Small Aviation in Russia Suffocated by Certification: There are Standards, but No Aircraft

The system is designed for heavy airliners, and the rules turned out to be unworkable due to cumbersome procedures

Three years ago, Russia approved airworthiness standards for light aircraft (NLG OLS) - an analogue of the European CS-VLA. They could have opened the way for two-seater training and private aircraft, but so far not a single type certificate has been issued in the country, said Alexey Rogozin, General Director of the Union of Aircraft Manufacturers of Russia.

Not on Paper, but in Reality

According to him, the main reason for what is happening is not in the papers, but in the system. Certification was built for heavy airliners, and it is simply impossible to go through the same cycle for a light aircraft.

There is no simplified path for small aviation, and it is impossible both economically and organizationally to go through the entire cycle, as for a mainline airliner, for the sake of a two-seater training aircraft.

Alexey Rogozin, General Director of the Union of Aircraft Manufacturers of Russia

However, the new amendments to the Air Code for the first time introduced the idea of a risk-based approach, which may give small design bureaus a chance for a "white" life.

The US Has Launched an Aviation Revolution: What Russia Can Learn from MOSAIC

While Russian small aviation is waiting for reform, the US has launched a radical restructuring of the rules called MOSAIC, Rogozin recalled. Its essence is not in bureaucratic formulas, but in proven safety. In this approach, standards are formulated through test results - stability, system fault tolerance, and landing behavior.

Engineers and regulators work not according to bureaucratic formulas, but according to industrial standards developed on the basis of industry consensus.

Alexey Rogozin, General Director of the Union of Aircraft Manufacturers of Russia

How to Create "Light Aviation in Russian": The Industry is Ready, a Step from Regulators is Needed

If Russia adopts a similar approach, it will be possible to build a modern certification system - understandable, fast and tailored to safety, and not to paper reports, Rogozin believes.

The state must confirm standards according to a separate procedure and control them, but the main laboriousness in the development of standards and responsibility for them will be transferred to the industry participants themselves.

Alexey Rogozin, General Director of the Union of Aircraft Manufacturers of Russia

The head of the Union stated that this path will give small enterprises the opportunity to work and bring new Russian training, patrol, sports and recreational aircraft to the market.

Earlierwww1.ru reported thatnew Russian tires for the chassis of MS-21 and SJ-100 liners have successfully passed certification.