[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]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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