Aircraft Maintenance

'The problems that companies entering into the PMA arena encounter are often caused when they try to cut corners in the certification process. That reflects poorly on the company and the PMA industry as a whole, but if you know and understand the regulations, the FAA has proven itself to be a willing and helpful partner in bringing PMA parts to the market.'

HEICO's Val Shelley says: 'We used to joke that the FAA's aircraft certification offices were 'independently owned and operated.' That has improved considerably, but we still encounter FAA offices with practices that are not consistent with standard practices, or no time to review our PMA application. HEICO's been doing T&C PMAs for several decades and we've developed a uniform engineering process across our nine PMA development companies. When we present a T&C package to an FAA office, we're proud of the research and skills that are put into each package. We even have our own research scientists and specialized instruments like scanning electron microscopes, Fourier transform infrared spectrometer, etc. But, when we submit these uniform PMA applications, there seems to be very different criteria for review and approval among the different FAA offices. I'd like to see some consistency.'

'We also had to apply for and pass a Conformity Inspection to prove the product conforms to the drawing and can be installed properly per our instructions,' says Reiff. 'This was a difficult step because I did not own an aircraft at the time, and everyone I knew who did, declined to allow it to be used for this inspection because of a natural reluctance to have an FAA inspector poking around their airplane.' Luckily for Reiff, a generous relative allowed his C-172 to be used as the guinea pig, and the inspection went fine. The next step involved applying for and obtaining approval of the production system and fabrication inspection system (quality control program) from the Minneapolis Manufacturing Inspection District Office (MIDO).

Reiff says the entire process took about a year and that it probably helped that his company had already been selling the product for a couple of years before applying for approval. He offers that the FAA personnel he has dealt with have all been very professional and helpful.

To maintain the PMA, the MIDO through an ACSEP (Aircraft Certification System Evaluation Program), periodically inspects Reiff's facility and audits his fabrication inspection system and records to ensure the company remains in compliance. Any test equipment used must be periodically calibrated by a certified shop and records kept. Any changes made to the products must be submitted for PMA approval.

'My advice to anyone contemplating it is to do your homework first,' says Reiff. 'Compared to a 'normal' business, an aircraft parts manufacturer has some additional obstacles and costs and the businessman needs to determine if the profit potential for the product is worth the hassle and the costs involved. General aviation is a small market and if the type and volume of product you anticipate selling precludes pricing it at a level that allows you to be adequately compensated, then it would be a poor decision to go ahead with it. This factor (and liability) largely explains why aircraft parts cost more than many people feel they should.'

Additional ReSources
AeroStrategy LLC
202 E. Washington, Suite 610
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
(734) 821-0220
www.aerostrategy.net

FAA
www.faa.gov

MARPA
320 W. Superstition Blvd.
Apache Junction, AZ 85278
(480) 994-3353
www.pmamarpa.com

Reiff Preheat Systems
P.O. Box 5
Ft. Atkinson, WI 53538
(262) 593-5292
www.ReiffPreheat.com