Experimental flight test reporting

Experimental flight test conduct

Applicants conduct flight tests based on the test cards. Flight tests should follow an incremental approach:

• the tests may cover development, function and reliability before proving certification compliance
• each flight should have a brief prior to commencement and a de-brief after conclusion
• the post flight report should record and review the compliance and safety data. Additional tests may need to be undertaken if the completed test results require it
• the applicant must control the configuration and conformity of test articles for each flight. This ensures data validity of the report and safety for the planned tests.

Certification flight test report

Once you have collected and analysed the flight test data, you should submit it to us for review, in the form of a report. The test report must show the completion of the approved test plan.

The test report must record the data and any analysis taken to show compliance to the identified certification requirements.

Type inspection by us

We will issue a Type inspection authorisation:

• where we have reviewed and agreed on a valid test report
• detailing the flight tests that we will conduct to verify compliance.

Concurrent testing

Concurrent testing is when our certification tests coincide with the applicant's own tests.

In some cases, an applicant may make a request to us for concurrent testing. We may approve this when it is appropriate and practical to do so.

Production flight test

Production Flight Testing is post assembly testing to ensure new build aircraft conform to the type design.