Unless you know exactly how you want to modify your aircraft, searching for available approved modifications can be tedious.
The FAA’s Dynamic Regulatory System website lists 48,338 approved Supplemental Type Certificates (STC). That number includes all aircraft from transport category on down.
Among the 15 filter fields, I selected Cessna Aircraft Company from the TC Holder field, Aircraft from the Product Type field, and limited the search to the United States. That reduced the STC count to 2,083.
By adding 172 to the Model/Series field the STC count drops to 439 results.
In many cases, especially with avionics, an FAA Approved Model List (AML) must be reviewed to see if your specific aircraft is approved for a particular STC.
There has to be a better way.
That’s where Modifly comes in.
Point your web browser to Modifly.aero, enter your aircraft tail number, and see what is available for your aircraft.
Search results are broken down into four mod types: Avionics, Propellers, Engine, Airframe.
“Every N-number from the FAA registry is in our database,” Modifly President Mike Turner told me. “And we have about 3,500 STCs listed so far.”
Specific mods from the search results can be added to a project, which can then be submitted to approved installers based on customizable criteria. For example: If you own a Cessna 172 you might not want to fly 750 miles to install a primary flight display. You can limit your project to an area closer to home.
STC owners and installers pay a subscription to be in the Modifly database.
“That allows the service to be offered at no cost to aircraft owners,” continued Mike.
Modifly is still very much in development. Adding details and images takes a lot of time noted Mike. (As the owner of the Living With Your Plane website I can attest to this pain point.)
But stop by and check the options available for your aircraft.
As Mike says, “We encourage aircraft owners to dream bigger.”
And, last I checked, dreams don’t cost anything.
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