6 April 2017
“New, smart and flexible rules, prepared with and for a safe innovative General Aviation industry.” With these promising words, EASA Certification Director Trevor Woods presented EASA’s re-written CS-23 certification rules for small aircraft at AERO today.
The reorganised CS-23 rules remove design limitations for manufacturers and open the way to innovation.
GA industry welcomed the changes. “These new rules will allow us to bring new aeroplane models with features using increased automation to market,” said Simon Caldecott, CEO of Piper Aircraft and also chairman of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA).
“We anticipate that these new features will not only help increase the user experience, but will help improve safety. The introduction of the new CS-23 paves the way for a new era in general aviation,” said Caldecott.
“It’s revolutionary,” said Ivo Boscarol, CEO of Slovenian manufacturer Pipistrel. “Right now, we see tremendous opportunities in electric and hybrid propulsion and increased automation. The new CS-23 will enable us to move at the pace of these developments and more readily leverage these innovations.”
EASA has participated in an international effort and cooperation with the FAA (and others) to reorganise the CS-23/Part 23 in order to revive certified general aviation. Furthermore, a harmonised reorganisation of both the related EU and US rules is vital for a global success.
Matthias Betsch, President of Flight Design, confirmed this and said, “I am sure the result we see here today is a testament to what we can accomplish when government and industry work hand in hand to achieve a common goal. In fact, it might be the best example yet of global cooperation between aviation authorities.”
The new CS-23 establishes objective and design-independent requirements. New designs will not be hampered by detailed prescriptive rules, said EASA. This enables innovative solutions to enhance safety, while at the same time red tape, time and certification costs are reduced.
Globally, this change is taking place in Europe (CS-23) from 15 August 2017), and in the US (Part 23) two weeks later). More about the new CS-23 rules can be found on EASA’s GA Roadmap page below. Guidance material is being prepared and will be released mid-August.
