Airplane Airworthiness Certificate: Staying Afloat

At the National Aviation Center, we make it so that you can register your aircraft easily. When you have to renew this registration or re-register it, you can do so simply at our site. We know that many of these forms sound similar, but they aren’t the same thing. For example, even knowledgeable airplane owners may think that an “airworthiness certificate” is the same as a “certificate of registration.” They aren’t the same thing, and in fact, are completely different. Fortunately, we can help you to get your airplane airworthiness certificate as well.

What an Airplane Airworthiness Certificate Is

Unlike a regular certificate of registration, this kind of certificate comes in different forms: “Standard,” “Special” or “Multiple.” For the most part, the “Standard” is a certificate for a plane used in a commercial capacity, often to carry passengers or cargo. This certification is issued for an aircraft that’s registered in a particular state. These certifications have to be updated and paid for every single year, which means that you have to stay on top of this to be in compliance.

Confirmation to Type Design

The certificate of registration says that your plane is legally able to be flown. An airworthiness certificate says that the plane is airworthy in its confirmation to its type design.  This certificate certifies that this plane can do what it should be able to do. To use the above example of cargo or commercial passenger transport, this certificate says that this plane is capable of doing exactly that. Each kind of airworthiness certificate certifies that a plane conforms to its design.

Standard Certificate

That being said, “cargo” and “passengers” aren’t the only kinds of planes that come under a Standard Airworthiness Certificate. That also includes “utility” planes as well, which means planes that are able to serve in a utility capacity. While this includes many “normal” planes, it also includes planes that many of us would think of us as anything but normal – “acrobatic” planes. Those incredible planes that do those seemingly death-defying acrobatic maneuvers have achieved this kind of certification.

Special Certificate

You might have read the last paragraph and thought: “what could be more ‘special’ than an acrobatic plane?” Well, planes that qualify for a “Special Airworthiness Certificate” are those that aren’t sufficient for cargo or commercial passenger operations, but still conform to their type design. This includes a wide variety of planes, such as aerial surveying planes, light-sport, experimental planes, kit-built aircraft, air racing, ones used for crew training, and even those prototype planes that are used to demonstrate the airworthiness of a design.

All of the Certifications

As you’ve seen, there are quite a few planes that can qualify for an airworthiness certificate. No matter what kind of plane you have, we can work with you to make sure that you get the certifications and that you need. If you’re unsure about what kind of certificate you need, then just give us a call at (800) 357-0893 and we’ll help.