Kiltie
1st Mar 2006, 11:43
Hi
Does anyone have the link where I can view online what modifications are approved for use in UK registered aircraft? Eg fitting of replacement instruments or accessories by a different manufacturer?
Thanks
Mike Cross
1st Mar 2006, 16:14
Para 3 of Notice No 6 in CAP455 (http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/33/CAP455.PDF) will point you in the right direction.
I am sure somebody will come up with a more detailed reply, but I recall a WWW database of CAA airworthiness approval notes (AANs). These would be issued by the CAA if one was installing a U.S. STC'd part. It's somewhere at caa.co.uk.
There used to be a bilateral FAA-CAA treaty for mutual recognition of approvals and a lot of AANs were done under that, as a formality. When EASA took over certification, this treaty became effectively dead but the already issued AANs still hold. Now, no more AANs.
However, a LOT of parts were fitted to G-reg planes under the mistaken belief that the existence of a U.S. STC, plus that treaty, were enough. So, no AAN and the CAA was not told. So seeing something fitted doesn't mean the CAA ever knew about it. Just don't go to some finnicky outfit for your next Annual :O
AIUI, a CAA AAN means that the fitting is now approved anywhere within the EU.
Doing this for the rest of the EU, i.e. locating whether a particular item was approved by some other "European CAA" (prior to EASA), has been done by some very resourceful people and is very difficult because locating the various contacts is hard. There is no central database.
What EASA should do is collect all the pre-EASA approvals and compile them into one database, but AFAIK this has not happened.
I hope I got the above right!
Kolibear
2nd Mar 2006, 07:59
If you go into the CAA site & type 'airworthiness directives' into the search engine, you get this (http://www.caa.co.uk/default.aspx?categoryid=536&pagetype=68&groupid=568) long list. Delving down the list on the left hand side may produce the info that you are looking for.