Avionics News November 2016 - 68

POINT OF COMMUNICATION
Continued from page 4

How, what, and when to maintain the sUAS and
its components is only half the safety equation. Who
can perform this maintenance is the other half. In
some cases, the manufacturer may require that it or a
specified shop perform certain maintenance.
If the operator cannot follow the manufacturer's
recommendation, or is unable to perform the
recommended maintenance, "the operator should
consider the expertise of maintenance personnel
familiar with the specific sUAS and its components."
In such cases, "the use of certificated maintenance
providers are encouraged, which may include
repair stations, holders of mechanic and repairman
certificates, and persons working under the supervision
of these mechanics and repairman."
Recordkeeping is a key component of sUAS
maintenance and inspection because it "provides

INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Continued from page 13

approval. The manner in which the level of review is
determined is left to each authority's own policies.
A Canadian applicant has always had the ability to
gain a Chinese validation; however, this BATA will
simplify the process and clearly defines the points of
contact. It recognizes each authority's abilities in the
design approval process, thereby lowering the level of
review and avoiding duplication of effort.
The continuing airworthiness activities include the
details on the mechanism to be used to share data in
regards to service difficulties and accidents. It is quite
typical of most other bilaterals in place with other
authorities.
The BATA also covers the acceptance of each
authority's manufacturing approvals. A separate
manufacturing approval is not required by the other
authority. This will allow for two situations to occur
to allow for aeronautical products to be exported to
each country.
* An extension of the manufacturing approval can

avionics news

november

2016

retrievable empirical evidence of vital safety
assessment data defining the condition of safetycritical systems and components supporting the
decision to launch," reads the AC.
As they have for CAT, compiling these records
builds a foundation of operational experience, creating
a knowledge base on which drone operators and
regulators can draw when creating requirements for the
employment of future drone innovations. q

BRAD HAYDEN
President and CEO, Robotic Skies
Albuquerque, New Mexico
AEA member Robotic Skies is a global network of Part
145 repair stations that service the commercial drone fleet.

be extended to a facility located in the other
country.
* Aeronautical products manufactured in one
country will be accepted in the other provided
that an airworthiness release is issued (Form
One for Canada and an AAC-038 form for
China) and that the design approval for the
product has been validated in the importing
country.
This means that new parts, including PDA parts,
can be shipped to China and accepted; however, this
BATA does not cover any acceptance of maintenance
practices between the states other than the issuance
of an export certificate of airworthiness for a used
aircraft. This allows for the acceptance of the tech
log, and maintenance of the aircraft will be under
the jurisdiction of the exporting authority. Therefore,
used parts, repaired parts or overhauled parts are not
covered by the BATA.
An agreement on maintenance practices and used,
repaired or overhauled parts will be covered in the
next version of the BATA; however, this will not be
completed for a few years. q

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News November 2016