October 2014-
Almost everything you’ve ever wanted to know about PMA parts: What they are, and what they’re not. Where they come from. And why they’re good for everyone who owns an airplane.
If you weren’t able to make the association’s annual Gathering in Waupaca prior to Oshkosh, well, too bad for you. The event gets better every year. Good friends. Great information. And it’s a wonderful way to kick off the biggest air event of the year.
While all the 2014 presentations were great, one that caught a lot of attendees’ attention was “How PMAs Help Lower the Costs of GA Aircraft Ownership,” given by Superior Air Parts executive vice president and general manager Keith Chatten. Prior to being appointed EVP and GM, Chatten was Superior’s lead engineer, so he knows the Parts Manufacturer Approval (PMA) process inside and out.
Superior holds over 3,000 PMAs for various piston engine parts and components. It would be hard to find another company that knows more about the ins and outs of this growing business.
Chatten’s talk about the PMA process and what it takes to get these parts FAA approved answered a lot of questions that a many owners still have about these types of parts and components.
In case you missed his presentation in Waupaca, I interviewed Chatten on the grounds at EAA AirVenture. Here is a transcript of our discussion.
DS: Let’s start at the beginning: What is a PMA part?
KC: FAA-approved Parts Manufacturer Approval (PMA) parts are—from a form, fit and function standpoint—just like any other parts or components. The only real difference is they are designed and manufactured by someone other than the original Type Certificate (TC) holder.
One misunderstanding that many aircraft owners have is that in the eyes of the FAA, PMA parts are just parts and are subject to the same rules and guidelines governing any FAA-approved parts. So as a manufacturer of FAA-approved PMA parts, Superior has to go through the exact same engineering, development, testing, production and certification process as the original TC holder.
DS: Aren’t PMAs just copies of someone else’s part?
KC: I can’t speak for companies doing replacement interior or airframe parts, but our parts are not “copies” of anything. While we may start with the basic functionality of the original piece, we pretty much re-engineer it from that point on.
We totally revisit the part—from its design, to the materials used, to how it is produced—in an effort to find ways to improve its performance, quality and value.
DS: What about patented parts?
KC: The fact is, so very few parts on a piston aircraft engine were ever patented that infringing has never been an issue. But, we do check before we start the PMA process. We’ve done over 3,000 PMAs and have yet to find a patented part.
DS: Is the PMA process new?
KC: No. The practice has been around since the early 1940s. But the business became regulated when Civil Air Regulation (CAR) 1.55, known as the FAA-approved Parts Manufacturer Approval process, was adopted in the 1950s. The rule was set in place to provide guidelines to ensure these aftermarket parts met the same FAA-designated guidelines as the original equipment parts.
The piston engine PMA business really took off in the late 1950s when the U.S. military needed replacement engine parts for their aging fleet of transport aircraft. Of course, as those aircraft left the military and were put in service by commercial operators, the need for quality parts grew even bigger.
In fact, if it weren’t for PMA parts, many prior-generation aircraft would no longer be flying.
DS: But if an OEM still supports an older model, why would you need PMA parts?
KC: The three-part answer is: Availability, cost control and competition.
By availability, I mean that so many airframes and engines are operating long past the years the original manufacturers imagined. It’s just not cost-effective for them to continue to produce all the parts decades after the last new model was built. In an ever-expanding number of instances, the answer to keeping legacy aircraft in the air has become PMA parts.
When I say cost control, well that’s pretty obvious, and it ties in to the competition aspect. When the stock of available new parts from the OEM gets low, the price automatically goes up—often, way up.
DS: So you are saying that PMA parts actually help control the costs of all parts?
KC: Yes and no. By manufacturing high-quality PMA parts, we do ensure prices on like parts . But, unfortunately, if there’s no PMA then there’s no competition—and no cost control.
For example, say you’re flying an airplane with counter-rotating engines. The camshaft for the left-hand turning engine may run you say $5,000 from the OEM, while the camshaft for the right-hand turning engine will only cost about $800 from Superior. Why? Simply because there is a PMA camshaft available for the right-hand turning engine and there is not one for the left.
Honestly, if it weren’t for PMA parts, most recreational aircraft owners—and many small businesses, for that matter—couldn’t afford to operate their aircraft.
DS: We hear all the time that because they cost less PMA parts must be lower quality than OEM parts. Does every one of Superior’s PMA parts meet FAA standards?
KC: Absolutely. It has to. Today’s aircraft owners need to know that FAA regulations guarantee them that any FAA-approved PMA part is at least equal to the original part.
PMAs such a good business move that many of the transport category airframe and engine manufacturers actually obtain a PMA for their competition’s products. They don’t talk about it much, but they do it.
In today’s economy, cash-strapped owners and operators of even large commercial aircraft are looking for ways to save real money while taking advantage of new, and often improved, design and manufacturing technologies and materials. In so many cases their only solution is PMA parts.
I think if you asked them, the majority of aircraft manufacturers would be in favor of PMA parts production. As their aircraft get older and more expensive to support, they’ve seen that PMA parts are the only cost-effective way their aircraft can stay in service. It just isn’t practical for them to continue to make parts for these aircraft 10 or more years out of production.
DS: So PMA parts are the proverbial “silver bullet”?
KC: Don’t get me wrong—like any industry, there are less than desirable producers of PMA parts. Buyers need to do their homework before they make any decision. Bogus parts are a problem throughout aviation today, and they always will be.
But Superior has been producing PMA parts since 1967. We currently hold over 3,000 FAA-approved PMAs for legacy and current generation Lycoming and Continental piston engines.
We’ve sold tens of thousands of PMA parts including everything from simple valve guides to our Millennium Cylinders, so we must be doing something right.
DS: So you’re saying your parts can be better than the originals?
KC: In many cases we’ve made improvements. Many of our parts benefit from advanced engineering, new manufacturing practices and improved aerospace alloys.
Our parts have had the considerable benefits of being designed and manufactured using technologies that just weren’t available when their ancestors were originally designed and certified.
Everyone at Superior takes great pride in the fact that the parts we produce are an evolutionary improvement in the design, quality and value over the original part.
DS: So if they are improved, why do Superior parts receive Airworthiness Directives (ADs)?
KC: They’re improved. Not perfect. Although we rigorously re-engineer very one of our parts and components, sometimes there are issues that don’t come to light until a part has been in service for a long time.
But ADs aren’t exclusive to PMA parts. They’re something the OEMs deal with all the time also. Believe me, all of us would like to make 100 percent perfect parts for our customers, but it’s just not possible.
DS: Why doesn’t Superior just an entire engine with its parts?
KC: We have. Our popular experimental XP-Engines are made from FAA PMA parts. But in order to sell an engine for use on a certified aircraft like your Piper, we had to earn an FAA Type Certificate. Superior received FAA certification for our 180 hp Vantage Engine TC in 2006.
We’ve just announced an STC program to install the Vantage Engine on Cessna 172s, and we’re planning a similar program for Piper Archers.
Superior Air Parts is not only a leading PMA producer, but we are also a growing STC and TC holder as well. I can’t think of another General Aviation piston engine manufacturer that can say that.
DS: If you need an STC for an engine, can an owner use a PMA part on their aircraft without an STC?
KC: Yes. For the typical aircraft owner, if you don’t need an STC for the original equipment part, then you won’t need one for a PMA part. In the eyes of the FAA, both parts are interchangeable.
DS: What about owners of non-U.S. registered aircraft? Can they use PMA parts?
KC: Good question. For the same three reasons I mentioned earlier , PMA parts are enjoying rapid acceptance in Europe, South and Central America, the Middle East and Europe by commercial and private aircraft operators.
The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), for example, currently accepts any “non-critical or life-limited” FAA-approved PMA part or component with a current 8130 tag into their system without any further inquiry.
DS: Why are 8130 tags so important?
KC: Because part authenticity and traceability is so important to spotting bogus parts, an FAA Form 8130-3, Airworthiness Approval Tag, must accompany the PMA part as proof of its compliance.
Superior makes it our practice to include an 8130-3 with every part and component we ship to our distributors. If any supplier refuses to supply a valid 8130-3, the customer must immediately question the validity and traceability of that part. In other words, stay away from it.
DS: Anything else, Keith?
KC: I think we’ve covered the PMA business pretty thoroughly. Are PMAs for every owner? Probably not.
But I think that when their aircraft is in for any type of maintenance they should discuss the PMA option with their mechanic. The fact is, their mechanic may not be up to speed on PMA parts and how much money they can save the owner—and the entire industry, for that matter. Dollar-for-dollar, and part-for-part, unless you have an unlimited budget, they deserve close consideration.
Dale Smith has been an aviation journalist for 30 years. When he’s not writing aviation articles, Smith does commission aircraft illustrations specializing in seaplanes and flying boats. Smith has been a licensed pilot since 1974 and has flown 35 different types of General Aviation, business and World War II vintage aircraft. Send questions or comments to editor@www.piperflyer.com.
RESOURCES
Superior Air Parts
superiorairparts.com
Further reading
Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (e-CFR)
ecfr.gov
To view the FAR that discusses PMA parts, select “Title 14: Aeronautics and Space,” then click on “Browse Parts 1-59.” Scroll down to “Part 21—Certification Procedures for Products and Parts, Subpart K—Parts Manufacturer Approvals”
