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The Part 23 Rewrite: A Disaster in the Making?

Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • The Part 23 rewrite aims to revolutionize aircraft certification by transitioning from federal regulations to ASTM standards, promising reduced costs, faster market entry for new technology, and lower prices for consumers.
  • Despite these potential benefits, the author expresses significant concerns that the shift could lead to compromised product quality, struggles for manufacturers to meet robust design demands, and a decline in overall safety and reliability.
  • Specific worries include the potential for inferior avionics from lesser-known manufacturers, drawing parallels to the inconsistent quality observed in the Light Sport Aircraft market under similar standards, and placing more responsibility on consumers to discern product value.
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Suddenly, the so-called “Part 23 rewrite” has grown from a simple tweaking of aircraft and equipment certification standards to a full-on international effort to harmonize regulations around the world. Changing the rules of the game for how manufacturers approve new technology for light airplanes by shifting from the federal aviation regulations (or their international equivalent) to ASTM standards is a watershed event in the history of aviation. It will reduce the time and cost to bring new products to market, allowing GA to keep up with rapid advances in technology while, hopefully, bringing prices for the consumer way down.

This is a big deal — so we’d better not screw it up.

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