Englewood, Colorado aircraft engineering and certification firm Peregrine, in collaboration with Curtiss-Wright and SoCal Jets, an FAA Part 145 repair station based at Van Nuys airport, has expanded the Approved Model List (AML) for STC #ST01070DE. This STC provides operators with a compliant, affordable solution to meet the requirements for recorders as outlined in NOM-022-SCT3 2011 in accordance with CP AV-022 dated 15 April 2019. The expanded Approved Model List has been awarded to Peregrine and is now available for installation. The Federal Civil Aviation of Mexico (AFAC) has validated this FAA AML STC.

This AML STC installs the Curtiss-Wright Fortress flight data recorder with cockpit voice recorder, Class C cockpit image recorder including a Dukane Seacom underwater locating device. The expanded AML now covers additional legacy Learjet, Citation and Hawker models including the Learjet 60, the Hawker 400 and the Cessna 560. The STC utilises the Class C AIR camera to record images of the cockpit instrument panel to record key flight parameters. This simplified installation significantly reduces costs and downtime when compared to a traditional FDR installation.

Any US Part 25 charter aircraft that operates in Mexican airspace or is Mexican registered as over 5500kg must have this equipment installed per AFAC requirements. The Mexico requirement is based on ICAO Annex 6 documentation. All equipment is ED-112A certified and includes an EASA (E)TSO approved 25-hour cockpit voice recorder and (E)TSO-176a two-hour airborne image recorder.

“Under certain regulatory bodies, Class C recorders are allowed as a means for recording flight data where it is not practical or prohibitively expensive to record on an FDR or where an FDR is not required. This expanded AML STC offers an economical means, measured in cost and aircraft downtime, of complying with the new AFAC and ICAO requirements for additional aircraft,” states David Rankin, president, Peregrine.

In addition to the AML expansion, the STC now more clearly allows the use of the system as an acceptable Class C cockpit image recorder compliant with EUROCAE ED-112A, Chapter III that may be installed to meet the Mexican AFAC operational requirements. Further, the updated STC now allows integration with the Texas Aerospace Technologies' TXA201 tri-axial accelerometer.