§ 145.31 - Ratings.

The following ratings are issued under this subpart:

(a) Airframe ratings. (1) Class 1: Composite construction of small aircraft.

(2) Class 2: Composite construction of large aircraft.

(3) Class 3: All-metal construction of small aircraft.

(4) Class 4: All-metal construction of large aircraft.

(b) Powerplant ratings. (1) Class 1: Reciprocating engines of 400 horsepower or less.

(2) Class 2: Reciprocating engines of more than 400 horsepower.

(3) Class 3: Turbine engines.

(c) Propeller ratings. (1) Class 1: All fixed pitch and ground adjustable propellers of wood, metal, or composite construction.

(2) Class 2: All other propellers, by make.

(d) Radio ratings. (1) Class 1: Communication equipment: Any radio transmitting equipment or receiving equipment, or both, used in aircraft to send or receive communications in flight, regardless of carrier frequency or type of modulation used; including auxiliary and related aircraft interphone systems, amplifier systems, electrical or electronic inter-crew signaling devices, and similar equipment; but not including equipment used for navigation of the aircraft or as an aid to navigation, equipment for measuring altitude or terrain clearance, other measuring equipment operated on radio or radar principles, or mechanical, electrical, gyroscopic, or electronic instruments that are a part of communications radio equipment.

(2) Class 2: Navigational equipment: Any radio system used in aircraft for en route or approach navigation, except equipment operated on radar or pulsed radio frequency principles, but not including equipment for measuring altitude or terrain clearance or other distance equipment operated on radar or pulsed radio frequency principles.

(3) Class 3: Radar equipment: Any aircraft electronic system operated on radar or pulsed radio frequency principles.

(e) Instrument ratings. (1) Class 1: Mechanical: Any diaphragm, bourdon tube, aneroid, optical, or mechanically driven centrifugal instrument that is used on aircraft or to operate aircraft, including tach- ometers, airspeed indicators, pressure gauges drift sights, magnetic compasses, altimeters, or similar mechanical instruments.

(2) Class 2: Electrical: Any self-synchronous and electrical indicating instruments and systems, including remote indicating instruments, cylinder head temperature gauges, or similar electrical instruments.

(3) Class 3: Gyroscopic: Any instrument or system using gyroscopic principles and motivated by air pressure or electrical energy, including automatic pilot control units, turn and bank indicators, directional gyros, and their parts, and flux gate and gyrosyn compasses.

(4) Class 4: Electronic: Any instruments whose operation depends on electron tubes, transistors, or similar devices including capacitance type quantity gauges, system amplifiers, and engine analyzers.

(f) Accessory ratings. (1) Class 1: Mechanical accessories that depend on friction, hydraulics, mechanical linkage, or pneumatic pressure for operation, including aircraft wheel brakes, mechanically driven pumps, carburetors, aircraft wheel assemblies, shock absorber struts and hydraulic servo units.

(2) Class 2: Electrical accessories that depend on electrical energy for their operation, and generators, including starters, voltage regulators, electric motors, electrically driven fuel pumps magnetos, or similar electrical accessories.

(3) Class 3: electronic accessories that depend on the use of an electron tube transistor, or similar device, including supercharger, temperature, air conditioning controls, or similar electronic controls.