[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 176 (Tuesday, September 10, 1996)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 47671]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-23092]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Part 21
Replacement and Modification Parts: ``Standard'' Parts
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.
ACTION: Request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The FAA has traditionally interpreted the term ``standard
parts,'' as used in regulations concerning the production of
replacement and modification parts for sale for installation of type
certificated (TC) products, to include a basic structural or mechanical
part the specification for which has been published by a standard
setting organization or by the U.S. government. This document solicits
public comment on including other kinds of parts, for example discrete
electrical or electronic component parts.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before November 12, 1996.
ADDRESSES: Comments must be mailed or delivered in duplicate to:
Federal Aviation Administration, Aircraft Engineering Division, AIR-100
Rm. 815, 800 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20591. Comments
must be marked Docket No. AIR-100-9601. Comments may be inspected on
weekdays except Federal holidays, between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. in room
815.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bruce Kaplan, Aerospace Engineer,
Aircraft Engineering Division, AIR-100, FAA, 800 Independence Avenue,
SW., Washington, DC 20591, (202) 267-9588.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 21.303(a) of Title 14 of the Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR) (Sec. 21.303(a)), Replacement and
Modification Parts, prohibits a person from producing a part for sale
for installation on a type certificated product unless that person
produces the part pursuant to an FAA Parts Manufacturer Approval (PMA).
Section 21.303(b) provides four exceptions to the requirement in
Sec. 21,303(a). One of these exceptions is for ``Standard parts (such
as bolts and nuts) conforming to established industry or U.S.
specifications.'' (14 CFR Sec. 21.303(b)(4).)
``Standard part'' is not otherwise defined in Title 14. Section
21.303(b)(4) has come to be understood by the aviation and
manufacturing public as meaning a part, the specification for which has
been published by a standard setting organization or by the U.S.
government, and the FAA has traditionally regulated parts production
with that understanding. Examples of such ``traditional'' standard part
specifications include National Aerospace Standards (NAS), Air Force-
Navy Aeronautical Standard (AN), Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE),
SAE Aerospace Standard (AS), and Military Standard (MS). The FAA will
continue to consider parts conforming to these specifications as
standard parts.
Traditionally, for any specification to be acceptable it must
include information on the design, materials, manufacture, and uniform
identification requirements. The specification must include all the
information necessary to produce the part and ensure its conformity to
the specification. Furthermore, the specification must be publicly
available, so that any party is capable of manufacturing the part. The
above examples of accepted specifications fulfill those criteria.
In the past the FAA has applied Sec. 21.303(b)(4) to parts that
have specifications where a determination of physical conformity to a
design could be made. This application largely excluded classes of
parts where the parts are conformed not on the basis of their physical
configuration but by meeting the specified performance criteria. These
types of parts are best exemplified by discrete electrical and
electronic parts.
Much of the componentry used in electronic devices are manufactured
under standard industry practices, often to published specifications
developed by standards organizations such as the Society of Automotive
Engineers (SAE), the American Electronics Association, Semitec, Joint
Electron Device Engineering Council, Joint Electron Tube Engineering
Council, and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). Such
standards development by these bodies is overseen by the Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the IEEE Standards
Committee, as well as the electrical and electronics industry, at
large, who depends upon characteristic design standards for consistency
in operation and performance.
The FAA is aware of certain kinds of parts that may fit within the
limits of the Sec. 21.303(b)(4) exception; these might include
resistors, capacitors, diodes, transistors, and non-programmable
integrated circuits (e.g. amplifiers, bridges, switches, gates, etc.).
Conversely, large scale, application-specific, or programmable
integrated circuits, hybrids, gate arrays, memories, CPU's, or other
programmable logic devices would not be considered standard parts. Such
components are not ``discretes'' since they require programming that
controls their timing, functionality, performance, and overall
operating parameters.
It is important to remember that 14 CFR Part 21 Sec. 21.303 deals
with the production of parts for sale for installation on type
certificated products. The installation of an owner- or operator-
produced, technical standard order, and standard parts must be shown to
comply with part 43 of Title 14 of the CFR (Part 43). Installation
eligibility for a PMA or a type or production certificated (PC) part is
established at the time of issuing the production approval,
nevertheless, a person may install a PMA, TC, or PC part on another TC
product if that installation is shown to comply with Part 43.
Generally, a standard part may be replaced with an identical standard
part without a further demonstration of compliance with the
airworthiness regulations. Substitution of a standard part with another
would require a demonstration of acceptability in accordance with Part
43.
The FAA invites comments on the ability of producers to conform
discrete electrical and electronic parts, and other kinds of parts, to
specified performance criteria. It also invites comments on the ability
of producers to distinctly identify such parts.
After comments are reviewed, the FAA anticipates taking the
following actions:
(1) Compile a list of standard setting bodies and U.S. government
entities that establish specifications for standard parts, and
(2) Publish these listings in an Advisory Circular which will be
available on the Aircraft Certification Home Page on the World Wide
Web.
Issued in Washington, DC, of August 29, 1996.
Elizabeth Yoest,
Deputy Director, Aircraft Certification Service, AIR-2.
[FR Doc. 96-23092 Filed 9-9-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-M
