Aero-Tips!

A good pilot is always learning -- how many times have you heard this old standard throughout your flying career? There is no truer statement in all of flying (well, with the possible exception of "there are no old, bold pilots.") It's part of what makes aviation so exciting for all of us... just when you think you've seen it all, along comes a scenario you've never imagined.

Aero-News has called upon the expertise of Thomas P. Turner, master CFI and all-around-good-guy, to bring our readers -- and us -- daily tips to improve our skills as aviators, and as representatives of the flying community. Some of them, you may have heard before... but for each of us, there will also be something we might never have considered before, or something that didn't "stick" the way it should have the first time we memorized it for the practical test.

It is our unabashed goal that "Aero-Tips" will help our readers become better, safer pilots -- as well as introducing our ground-bound readers to the concepts and principles that keep those strange aluminum-and-composite contraptions in the air... and allow them to soar magnificently through it.

Look for our daily Aero-Tips segments, coming each day to you through the Aero-News Network. Suggestions for future Aero-Tips are always welcome, as are additions or discussion of each day's tips. Remember... when it comes to being good pilots, we're all in this together.

Aero-Tips 01.27.06

A recent edition of Aero-Tips discussed the Type Certificate Data Sheet (TCDS) -- the official Type Certificate document that sets the limitations and other parameters of certified aircraft. Pilots like to personalize their airplanes, and often look for ways to improve performance, increase the operating envelope, or simply add to the airplane’s "ramp appeal." Most aircraft modifications are legalized through a process that supplements, or modifies the Type Certificate (TC) -- hence the name Supplemental Type Certificate, or STC.

What it gives you

An STC permits modification of an airplane and/or operation outside the bounds of the original Type Certificate. The process of obtaining an STC is often long and very costly -- the FAA requires significant engineering justification and substantial flight testing in most cases to prove that the change is safe. For instance, a company I worked for sold an engine modification product for use on Beech Bonanzas. When they wanted to offer the same product (on the same model engine) in Cessna 185s, the new STC took several years and (reportedly) half a million dollars to obtain.

Often the "STC holder," or company with FAA product approval, does not sell the hardware or labor for a modification. They sell the intellectual property, the STC paperwork itself... specific to an airplane or engine serial number. This includes any new Limitations and operating procedures—which is why the FARs require STC paperwork be kept in the airplane. In a limited market (just how many Cessna 185s are there, anyway?) STC holders providers need to price this authority at a level that recoups their investment and makes them a profit—so they can continue to support the product. That’s why it often costs $1000 or more just for the STC paperwork. In fact, simply duplicating STC paperwork (by persons other than the holder) is a felony under intellectual property law -- and it does get prosecuted.

Aero-tip of the day: Know what constitutes an STC, look for the proper paperwork in the airplane, and adhere to any special STC procedures or limitations

FMI: Aero-Tips