Possible relief for owners of ‘orphaned’ aging aircraft

[Eric Friedebach]

From today's EAA eHotline:

Possible relief for owners of ‘orphaned’ aging aircraft
By David Sakrison

A provision in the proposed House and Senate FAA reauthorization bills could open up access to type certificate engineering data for owners and restorers of some "orphaned" aging aircraft. The provision is a direct result of dialog between the FAA and the general aviation community, including EAA, the Vintage Aircraft Association, and aircraft-specific type clubs.

The provision, included in both the House and Senate versions of the bill, would allow the FAA to release to the public engineering data from original or supplemental type certificates, only if:

*the type certificate has been inactive (no aircraft or parts manufactured under the type certificate) for at least three years;

*the FAA cannot locate the type certificate’s owner of record or his or her heirs, after making a reasonable attempt ("due diligence"); and

*the FAA administrator determines that releasing the data would enhance aviation safety.

H.G. Frautschy, executive director of the EAA’s Vintage Aircraft Association and editor of Vintage Airplane magazine, told AirVenture Today he is "very confident" the "orphaned aircraft provision" will become law as part of the FAA reauthorization.

Aging type-certificated aircraft represent a growing share of the general aviation fleet. By 2020, the average single-engine aircraft will be 50 years old. And the older they get, the more problems they present for owners and restorers.

When a certificated, factory-built aircraft is first designed and built, the manufacturer submits comprehensive engineering data to the FAA, which issues a type certificate—one of the documents allowing the manufacturer to build and sell that airplane. By law, type certificated aircraft must be maintained in conformity with their original type certificates; replacement parts for the airplane must be equal to or better than the original parts—even if those parts and the engineering data to which they must conform are 50 or more years old.

Restorers of antique, classic, and contemporary aircraft need access to original engineering data in order to fabricate aircraft components—replacement parts that are consistent to the airplane’s original type certificate.

Without access to the data, a restorer has few options and all of them are enormously complicated and expensive. The absence of original engineering data can bring a restoration project to a dead stop.

Unfortunately under current law, the engineering data accompanying a type certificate is proprietary "intellectual property" belonging to the original manufacturer or its heirs. Currently the FAA is prohibited from releasing that data, even though the data is in the FAA’s possession and even if the legal owner cannot be found.

Even with no legal owner in existence, current intellectual property law still prohibits the FAA from releasing the data to aircraft owners, restorers, and repairmen.

FAA officials have repeatedly said that they wanted to "do the right thing" and find a way to release the data. The orphaned aircraft provision in the House and Senate FAA reauthorization bills would accomplish that. The FAA would be allowed to release data from type certificates that had been inactive for at least three years and for which no owners or heirs can be found.

"This is a clear case in which the FAA has listened to the aviation community," said John Hickey, FAA director of aircraft certification. "We now have two bills [Senate and House] that do what we want," and, he added, the FAA will work hard to get the orphaned aircraft provision into the law.

Earl Lawrence, EAA vice president of industry and regulatory affairs, emphasized that this legislative effort by the FAA was a direct result of discussions between FAA officials and the aviation community at previous AirVentures and at an annual Winter 2007 EAA/FAA Summit meeting held at EAA headquarters in Oshkosh.

The remarks by Frautschy, Hickey, and Lawrence came Wednesday afternoon during an annual meeting on "Type Club and Aging Aircraft Issues" attended by about 35 people—FAA officials, type club officers, and members of the aviation industry.

[astixjr]

This is great news. Here's another reason to support EAA, AOPA, and any other group lobbying on behalf of general aviaton. Back in the early 1990s, I made an attempt to get some technical data and drawings for our museum's Curtiss Robin and Curtiss Air Sedan. There was and maybe still is, a big pile of this stuff in storage at Valley Stream, NY (?) but the FAA was not able to release it anymore because the corporate attorney for what's left of the Curtiss Wright Corporation, told them to stop. I exchanged a few friendly letters with the chief corporate attorney for CW and engaged in two friendly phone converstaions with him. He was very polite but he made it very clear, the answer was still not only "no" but "hell no".

I feel sorry for anyone trying to get information on the early Curtiss Wright civilian aircraft or the Travel Airs. Since CW purchased Travel Air, the technical data for them was also "hands off" Maybe in the near future, with the possible release of the drawings and technical data, I can start building my replica Curtiss Wright Condor twin engine biplane airliner!

[hang the expense]

Alright Albert, when you start that project(which needs to be done)"they" are gonna come get you with a big net.Excuse me there is a knock at my door......

[astixjr]

Shhhh! Don't tell my wife. She's still mad about the turret parts. For the Condor project I can either build one from scratch or try to find the one down in Antarctica ( I think it was a Navy version). What the heck, if they can bring a P-38 up from underneath a Greenland glacier, then I should be able to find the one we left "down below" right?

[Eric Friedebach]

The FAA has released a draft Order, Managing revoked, suspended, surrendered, and abandoned Type Certificates (TCs) and Supplemental Type Certificates (STC).

It’s downloadable as a MS Word document here.

[Mudge]

OK...I'm gonna' flaunt my ignorance once again. (Probably gettin' a little old, huh?)
Would someone please enlighten me as to EXACTLY what this "release" will do for the warbird community/enthusiasts? I mean...what aircraft will it effect that we don't already have some of now?
Ah 'preciates it.

Mudge the ignernt

[Wheels up]

There is a scary paragraph of the aforementioned FAA draft that Eric Friedebach has linked...

TCs and STCs No Longer In Effect. When a TC or STC is revoked, suspended, surrendered, or determined to be abandoned it is no longer effective. When a TC or STC is no longer effective:
Note: Throughout this order, the term “products” refers to Class 1 aeronautical products: aircraft, engines and propellers.
a. The privileges and continued airworthiness responsibilities are removed from the TC or STC holder. Where practicable, we will obtain data supporting the TC or STC and we will retain custody of the data in our records. For surrendered TCs or STCs, at our sole discretion, we may use the data to support continued airworthiness of the product. For revoked, suspended, surrendered, or abandoned TCs or STCs, data will not be disclosed to third parties except in accordance with applicable laws.
b. Production, import, and export under the TC or STC ceases. This includes aircraft with a valid TC but with an engine or propeller TC that is no longer effective.
c. Previously approved STCs incorporated on products with a TC that is no longer effective are still valid. Future STC’s may be approved on a case-by-case basis. STCs will not be issued for products whose TC was revoked or suspended because of an unsafe condition but may be issued for products whose TC was surrendered or determined abandoned.
d. While existing aircraft may retain their airworthiness certificates, new standard airworthiness certificates will not be issued for this these products. The airworthiness certificate may be affected if the TC was revoked or suspended for cause.
e. The status of the approved type design and substantiating data is unchanged.
f. Airworthiness directives (AD) may still be issued.
g. An aircraft TC remains effective even though the TC for its engine or propeller may no longer be effective.
h. For revoked or suspended TCs or STCs, the proprietary interests of the TC or STC holder in the substantiating data is unchanged unless they relinquish their interest in a written agreement signed by a party authorized to act on behalf of that TC or STC holder (for example, owner, corporate officer, executor of estate, etc.) or in accordance with applicable laws.

Read and re-read d).......... What is exactly the intent of that paragraph is unknown. It can be taken to mean this example:
Say you have a Waco and restore it in Standard Catagory to the Type Certificate. It last flew in 1953 with a CAA (annual airworthiness...these were issued every year after inspection and re-application). The CAA Airworthiness Certificate is invalid with the FAA. After the CAA went out of business the FAA began permanent airworthiness certificate after an initial conformity inspection by the administrator or their representative.
Now, according to d) above this example has no airworthiness as it is a CAA ticket and invalid. It states no new airworthiness will be issued. If this is the actual intent, is unknown. There are hundreds if not thousands of antique/vintage aircraft that would fall under this draft. Owners who are saving that project for later could stand to end up with a ground bound bird.
Comment period for this draft closes Oct 5. Get writing.

Here's where to comment:
Draft Comments Address