TABLE OF CONTENTS The type certificate is a document by which the authority states that an applicant has demonstrated the compliance of a type design to all applicable requirements. This certificate is not in itself an authorization for the operation of an aircraft, which must be given by an airworthiness certificate. [1]
The type design of a product, [2] which must be adequately identified according to EASA Part 21 (paragraph 21A.31) and FAR 21 (paragraph 31), consists of: [3]
The drawings and specifications, and a listing of those drawings and specifications. They are necessary to define the configuration and the design feature of the product shown to comply with the applicable type certification basis and environmental protection requirements.
Information on materials and processes and on methods of manufacture and assembly of the product needed to ensure the conformity of the product.
An approved airworthiness limitations section of the instructions for continued airworthiness [4] as defined by the applicable airworthiness code.
Any other data necessary to allow, by comparison, the determination of the airworthiness, the noise characteristics, fuel venting, and exhaust emission (where applicable) of later products of the same type.
In other words, the type design 'freezes' not only the product configuration, but also the production methods. Every deviation from the type design becomes a 'change' which must be approved, as we will see. This is to make sure that the series...
