FAA Type Certificate Certification Services

Endeavor Elements provides comprehensive support for FAA type certificate (TC), supplemental type certificate (STC), and amended type certificate (ATC) applications under 14 CFR Part 21. Our CIQ platform and engineering services streamline the certification process for aircraft, engines, propellers, and related products.

Type Certificate (TC) Application Process

A type certificate is FAA approval of the design of an aircraft, aircraft engine, or propeller. The TC certifies that the design meets applicable airworthiness standards in Title 14 CFR Parts 23, 25, 27, 29, 33, 35, or 36. Our platform supports the complete certification lifecycle:

• Certification basis development and documentation
• Means of compliance (MOC) preparation and submission
• Compliance checklist management and tracking
• Issue paper development and resolution
• Test plan coordination and results documentation
• FAA correspondence management and milestone tracking
• Type Certificate Data Sheet (TCDS) preparation
• Certification maintenance requirements (CMR) development

Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) Services

An STC is FAA approval for modifications to type-certificated products. STCs are required for design changes affecting airworthiness, including:

Certification by Aircraft Category

Part 23 - Normal Category Airplanes

14 CFR Part 23 establishes airworthiness standards for normal category airplanes with 19 or fewer passenger seats. The 2017 rewrite of Part 23 introduced performance-based standards that reduce regulatory burden while maintaining safety. Our platform supports both legacy and modern Part 23 certification programs.

Part 25 - Transport Category Airplanes

Part 25 governs large transport category aircraft certification. These complex programs require extensive compliance demonstration, systems safety assessments, and multi-year coordination with FAA certification teams. CIQ manages requirements traceability, test evidence, and compliance documentation throughout the program lifecycle.

Part 27/29 - Rotorcraft

Parts 27 and 29 establish airworthiness standards for normal category rotorcraft (helicopters) and transport category rotorcraft respectively. Rotorcraft certification includes unique requirements for autorotation, height-velocity envelope testing, and rotorcraft-specific systems.

Part 33/35 - Engines and Propellers

Aircraft engine certification under Part 33 and propeller certification under Part 35 require extensive endurance testing, environmental qualification, and failure modes analysis. Our platform tracks test requirements, manages engine/propeller type design data, and coordinates with airframe certification programs.

Certification Basis and Special Conditions

The certification basis defines which regulations and standards apply to your specific aircraft type certificate. CIQ helps you:

• Identify applicable airworthiness standards based on aircraft category, date of application, and design features
• Track amendments, exemptions, and equivalent safety findings
• Develop special conditions for novel or unusual design features
• Coordinate with FAA Aircraft Certification Offices (ACO) on certification basis acceptance
• Manage equivalent level of safety (ELOS) determinations
• Document voluntary compliance with later amendment levels

Means of Compliance (MOC) Documentation

Means of compliance documents how you demonstrate conformity with each applicable regulation. Our platform streamlines MOC development:

• Automated regulatory requirement mapping to system design
• MOC template library for common compliance methods
• Test plan generation and tracking against requirements
• Analysis report management (stress, systems safety, performance)
• Similarity analysis documentation for derivative designs
• Compliance matrix generation with status tracking
• FAA review comment tracking and resolution

Designated Engineering Representative (DER) Services

Many certification programs utilize DERs to make compliance findings on behalf of the FAA. Our team includes experienced DERs and provides:

• DER network access across multiple technical disciplines
• Data package preparation for DER approval
• Coordination of DER reviews and findings
• 8110-3 form management and submission
• Organization Designation Authorization (ODA) support
• Technical specialist interface for specialized approvals
• RFQ response platform for DERs and DARs to submit proposals to airline requests

Certification Timeline and Program Management

Type certificate programs typically span 2-7 years depending on aircraft complexity, novelty, and organizational maturity. Our certification project management tools provide:

• Certification program planning with milestone definition
• Resource allocation and workload management
• Critical path analysis and schedule optimization
• Risk identification and mitigation tracking
• Budget tracking against certification activities
• FAA meeting preparation and action item tracking
• Deliverable status dashboards and reporting