Canadian Aviation Regulations (SOR/96-433)

Application

521.02 This Subpart applies to applicants for and holders of the following documents and applicants for a change to one of those documents:

• (a) a type certificate issued under section 521.57 in respect of an aeronautical product;

• (b) a Canadian Technical Standard Order (CAN-TSO) design approval issued under section 521.109 in respect of an appliance or a part;

• (c) a supplemental type certificate issued under section 521.206 in respect of an aeronautical product;

• (d) a repair design approval issued under section 521.256 in respect of an aeronautical product; and

• (e) a part design approval issued under section 521.306 in respect of a replacement part for an aeronautical product.

Appliances and Parts

521.03 An appliance or a part, other than a standard part, may be approved by the issuance of any one of the following:

• (a) a Canadian Technical Standard Order (CAN-TSO) design approval;

• (b) a type certificate, in the case of an appliance or part that is part of an aeronautical product on which it is installed;

• (c) a supplemental type certificate, in the case of an appliance or part that is part of a change to the type design of an aeronautical product; or

• (d) a part design approval, in the case of a part that is a replacement part.

[521.04 to 521.24 reserved]

Division II — Type Certificates

Application

521.25 This Division applies

• (a) in respect of the issuance of a type certificate for an aeronautical product; and

• (b) to applicants for and holders of a type certificate in respect of an aeronautical product.

Eligibility Requirements

521.26 An applicant for a type certificate in respect of an aeronautical product shall have, or have access to, the technical capability to conduct the design analyses and tests required to demonstrate the conformity of the aeronautical product with its certification basis.

Aircraft Categories

• 521.27 (1) An applicant may, in the case of an aircraft, request a type certificate in respect of the following aircraft categories or any combination of them:

  • (a) normal category;

  • (b) utility category;

  • (c) aerobatic category;

  • (d) commuter category;

  • (e) transport category; or

  • (f) restricted category.

• (2) An applicant may, in the case of an aircraft for which no standards of airworthiness are listed in subsection 521.31(1), request a type certificate in respect of an aircraft category that is not listed in subsection (1).

Application for a Type Certificate

521.28 An applicant for a type certificate in respect of an aeronautical product shall submit to the Minister

• (a) an application that contains the information specified on the form published by the Minister entitled Type Certificate Application;

• (b) a description of the aeronautical product that contains, in addition to its principal design features and its specifications,

  • (i) in the case of an aircraft, a three-view drawing, the preliminary data respecting the design and performance, and the proposed operating characteristics and limitations, and

  • (ii) in the case of an aircraft engine or propeller, a general arrangement drawing, and the proposed operating characteristics and limitations;

• (c) a proposed certification basis; and

• (d) a certification plan that identifies

  • (i) the means to be used to demonstrate that the aeronautical product conforms to the applicable certification basis,

  • (ii) the documentation that demonstrates the conformity of the aeronautical product with the applicable certification basis,

  • (iii) the resources necessary for carrying out the demonstration of conformity referred to in subparagraph (i), and

  • (iv) the schedule for carrying out the demonstration of conformity referred to in subparagraph (i).

Effective Period of an Application

• 521.29 (1) Unless an applicant demonstrates, at the time of submitting an application for a type certificate in respect of an aeronautical product, that a longer period is required for the design, development and testing of the product, and for that reason the Minister approves a longer period, the application is effective during one of the following periods, beginning on the date of the application:

  • (a) five years, in the case of a transport category aeroplane or a transport category rotorcraft; or

  • (b) three years, in the case of

    • (i) an aircraft other than an aircraft referred to in paragraph (a),

    • (ii) an aircraft engine, or

    • (iii) an aircraft propeller.

• (2) If a type certificate is not issued within the applicable effective period referred to in subsection (1), the applicant may

  • (a) submit a new application for a type certificate; or

  • (b) apply for an extension of the effective period of the original application.

• (3) If the effective period of an application for a type certificate is extended under paragraph (2)(b), the standards of airworthiness applicable to the aeronautical product are those in force on the date that precedes, by one of the periods referred to in subsection (1), the date of the issuance of the type certificate.

Certification Basis

• 521.30 (1) The Minister shall establish, in respect of an aeronautical product, a certification basis consisting of

  • (a) subject to subsections (2) to (5), the applicable standards of airworthiness referred to in section 521.31 that are in force on the date of application for the type certificate, unless the applicant

    • (i) elects to include in the certification basis later amendments to those standards of airworthiness, in accordance with subsection (5), or

    • (ii) is required to comply with later amendments to the standards of airworthiness in accordance with subsection 521.29(3);

  • (b) the applicable aircraft emissions standards referred to in section 521.32;

  • (c) any special conditions that are necessary to ensure that the type design of an aeronautical product having a novel or unusual design feature provides a level of safety equivalent to that provided by the standards of airworthiness in force on the date of application for the type certificate;

  • (d) any finding of equivalent safety based on any factors or design features that provide for an alternate means of compliance with the standards of airworthiness in force on the date of application for the type certificate; and

  • (e) any exemptions.

• (2) In the case of an aeronautical product to which no complete standards of airworthiness referred to in section 521.31 apply, the applicable standards of airworthiness are the portions of the standards of airworthiness referred to in section 521.31 that are in force on the date of application for the type certificate.

• (3) In the case of an aircraft, including its engine and propeller, that is designed in accordance with the requirements of, and accepted for use by, the Department of National Defence, other than an aircraft referred to in paragraph (4)(b), the applicable standards of airworthiness are those referred to in section 521.31

  • (a) that are appropriate to the type of aircraft, the number and type of its engines and propellers, and its MCTOW; and

  • (b) that provide a level of safety equivalent to that provided by the standards of airworthiness in force on the date that the aircraft was accepted for use by that Department.

• (4) In the case of an aircraft for which a type certificate in the restricted category is requested, the applicable standards of airworthiness are

  • (a) the standards of airworthiness referred to in section 521.31 that are in force on the date of application for the type certificate, except for those that are inappropriate for the use specified on the application for the type certificate; or

  • (b) the design and performance requirements established by the Department of National Defence in respect of the aircraft on the date that the aircraft was accepted for use by that Department.

• (5) An applicant may elect to include in the certification basis later amendments to the applicable standards of airworthiness referred to in subsections (1) to (4), if the applicant complies with any other amendment that is directly related to those standards.

Standards of Airworthiness

• 521.31 (1) For the issuance of a type certificate in respect of an aeronautical product, the standards of airworthiness, including the aircraft categories set out in subsection 521.27(1), are those specified in the following chapters of the Airworthiness Manual, as applicable:

  • (a) Chapter 522 — Gliders and Powered Gliders;

  • (b) Chapter 523 — Normal, Utility, Aerobatic and Commuter Category Aeroplanes;

  • (c) Chapter 523 – VLA — Very Light Aeroplanes;

  • (d) Chapter 525 — Transport Category Aeroplanes;

  • (e) Chapter 527 — Normal Category Rotorcraft;

  • (f) Chapter 529 — Transport Category Rotorcraft;

  • (g) Chapter 531 — Manned Free Balloons;

  • (h) Chapter 533 — Aircraft Engines;

  • (i) Chapter 535 — Propellers; and

  • (j) Chapter 541 — Airships.

• (2) The standards of airworthiness for the design and installation of an item of aircraft equipment required by Part VI or VII are

  • (a) those specified in Chapter 551 — Aircraft Equipment and Installation of the Airworthiness Manual; or

  • (b) if no standards of airworthiness for the design and installation of the item of aircraft equipment are specified in Chapter 551 — Aircraft Equipment and Installation of the Airworthiness Manual, those specified in the certification basis of the aircraft on which the equipment is installed.

Aircraft Emissions Standards

521.32 The aircraft emissions standards applicable to the issuance of a type certificate are the following:

• (a) in the case of an aircraft other than an aircraft for which certification is requested in the restricted category for use in agricultural operations or fire prevention and suppression, the noise standards specified in Subchapter A of Chapter 516 — Aircraft Emissions of the Airworthiness Manual;

• (b) in the case of a turbine-powered aircraft, the standards respecting the prevention of intentional fuel venting specified in Subchapter B of Chapter 516 — Aircraft Emissions of the Airworthiness Manual;

• (c) in the case of an aircraft engine, the smoke and gaseous aircraft emissions standards specified in Subchapter B of Chapter 516 — Aircraft Emissions of the Airworthiness Manual; and

• (d) in the case of an aircraft, the carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions standards specified in Subchapter C of Chapter 516 — Aircraft Emissions of the Airworthiness Manual.

Conformity with Certification Basis

521.33 An applicant for a type certificate in respect of an aeronautical product shall

• (a) demonstrate to the Minister that the aeronautical product conforms to the certification basis established by the Minister under section 521.30;

• (b) submit to the Minister a declaration attesting to the demonstration of conformity of the aeronautical product with its certification basis;

• (c) make available to the Minister the means by which conformity is established;

• (d) in the case of an aircraft, record the noise levels in its flight manual or in a supplement to that manual using the Guidelines for the Administration of Noise Certification Documentation set out in Attachment G of Annex 16, Volume I to the Convention; and

• (e) submit to the Minister for approval any manuals, instructions and limitations that are required by the certification basis established in respect of the aeronautical product.

[521.34 to 521.43 reserved]

Inspections and Tests

521.44 An applicant for a type certificate in respect of an aeronautical product shall

• (a) ensure, before conducting a test, that the item to be tested conforms to the drawings, specifications and manufacturing processes proposed for the type design of the aeronautical product and that the measuring device and test equipment to be used are appropriate and calibrated for the test;

• (b) ensure that the equipment and procedures used for conducting a test flight meet the requirements set out in sections 521.45 and 521.46;

• (c) conduct all the inspections, analyses and tests necessary to demonstrate to the Minister that the type design of the aeronautical product conforms to its certification basis;

• (d) in accordance with the certification plan, submit to the Minister for review the data and reports resulting from the inspections, analyses and tests conducted under paragraph (c); and

• (e) provide the Minister with access to the aeronautical product for the purpose of making any inspection, making any engineering assessment, or conducting or witnessing any test,

  • (i) required to verify the applicant’s declaration attesting to the demonstration of conformity of the aeronautical product with its certification basis, or

  • (ii) required to make a determination of the conformity of the aeronautical product with its certification basis.

Test Flights

• 521.45 (1) An applicant for a type certificate in respect of an aeronautical product who conducts a test flight shall

  • (a) make provisions for emergency situations and provide the emergency equipment required for the safety of the test flight personnel;

  • (b) conduct the inspections, analyses, structural tests, wind tunnel tests and functional tests of the critical systems and components of the aircraft used for the test flight — including an evaluation of the effect of their failure — to ensure that the aircraft will operate safely within the operating limitations and restrictions specified by the applicant;

  • (c) provide a pilot who holds a licence endorsed with a rating appropriate for conducting the test flight; and

  • (d) conduct the test flight in accordance with the conditions specified by the Minister in a flight authority issued in respect of that flight.

• (2) The applicant shall, before conducting the first test flight of an aircraft type, submit

  • (a) a written airworthiness declaration attesting that the aircraft being used for the test flight satisfies the conditions referred to in paragraph (1)(b); and

  • (b) a written declaration attesting to the condition of the aircraft and its conformity with the configuration specified for the purposes of the test flight, made by a person authorized to do so by the manufacturer of the aircraft.