus a color weather radar (WXR) display. The scale for the radar and map can be selected by the pilots.
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