User:Wbeard52/Aircraft Equipment List

Aircraft Equipment Lists

Introduction
There are many different types of equipment lists used by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and other countries civil aviation authorities. Each of these documents have a very specific use in the every day flying of the aircraft. Proper use of these documents will ensure the aircraft is operated safely and within the regulations of the FAA

Types of Equipment Lists

 * Equipment List
 * Minimum Equipment List
 * Master Minimum Equipment List
 * Kinds of Operation Equipment List

Equipment List
Issued with the Aircraft Flight Manual (AFM) for the airplane and is specific to that aircraft serial number. The equipment list shows all the equipment installed or approved to be installed on the aircraft without requiring Form 337 to be filled out. Those items that are required (-R) are necessary to conform to type certificate data sheet (TCDS) and are required to be in working order. Those items marked (-S) are standard equipment but can be taken out of the aircraft without adversing affecting the TCDS. The items marked (-O) are optional equipment and either replance required or standard equipment. This equipment is required to be in the airplane if it is replacing required equipment. The last item (-A) are additional items that are in addition to required and standard equipment. It is approved to be a part of the airplane and included in the basic empty weight but can also be removed without adverse consequences. Any item installed or removed from the equipment list needs to have a corresponding entry in the weight and balance sheet for the aircraft.

Minimum Equipment List
Issued by the FAA FSDO and is specific to an aircraft serial number. The MEL shows equipment installed in the aircraft that can be inoperative in flight as long as the MEL procedures and restrictions are followed. Equipment required by its type certificate (equipment list) or by the type of operation in the FARs cannot be listed on the MEL. The MEL is created by using the MMEL as a base document and creating operation and maintenance procedures for each of those items in the MMEL. The MEL can be more restrictive than the MEL but cannot be less restrictive. The owner of the aircraft submits the newly created MEL to the FSDO POI and once accepted the POI will issue a LOA for the use of the MEL. The LOA and MEL will constitute a supplemental type certificate for that airplane.

Master Minimum Equipment List
Held by the FAA as a baseline for approving a MEL for the aircraft type. Typically, the MMEL is created by the aircraft manufacturer and is approved alongside the approval of the aircraft type design.

Kinds of Operation Equipment List
This type of equipment list is published in the aircraft flight manual (AFM). Most of the aircraft manufacturers list in the AFM the kind of operation the aircraft is approved for and a statement indicating the required equipment is the same as the equipment required by the Federal Avation Regulations (FARs) that apply to the specific kind of operation. There are other manufacturers that have a specific list for each kind of operation that is in addition to the equipment required by the FARs.