Certification Management: ASIG’s STC Symphony

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At first utterance, certification management sounds like a mundane process. Far from it, says Luke Ribich, managing director of ASIG. It is a synonym for earning an supplemental type certificate (STC), a complex, overlapping five-phase effort illustrated by a flowchart that fills two pages in AC 21-40A, Guide to Obtaining a Supplemental Type Certificate. At almost every step, he says, there can be “a lot of gotchas for the unaware.”

Managing an STC effort is not unlike writing and arranging a symphony. Composing the score is just the first step. Then comes hiring the musicians, renting the hall, rehearsing, promoting the performance, and then conducting it for an audience of critics. To get a good review—the desired STC—everyone must play their parts without error, with each section reaching its crescendo on cue.

Anyone who covets such a composition can attempt the process on their own, but as his noble patrons immediately realized, commissioning Beethoven provided less costly gratification more quickly, saving them the time and gotchas of learning to do it themselves. Once commissioned, ASIG employs its SEMPER process to learn about and define an operator’s specific requirements.

Upon completing this conceptual research, the operator’s “job is to sit back and make decisions as presented, and provide any baseline data that we request,” Ribich says. ASIG handles almost everything with the FAA, delivering regular reports so everyone knows where the project is on its detailed timeline.

As in music, understanding the process enriches appreciation of the product. In this, the first of three parts, Wired will reveal the structure of ASIG’s STC symphony. Who participates in the conceptual sessions with ASIG depends on what equipment and/or capabilities the operator wishes to add to its fleet, says Ribich. ASIG recommends that the ensemble include all interested stakeholders from within engineering, tech service, and maintenance to operations. ASIG also recommends that the airline’s principal operations, avionics, or maintenance inspectors attend.

Involving the appropriate FAA inspectors early can be important on STC projects that involve operational approvals. ASIG handles every aspect of the certification, says Ribich, but the airline’s certificate management team must deal directly with the FAA on all operational approvals. Installing an iPad based electronic flight bag is a good example, Ribich says. ASIG develops the installation right down to the mounting bracket’s effect on human factors. But to use the approved installation the airline must get the approval of its POI. Involving the inspector early reduces the chances of a last-minute surprise.

During this process, ASIG writes and refines a detailed definition of the operator’s requirements. It ranges from regulations and policy on which the STC is based to cost configurations, ground and flight testing, and sourcing parts. When certain that no note is sour, ASIG schedules a kickoff meeting with the FAA Aircraft Certification Office, which starts Phase I of the STC symphony, Conceptual Design.

Until Next time, stay 5x5, mission ready, and Wired!

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