General Aviation has had more than its fair share of problems with the slow progress in harmonising European and US airworthiness regulations - aircraft certification, extended-range and single-turbine operations and flight training, to name but a few.
The situation may be improving, but as Gulfstream testified to the US Congress earlier this month, gaining approval from the European Joint Aviation Authorities for an aircraft already certified by the US Federal Aviation Administration can be a lengthy and costly process. The manufacturer says JAA approval of its Gulfstream V long-range business jet could cost $20 million - twice what it originally estimated - because of additional loads testing required by the Europeans.
Bombardier has had more success in working with the JAA, obtaining European approvals for its Global Express and Learjet 45 business jets relatively soon after Canadian and US certification. Other manufacturers have elected to stick with country-by-country certification. "For some, [JAA approval] is the painful lesser of two evils," says Barry Valentine, senior vice-president, international affairs, at the US General Aviation Manufacturers Association.
Differences in certification interpretations are being ironed out, but European approval remains a bureaucratic process which the JAA has set out to streamline. "Its moving very slowly, but in the right direction," says Valentine. Meanwhile, US manufacturers continue to be frustrated by the cumbersome and expensive process of gaining European certification.
Attention is now turning to the slow progress being made towards harmonising of the regulations governing aircraft operations. "This is more difficult," admits Valentine. "There are legitimate reasons for the different approaches to operations in each country."
Europe, for example, has been reluctant to follow the US lead in allowing commercial passenger operations with single-turbine aircraft, but now the UK is the last bastion of resistance.
There are signs other barriers are falling, among them news that European regulations which could prevent transatlantic flights by twin-engined business jets may have been averted, or at least modified to the satisfaction of US operators and manufacturers.
Source: Flight International
