Aero Engineers Australia

Aeronautical Engineers Australia (AEA) is an aeronautical engineering consultancy firm established by Graham Swannell in Perth in 1978. The company has since expanded to establish offices at Perth's Jandakot Airport, Sydney's Bankstown Airport and Adelaide's Parafield Airport. Additionally Airline Technical Services was established as a wholly owned subsidiary of AEA to provide speciality services to the airline sector, and Swannell Racing now provides roll cage homologation services to the local racing industry.

AEA provides a variety of services to the general aviation industry, including the design and certification of aircraft modifications, repairs and testing of aircraft components, flammability testing, aircraft weight control and aircraft design.

Since the 1980s, AEA has also been involved in the design of all-new aircraft.

List of Aircraft

*Eagle Aircraft 150B---- (1997) Single-engine two-seat civil utility aircraft with conventional tailplane and canard surfaces. Composite construction

*AEA Maverick------------ (1987) Single-engine one-seat sport aircraft of composite construction

*Explorer 500R------------ (1998) Single-engine high-wing transport aircraft. Piston engine

*Explorer 500T------------ (2000) Turboprop version of 500R

*Explorer 750T------------ (____) Stretched version of 500T

Role

Under [http://www.comlaw.gov.au/ComLaw/Legislation/LegislativeInstrumentCompilation1.nsf/previewlodgmentattachments/6CAB8A991C8242A2CA2573080035B91D/$file/CivilAviation1988Vol1.htm#param83 Civil Aviation Regulation 42U] (CAR42U), any modification or repair that is carried out on an Australian aircraft must be done in accordance with 'approved data'. This approved data is usually contained within the aircraft's manuals (aircraft maintenance manual, structural repair manual, component maintenance manuals etc) issued by the aircraft's manufacturer. However, sometimes there is damage to the aircraft that is outside the scope of these manuals or the operator wishes to modify the aircraft to help it perform a specific function (aerial firefighting, search and rescue) or alter the aircraft in some other way. To ensure that the aircraft continues to be airworthy (i.e. safe to fly), the repair or modification must be examined by an aeronautical engineer so that the many complex factors that affect aircraft flight, structures and systems can be assessed and the design change approved as airworthy. To do this the engineer assesses the design of the modification or repair against the airworthiness requirements for the aircraft and then must justify that the design meets these requirements through the use of analysis, testing and experience. If the design has been shown to meet the airworthiness requirements it may be approved under [http://www.comlaw.gov.au/ComLaw/Legislation/LegislativeInstrumentCompilation1.nsf/previewlodgmentattachments/6CAB8A991C8242A2CA2573080035B91D/$file/CivilAviation1988Vol1.htm#param46 Civil Aviation Regulation 35] (CAR35) and is hence 'approved data', satisfying CAR42U.

Provisions similar to CAR42U exist for how to and what to use when performing maintenance on an aircraft under CAR42V. If maintenance personnel wish to deviate from the aircraft's approved maintenance data, the materials and procedures need to be approved under CAR36A.

AEA, along with other similar approved persons around Australia, is an approved design authority under CAR35 and CAR36 (for the approval of replacement components). AEA is also approved under the Papua New Guinea Civil Aviation Rules Part 146 which mirrors CAR35 for PNG registered (P2 registered) aircraft.

Other Services

Other services provided include aircraft weight control (aircraft reweighs, trimsheets and loading systems) in accordance with Civil Aviation Order 100.7 (CAO 100.7), design and manufacture of aircraft components (such as cargo nets, replacement parts, survey installations, equipment frames, skis, etc) under a Production Certificate and Civil Aviation Safety Regulation Part 21 (CASR 21), flammability testing to FAR/JAR25.853 and similar provisions, systems integration, flight and performance testing, aircraft design, aeronautical consultancy, civil/military platform design etc.

External links

* [http://www.aeroengaus.com.au Aeronautical Engineers Australia website]