DanH

DanH

Legacy Member
Mentor
Is data submitted to the FAA as part of the certification process for an engine, airframe or appliance considered to be public information?
 
Yes. If you get the N-number for the airplane that was used for certification you can order all the records of anything submitted to the FAA. FAA records are public-domain.
 
DanH said:
Is data submitted to the FAA as part of the certification process for an engine, airframe or appliance considered to be public information?
Click to expand...

Yes. For an aircraft, it can be obtained from the FAA with the N-number and Serial Number. The FAA Registry charges $10 and will mail you a CD for the aircraft. A DAR should have an account and be able to get a eCopy of aircraft records on his computer for around $3.50. An FAA Inspector get the info FREE on his computer. The PDF file that the FAA puts is protected but there is low cost software available that can remove the protection.
 
Any data submitted to the FAA is public data.

A call to the responsible ACO office for the TCDS should be able to tell you how to get to whatever it is you're looking for.
 
rocketbob said:
Any data submitted to the FAA is public data.

A call to the responsible ACO office for the TCDS should be able to tell you how to get to whatever it is you're looking for.
Click to expand...

While I can't speak directly to the FAA rules, I can tell you that with my government agency, we deal with corporate proprietary data all the time - and just because the "submit it to the government" doesn't make it public. In many cases, we can't even share it to other government workers if they aren't directly required to know it - and certainly, it can't be shared with other contractors.

Certainly the data that is actually on a TCDS is public - but I wouldn't automatically assume that EVERYTHING submitted to the FAA is releasable to anyone.

Paul (some government experience...)
 
Ironflight said:
While I can't speak directly to the FAA rules, I can tell you that with my government agency, we deal with corporate proprietary data all the time - and just because the "submit it to the government" doesn't make it public. In many cases, we can't even share it to other government workers if they aren't directly required to know it - and certainly, it can't be shared with other contractors.

Certainly the data that is actually on a TCDS is public - but I wouldn't automatically assume that EVERYTHING submitted to the FAA is releasable to anyone.

Paul (some government experience...)
Click to expand...

Its one thing if intellectual property is involved, patentable material for example, but another if its performance data which is probably what Dan is looking for.
 
Engine information is what I have in mind here, although airframes and accessories are of interest.

What kind of engine information? Consider FAR 33.43 through 33.57. The work done to satisfy these FARs is not a contract to supply a product or service to the government, but rather a requirement of law relating to public safety. I assume this data is submitted to an engineering office at the FAA for review and approval. Can a member of the public obtain the data?

http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-id...xt&node=14:1.0.1.3.16&idno=14#14:1.0.1.3.16.4
 
Keep in mind that Lycs were certified under the old CAR regs. So it may be that the vibration data that is now required wasn't the case back then.
 
Not actionable but a datapoint: years ago . . .

When i worked a stint at Contentinal, (20+yrs ago) I remember my engineering colleagues complaining that they had to submit engineering information for materials, heat treat, and processing sufficient to reproduce the parts. A will-fit got the information, the part failed and they had to pay because it was certified. I was told then that it was "available". I don't know how it was obtained, or how to do it now, but vast detail is part of the certification package.

Echoing, Ironflight, at another company we submitted proprietary information to the DOE and they officially held it confidential, so it is done, but only (submitted) if necessary.
 
I worked for the FAA for a few years as a certification engineer, and am now a consultant DER. Unless the aircraft or appliance was "orphaned", with no clear owner of the TC or STC, the FAA will not release data used by the applicant to show compliance - the applicant retains the rights to that data.

The TCDS or STC cover sheets are different - those are available on the FAA's RGL website. But those documents, especially the TCDS, only list limits/limitations - not elements of the design.

Dave
 
Ironflight said:
While I can't speak directly to the FAA rules, I can tell you that with my government agency, we deal with corporate proprietary data all the time - and just because the "submit it to the government" doesn't make it public. In many cases, we can't even share it to other government workers if they aren't directly required to know it - and certainly, it can't be shared with other contractors.

Certainly the data that is actually on a TCDS is public - but I wouldn't automatically assume that EVERYTHING submitted to the FAA is releasable to anyone.

Paul (some government experience...)
Click to expand...

Sounds like NASA SBU info that cannot be released.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.