As I sit down to write, America is on the verge of a trade war with China. And as the earliest salvos of that trade war were announced, where was I headed? China. I spent the week, after the President announced the trade sanctions against China, in Shanghai. I was certain that it would be…

Everybody talks about getting closure. It is a theme in pop songs and sappy movies. But surprisingly few discussions exist about closing your packages. Aircraft parts are shipped throughout the world. When you close the box on a shipment, are you thinking about whether your closure complies with the regulations? When you ship aircraft parts,…

If you work in a repair station, then being able to obtain the replacement parts that you need is tremendously important to your day-to-day business. But a recent agreement between China and the United States sets a precedent for excluding parts for commercial (non-safety) reasons; and this sort of exclusion could put repair stations and…

If you work for a dual-certificated (FAA & EASA) repair station then you have probably been wondering what is going on with documentation requirements. You are probably throwing around terms like “MAG 6,” “8130-3” and “Bilateral Agreements” at parties and around the water cooler. And if you haven’t been discussing these items, then you should…

Are you familiar with Spec 106? It is a specification written by the air carrier community that details how suppliers should handle and document aircraft parts. One of the problems with this specification is that it has not been updated in over 15 years. Many people in the aviation industry are familiar with the Spec…

Did you know that FAA-PMA parts are approved by EASA? Under the European system, they are not merely accepted – they are actually approved under the terms of a 2007 EASA decision. And that EASA approval happens automatically the moment that they are approved by the issue of the FAA PMA (without the requirement for…

Is that aircraft part that you are shipping to your customer a hidden hazmat? And are you complying with federal laws that affect the shipment of those parts? Many repair stations and air carriers ship aircraft parts that are hazardous materials, and they may not even recognize them as hazardous materials! It is important to…

Many repair station professionals think that repairs are not covered by export regulations.  This is not the case!  Items intended to be repaired, and items that have been repaired, are generally subject to export regulations when they cross international borders.  The regulations often offer exceptions and loopholes that make it easy to make these transactions…

There has been significant hub-bub in the United States over recent changes to the FAA-EASA agreements. The gist of the changes is that US-based dual-certified repair stations must receive a Form One (from the EU or Canada) or an 8130-3 (from the US) for each part/ component in order to be able to use that…

The FAA really is trying to make it easier for industry to use safe aircraft parts. I have been writing blog articles about the FAA’s problems with the 8130-3 (Airworthiness Approval Tag), but relatively little press has been given to the FAA’s efforts to make the 8130-3 tags better. A recent policy memo from the…