Avionics News September 2017 - 10

In this monthly column, Ric Peri of the AEA's Washington, D.C., office, informs members of the latest regulatory updates.

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R I C

P E R I
A EA V I C E P R ES I D E N T O F G OV E R N M E N T & I N D U ST RY A F FA I RS

Change, change
and more change

hange - to make or become different.
For, more than 100 years, people have
often repeated Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr's
famous words: "The more things change, the more they
stay the same."
Some of the changes are intended to change the future;
some are simply a change from stagnation; and yet some
are truly evolutionary. Only history will tell if the changes
are successful. And yet, we are all faced with change.
Certification 'change'
As I write this month's column, the Aircraft Electronics
Association is preparing to host another Manufacturer's
Quarterly Risk-Based Certification Update. The AEA
began playing host to these quarterly forums shortly after
the new product announcements took place at Sun 'n Fun
2016. The shock-and-awe message delivered from the
Experimental Aircraft Association about its "revolutionary"
attitude indicator supplemental type certificate dominated
the headlines during that spring event, and it was the
topic of conversation throughout 2016. As industry saw in
July 2017, the introduction of new products at this year's
AirVenture was a springboard to a renaissance in new
general aviation products. It is certainly exciting, but there
are four extremely important items that must be part of any
discussion about this new paradigm.
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First, it is critical to understand these new products
are not "experimental" products. They are Federal
Aviation Administration approved and certified products.
Yes, most of them are being transitioned from the
experimental, amateur-built community and then being
evaluated and certified (approved) for certificated
aircraft. This isn't a new process; there are hundreds
of commonly installed avionics products today that got
their start exactly the same way.
Historically, most new products introduced into
general aviation have received a top-down approval; that
is, approval at the top-level technical standard order.
There is a lot of history why this was the norm. One
reason is that for the longest time, most new products
originated at the highest level: military, space or
commercial airlines. Extremely few products and new
technologies were introduced into general aviation. It
was a logical (and easy) process to develop and certify
products to the TSOs. However, for the last 20 years or
so, industry began to see a shift in this traditional path
with the introduction of new technologies into general
aviation. But the regulatory practice still drove the
approval of these technologies to the highest level - a
top-down approval.
A top-down approach provides three things: a
simplified, if not costly, certification process; a product

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News September 2017