Downloaded from https://www.everyspec.com 2–3. Requesting airworthiness release approval a. Requests for contractor flight releases, airworthiness releases, and/or interim or complete airworthiness qualifica- tion for Army aircraft for which USAAMCOM has engineering cognizance will be forwarded to the Commander, USAAMCOM, ATTN: AMSAM-RD-AE-I, Redstone Arsenal, AL, 35898-5000. Requests normally will come through the materiel developer (such as, the Program Executive Office or the system’s Program/Project/Product Manager) or from the field through a MACOM. b.
Requests for airworthiness approval for major modifications installed on aircraft not under USAAMCOM engineering cognizance will be forwarded to the appropriate engineering cognizant agency (such as, the Federal Aviation Administration, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, U.S. Air Force, or U.S. Navy). 2–4. Basis for airworthiness determination a. The first basis for an airworthiness determination is the complete collection of aeronautical design standards covering the engineering of aircraft systems and subsystems design and performance.
The standards address individual systems and subsystems, their integration, and the integrated system of hardware with applicable software and crew in the loop. Aeronautical design standards provide an effective means for documenting current technology that is essential in the evaluation for airworthiness qualification. This collection includes— (1) Military and Federal civil agency specifications, standards, and handbooks. (2) Industrial specifications and standards (such as, those published by nationally recognized associations, com- mittees, and technical societies), having coordinated status established under DOD policies and procedures.
(3) Company specifications and standards when such documents are based on Government or industrial standards or are supported by technical evidence (such as analysis, test or operational results) of their effectiveness. (4) Design handbooks recognized by the engineering discipline. (5) Published design criteria based on past experience. (6) Published test and evaluation procedures and criteria. b. The second basis for airworthiness determination is prescribed limits covering the full range of limitations for the safe and reliable use of the aircraft system, subsystem, or allied equipment as determined by analysis, tests, and operating experiences.
These limitations include those covering crew requirements and— (1) Flight limits, such as airspeed; maneuvering; electromagnetic environment; and environmental restrictions on altitude, temperature, and other weather conditions. (2) Loading limits, including weight, center of gravity, fuel load, cargo, external store, and armament loadings. (3) Structural life limits and wear limits that are critical to continued safe operation. (4) Propulsion system limits such as propeller, rotor, and engine subsystem rotational speeds and start-up, shutdown, torque input, torque output, fuel grades, lubrication system temperature, and pressure limits.
(5) Subsystem limits such as electrical load limitations and operating restrictions during degraded mode flight such as single boost or with automatic flight control system inoperative. (6) Maintenance procedures including intervals and conditions for inspection, replacement, and overhaul that are required for sustaining the continued airworthiness. 2–5. Airworthiness qualification process a. Elements of the airworthiness process are diagramed in appendix B to assist in understanding how these elements are related. Airworthiness qualification procedures will make maximum use of recognized sound technical and management techniques.
Aeronautical design standards establish the criteria used in qualification of aircraft as set forth in this regulation. Techniques used generally will be— (1) Engineering analysis, modeling, and simulations. (2) Formal inspections, design reviews, and safety assessments. (3) Contractor development tests. (4) Component qualification test of performance under specified conditions and duration. (5) Formal contractor demonstrations. (6) Government testing. b. An airworthiness qualification specification for the total system will be published and made an integral part of the requirements document and its resulting contract.
All qualification requirements for subsystems and components will also be included in this specification or be referenced in the specification. c. Analyses, simulations, and testing will be conducted to demonstrate or verify compliance with applicable aeronautical design standards, demonstration addendum, and other technical characteristics cited in contracts. Airwor- thiness qualification testing will be integrated with contractor and other Government testing. The coordinated test program (CTP) will reflect the integration and results. Included, as applicable, will be— (1) Allied equipment testing. (2) Subsystems or component testing.
(3) Total systems testing, including flight tests and demonstrations. 3 AR 70–62 • 7 July 2000