Airworthiness Foundations

General Atomics

Airworthiness Foundations is a 32-hour live-online course, customized for General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) engineers, managers, and regulatory personnel. It covers how unmanned aircraft are certified and how they remain airworthy through repair, modification, and sustainment when deployed across multiple theaters. Participants learn to apply US military, NATO, and European standards, including MIL-HDBK-516D and STANAG 4671, so that field and depot work preserves each aircraft's certification basis wherever it operates.

  • Start Date December 7
  • Time Mon 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM Pacific Time
  • Duration 32 Hours
  • Format
    Live-Online
  • Program Type Client Program
  • Certificate Type Certificate
  • CEUS 3.2
  • Program Number 4901226V
  • Fees $2,750
  • See full course info

Airworthiness Foundations is a 32-hour live-online course, customized for General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) engineers, managers, and regulatory personnel. It covers how unmanned aircraft are certified and how they remain airworthy through repair, modification, and sustainment when deployed across multiple theaters. Participants learn to apply US military, NATO, and European standards, including MIL-HDBK-516D and STANAG 4671, so that field and depot work preserves each aircraft's certification basis wherever it operates.

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Airworthiness Foundations

Program Experience

Airworthiness Foundations is delivered as eight four-hour live-online sessions over two weeks. It runs as a hands-on workshop that uses real-world case studies to work through sustainment and repair problems: keeping the type certificate valid through field repairs and sensor pod swaps, choosing between structural repair and modular replacement on composite airframes, and setting inspection intervals for long-endurance missions.

Participants work through the standards that govern these decisions across theaters: MIL-HDBK-516D as the certification baseline, Air Force, Navy, and Army requirements for joint programs, STANAG 4671 and EASA CS-23/25 for NATO and European operators, and MIL-STD-882E and ARP-4754A for system safety analysis. Safety management systems are applied to flight test and depot maintenance.

The program has been customized for GA-ASI and complies with AIA NAS9945 "Airworthiness Engineering Training and Education" (2020) and its supporting standards, the industry benchmark for airworthiness expertise.

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Course Info

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Who Should Attend
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Upon completing this course, you will be able to:

  • Define airworthiness and explain its importance in the aviation industry

  • Apply the international and national regulatory frameworks governing airworthiness

  • Identify the roles and responsibilities of key aviation authorities and organizations

  • Assess the impact of design, maintenance, and operation on aircraft airworthiness

  • Explain the certification processes for aircraft, systems, and components

  • Evaluate the importance of continued airworthiness and the role of maintenance programs

  • Apply the principles of safety management systems in maintaining airworthiness

  • Recognize the challenges and future trends affecting airworthiness in the aviation industry.

Module 1: Foundations of UAS Airworthiness

  • Defining the UAS Type Certification Basis: Moving from general "Basics of Flight" to UAS-specific aerodynamics and control laws

  • The Regulatory Hierarchy: Overview of ICAO and the shift toward civil integration (FAA Part 107 vs. Type Certification)

  • Certifying the MQ-9B: Case study on achieving "Type-Certifiable" status for non-segregated airspace

  • Airworthiness Categories: Distinguishing between Experimental, Restricted, and Standard certificates for UAS

  • Risk-Based Certification: Assessing the Relationship between the Specific Operations Risk Assessment (SORA) and safety management

Module 2: Military UAS Certification & Standards

  • MIL-HDBK-516D in Practice: Navigating the 20+ disciplines and tailoring criteria for remotely piloted platforms

  • Department of the Air Force Guidance: DAFI 62-601 and its impact on GA-ASI program milestones

  • Multi-Branch Compliance: Reconciling Navy (NAVAIRINST 13034.1) and Army (AR 70-62) requirements for joint-program airworthiness

  • Standardization Agreements: Applying STANAG 4671, derived from USAR, (Large Fixed-Wing UAS) and its relationship to civil CS-23/25

  • System Safety Analysis: Implementing MIL-STD-882E for complex software-intensive systems and ARP-4754A for highly integrated avionics

Module 3: Continuing Airworthiness & Sustainment

  • Lifecycle Airworthiness Management: Bridging the gap between initial design and field-level repairs

  • UAS Maintenance Programs: Developing time-phased inspections for high-endurance, long-dwell mission profiles

  • Safety Management Systems (SMS): Applying SMS to flight test operations and depot-level maintenance facilities

  • Configuration Management: Ensuring field repairs and component swaps (e.g., sensor pods) don't invalidate the Type Certificate

Module 4: Advanced Repair & Emerging Tech

  • Repair vs. Replacement Logic: Criteria for structural repairs on composite airframes versus modular component swaps

  • Digital Engineering & Airworthiness: How Digital Twins and MBSE (Model-Based Systems Engineering) streamline the certification of modifications

  • The AI Frontier: Challenges in certifying autonomous "Detect and Avoid" (DAA) systems and AI-driven mission logic

  • Future Trends: Certification of hybrid-electric UAS propulsion and the evolution of "Condition-Based Maintenance" (CBM)

This course is for GA-ASI engineers, managers, and regulatory personnel whose work affects the airworthiness of unmanned aircraft after initial certification. Typical participants include airworthiness and certification engineers, structures and repair engineers, sustainment and depot maintenance staff, configuration management and quality personnel, and engineering or program managers who approve repairs, modifications, or component changes. It is especially relevant for those supporting joint-service programs or international customers, where work must satisfy US military, NATO, and European requirements at the same time. Flight test and system safety engineers who support military flight releases or certification for operation in non-segregated airspace will also benefit.

No prior airworthiness training is required. Participants should have a working familiarity with aircraft systems and with engineering or maintenance processes at GA-ASI.

  • Course Name Airworthiness Foundations
  • Format
    Live-Online
  • Duration 32 Hours
  • Start Date December 7
  • End Date December 17
  • Meet Times On the following days: December 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16, 17, 2026; 8 AM - 12 PM Pacific Time

Meet the Educators

Instructors

Photo of Michael Brenner

Michael Brenner

Systems Engineering, Model-Based Engineering (MBSE), Aerospace Project Management

Photo of Kenneth Lo

Kenneth Lo

Systems Engineering, MBSE