‘Maintenance Releases’ For Private Aircraft

Greymouth Evening Star, 29 September 1950, Page 4

‘Maintenance Releases’ For Private Aircraft

WELLINGTON, This Day (P.A.). —Private owners of non-public transport type aircraft in New Zealand are to be relieved of a heavy financial burden by a new system for the certification of airworthiness, instituted by tne Civil Aviation Branch. Regulations gazetted yesterday provide for a system of “maintenance releases” which will eliminate the need for costly annual overhauls for this type of aircraft. The previous system, much the same as that at pesent in force in Britain and the United States,. required "an annual certificate of airworthiness entailing a complete overhaul. Under the new system aircraft in possession of a current maintenance release, issued by a qualified engineer, need not undergo an annual overhaul. The period of validity, up to a maximum of six months, of the maintenance release is decided by the engineer concerned, according to the state of the aircraft. The regulations do not affect the renewal certificate of airworthiness for passenger aircraft, which remains as rigid as before. Aircraft engaged in aerial topdressing will benefit from the new regulations as do club aicraft, whose maximum validity, of maintenance release is 50 flying hours. The regulations come into practical effect as soon as engineers receive the detailed requirements of the maintenance releases. The step is a radical one and its success depends largely on co-operation between owners, engineers and approved firms and the department. Considerable responsibility has been delegated by the department to engineers who, in the department’s opinion, have now reached a high standard of efficiency.