Following a review of UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) issued approvals and the way that Part 21 aircraft types have been listed on approval certificates, a decision has been made to consolidate individual aircraft types within the A2, A3 and A4 ratings on UK Part 145 approvals into generic groups wherever possible. This consolidation applies to non-complex aircraft as defined in UK Regulation (EU) 2018/1139, with the exception of multi-engine helicopters. These new group ratings will also be applied to organisations holding UK Part M Subpart G and Part-CAMO approvals. These new groups are based on the aircraft which are eligible for Group ratings under a UK Part 66 aircraft maintenance engineers licence, but also includes Sailplanes, Airships and Balloons for which there is currently no Part 66 licence.
While the approval certificate may be at a generic group level, the ‘Scope of Work’ section of the organisations approved exposition should fully specify the individual aircraft types for which the organisation has the necessary competence and capability to manage/maintain. In order to assist the CAA in approving such expositions, it is recommended that where group ratings are listed on approval certificates, the individual aircraft types are listed in the Scope of Work section under the relevant group.
Aircraft that fall within the group ‘Piston engine aeroplanes – mixed construction not exceeding 5700 Kg’ are those aircraft listed in the UK Part 66 Type Rating List, ‘Aircraft Group 3’. Aircraft eligible for this group are those whose construction is made up of a combination of ‘Wood + Metal tubing Fabric’ or ‘Wood + Composite’ or ‘Composite + Wood’ or ‘Metal + Wood’.
Aircraft types that do not fall into the groups below in the A2, A3 or A4 ratings will need to be listed individually on approval certificates.
Applicable group ratings for aeroplanes under the A2 rating:
- piston engine aeroplanes – metal structure not exceeding 5700 Kg
- piston engine aeroplanes – composite structure not exceeding 5700 Kg
- piston engine aeroplanes – wooden structure not exceeding 5700 Kg
- piston engine aeroplanes – mixed construction not exceeding 5700 Kg
- single turboprop aeroplanes not exceeding 5700 Kg - Unpressurised
Applicable group ratings for helicopters under the A3 rating:
- single piston engine helicopters
- single turbine engine helicopters not exceeding 3175 Kg
Groups for aircraft under ratings other than A1, A2 or A3:
- hot air balloons and hot air airships
- gas filled balloons and gas filled airships
- sailplanes and powered sailplanes
Further reading
- UK Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 (the UK Basic Regulation)
- UK Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014 and associated AMC and GM (the UK Continuing Airworthiness Regulation)
- UK Part 66 Type Rating List
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