The FAA has published new guidelines for an optional “task-based” flight testing program for homebuilt aircraft.
The task-based Phase I flight testing program is an alternative to the standard 25 or 40-hour flight testing requirement for amateur-built aircraft, replacing the hours-based test period with a list of tasks to complete, according to officials with the Experimental Aircraft Association.
When the tasks are complete and the aircraft is shown to operate as expected, the aircraft can exit the Phase I flight testing period.
Programs such as this, developed in cooperation between the FAA and EAA, are “direct contributors to the significant improvement in the amateur built accident rate experienced over the past decades,” EAA officials said.
“This is one of those rare win-win policies,” said Tom Charpentier, EAA government relations director. “It will ensure that aircraft are thoroughly tested and documented, that every hour of flight testing has a purpose, and that when the flight testing work is complete, Phase I is over.”
The new guidelines are in the recently updated Advisory Circular (AC) 90-89C, the Amateur-Built Aircraft and Ultralight Flight Testing Handbook. This is a wide-ranging document that the FAA first developed in partnership with EAA in 1989.
The task-based program is found in Chapter 2 of the AC, beginning on pages 2-3.
The program prescribes a series of 17 individual flight test tasks, and recommends that the tests be flown per test cards carried in the aircraft.
The program also requires the creation of an Aircraft Operating Handbook (AOH) from the test results, which will benefit both the builder and any subsequent owners of the aircraft, EAA officials said.
“Anyone, including kit manufacturers and type clubs, can create a test plan that accomplishes the prescribed tasks, and users of EAA’s Flight Test Manual will find that it mirrors the program requirements,” association officials added.
In order to use the task-based flight testing program, the aircraft must have an operating limitation that allows the program’s use, EAA officials noted. Operating limitations are issued along with the airworthiness certificate by the FAA or a Designated Airworthiness Representative (DAR) as part of the airworthiness certification process.
EAA officials say they expect the FAA will update the policy on operating limitations soon so that the standard operating limitations will include the task-based Phase I authorization language.
If you are currently in Phase I flight testing or plan to have your aircraft inspected soon, email [email protected] for details on how to obtain the new task-based Phase I operating limitation.
The task-based flight testing program is designed to be decentralized and easy to use, according to EAA officials, who note that no follow-up reports to the Flight Standards District Offices (FSDO) or DAR are necessary after the initial inspection.
Builders are also free to use the traditional time-based Phase I program, which remains unchanged, they said.
A free EAA webinar is scheduled for April 4, 2023, to brief homebuilders on the new option. You can register for it here.
I would like to get a copy of AC 90-89C