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When a company builds an designs an aircraft it must go through extensive design and testing. When it is finally approved for production it is issued a certificate by the FAA called a Type Certificate. This certificate spells out the specs under which this aircraft can be manufactured. Each type of aircraft has its own Type Certificate.
After an aircraft is in production, other people design modifications to the original equipment and then sell them as kits to be put on production aircraft. These must be approved by the FAA as well. There are two ways to get approval for a part that is not original. You can request a "field approval" or get an STC from the manufacturer of the part. For a field approval, the FAA looks at the installation and approves it for that one aircraft. An STC (Supplemental Type Certificate) requires extensive design and testing by the manufacturer but when approved by the FAA is legal to install on any aircraft that is listed on that STC.
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PMA stands for "part manufacturing authorization". To make or sell an aircraft part to replace original parts on production aircraft or parts that are STCed, a person must first submit the part for design approval where the FAA determines that it is equal to or better than the original. After the design approval is obtained, the person then goes to another branch of the FAA and applies for authorization to manufacture that part. When this is approved, the parts are tagged as FAA-PMA approved and can be marketed in the aviation industry.
B & C Specialty parts that are labelled as STC-PMA indicate that they are approved to be installed on listed aircraft and that B&C has the authority to manufacture and market those parts.
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For more information:
B & C Specialty Products Inc
123 East 4th
PO Box B
Newton, KS 67114 US
316-283-8000
Fax: 316-283-7400
© Copyright 2007 B & C Specialty Products Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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