Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions has teamed with SoCal Jets and Peregrine Avionics to develop an affordable solution to meet new Federal Civil Aviation of Mexico (AFAC) requirements for flight data recorders (FDR). The FAA has granted approved model list supplemental type certification for the Curtiss-Wright Fortress FDR to Peregrine, with similar AFAC approval pending.
According to the companies, the AML STC currently covers the Learjet 30 series, Learjet 45, Hawker 800 and 1000 Series, and Cessna Citation X and incorporates the use of a Class C airborne image recorder camera and a cockpit voice recorder. This camera records images of the cockpit instrument panel, thus reducing installation costs and downtime.
The AFAC’s new FDR requirements apply to any FAA Part 25 charter aircraft that operates in Mexican airspace, as well as any Mexican-registered aircraft with an mtow exceeding 5,500 kg (12,125 pounds). The requirements are based on ICAO Annex 6, which specifies a 25-hour cockpit voice recorder and two-hour airborne image recorder. Class C image recorders are allowed in lieu of the latter requirement “where it is not practical or prohibitively expensive to record on an FDR,” Peregrine said.