Aircraft certificated after which date were required to have an approved flight manual?

Aircraft certificated after which date were required to have an approved flight manual?

• A. July 18, 1978
• B. November 1, 1981
• C. March 1, 1979
• D. January 1, 1982

Answer: (C)

Having an official source of operating data is essential for safe flight, and that source is the approved flight manual that accompanies a certificated airplane. For new aircraft, the FAA requires this manual to be approved as part of the certification process, so pilots have access to validated limitations, weight and balance data, performance figures, and the procedures for normal, abnormal, and emergency operations. This requirement went into effect for airplanes certificated after March 1, 1979, meaning every new model certified after that date must come with an FAA-approved flight manual. Aircraft produced before that date aren’t subject to the same mandate, so they may have a pilot’s handbook or other documentation that wasn’t FAA-approved as part of the certification. In short, March 1, 1979 is the cut-off when an approved flight manual became a standard part of new aircraft certification.

Having an official source of operating data is essential for safe flight, and that source is the approved flight manual that accompanies a certificated airplane. For new aircraft, the FAA requires this manual to be approved as part of the certification process, so pilots have access to validated limitations, weight and balance data, performance figures, and the procedures for normal, abnormal, and emergency operations. This requirement went into effect for airplanes certificated after March 1, 1979, meaning every new model certified after that date must come with an FAA-approved flight manual. Aircraft produced before that date aren’t subject to the same mandate, so they may have a pilot’s handbook or other documentation that wasn’t FAA-approved as part of the certification. In short, March 1, 1979 is the cut-off when an approved flight manual became a standard part of new aircraft certification.