MICHAEL PHELAN / LONDON
French aircraft modification specialist EAD Aerospace expects to self-certificate its first design this week after gaining European Joint Aviation Authorities JAR 21 JA design organisation approval (DOA) authorisation.
EAD says it is only the fifth company to receive the JAR 21 certification - the highest form of approval the JAA can give to engineering companies - and the smallest company so far. The approval covers aircraft design changes, structural repairs and testing.
DOA certification is intended to be a globally recognised method of approval equivalent to the US Federal Aviation Administration's supplemental type certificate (STC), holders of which are predominantly US-based.
Stéphane Bloch, EAD Aerospace's head of design organisation, says the certification will be particularly useful in speeding the turnaround time for EAD's modifications, and in reducing costs. "For minor modifications, such as installing ELTs [emergency locator beacons], we will be able to approve it ourselves in as little as one day, whereas in the past we might have waited one or two months for the JAA," he says.
Bloch says the company plans to focus on its core activities such as upgrading aircraft with enhanced ground proximity warning systems (EGPWS) and flight management systems, cabin reconfigurations and structural modifications and repairs. "This sector is a huge money-maker, as older aircraft are always being reconfigured, especially by lessors like GECAS [GE Capital Aviation Services] and GATX," says Bloch. "In the near future we also want to offer TCAS [traffic collision avoidance system] work, and we anticipate an extremely high level of demand for EGPWS in the next year."
The September launch of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) will further strengthen the JAA "STC" concept. EASA will have legal authority throughout Europe, and the change will mean a non-DOA company will not be able to apply for a JAA STC.
EAD has a staff of 30. The company's design headquarters are in Toulouse, France, and it also has facilities in Marseilles and in Chicago, USA.
Source: Flight International
