By Jeffrey Decker in Oshkosh
The fledgling Light-sport Aircraft Manufacturers Association (LAMA) is to unveil at the AirVenture show later this month an audit process for manufacturers producing aircraft under the consensus standards developed by industry for light sport aircraft (LSA).
"At Oshkosh we'll be unveiling a compliance audit process for manufacturers, so that they can have some third-party check that they're actually doing what they're supposed to be doing," says LAMA president Tom Gunnarson.
The process builds on the industry consensus standards approved by the US Federal Aviation Administration for light sport aircraft in February 2005 - the first time the FAA accepted industry-developed standards rather than federal regulatory standards for the design and manufacture of aircraft.
The LAMA process to be unveiled at Oshkosh aims to add a level of confidence in the approved aircraft. "The audit process, as we see it, is really short and sweet," says Gunnarson. "It's a two-day trip to the factory, going through the processes, making sure their quality assurance programme is what they say it is. Any manufacturer that goes through that will then, for the next couple of years, have the opportunity to put a sticker on every single aircraft that goes out their door so that every potential customer will see that this particular aircraft has not only been manufactured the way the manufacturer says, but there's been a third-party check as well."
The process could become the standard industry seal of approval for LSAs, says Josh Foss, president of SportsPlanes.com. The sticker will bring peace of mind, he says, but consumers will be doing their own auditing through smart shopping and online forums. "The consumer is a very harsh critic," he adds.
Source: Flight International
