Have just had the annual and ARC renewed on my private use EASA single engine aircraft. I flew it to my Part M CAMO on the day before the last ARC expired and they took a reasonable 7 weeks to do the annual inspection, radio annual and necessary rectification work. Irritatingly the ARC, which was issued at the finish of the work is only valid until the anniversary of the expiry date of the previous one, so I have lost 7 weeks of validity. The CAA tell me that is how the “protocol” works, but they were of course kind enough to charge me for a full year. Has any one a solution to this ridiculous piece of thinking?
I presume that the next ARC, which will not coincide with the annual ( I only fly 70 hours per year) will just be a paperwork exercise and the annual can be done when it falls due, but that seems a ridiculous waste of effort, time and money compared to the old system of renewing annuals when the work is completed. And what if the annual took 11 months to do (perhaps waiting for parts)? Would I just get 1 month’s use for the CAA fee for ARC renewal?
Replies please, in a sealed envelope.
7 weeks, are you kidding?
I discussed this question with my CAMO engineer just a few weeks ago, and he explained that in a controlled maintenance environment it works two ways:
- When a new ARC is issued, which happens every 3 years on a “star annual”, it can be valid from any date CAMO chooses.
- When the ARC is revalidated between these triannual reissues, it’s only valid from the anniversary of issue till the next anniversary.
Just more EASA bs …
Gentlemen excuse me, what does ARC stand for?
Danke!
There is no reason why the next ARC review and issue can’t be done 7 weeks before the next annual check, the ARC issue is a paperwork excersise to check that the maintenance has been done when the ARC is issued………. Not when the annual check has been done !
As said above just more EASA bs
The ARC is an Airworthiness Review Certificate that is issued to validate the non-expiring Certificate of Airworthiness.
The ARC is a review of the aircraft’s maintenance over the previous 12 months (or more if the aircraft is ‘new’ to the Continuing Airworthiness Management Organisation (CAMO). If the aircraft is under contract to be managed by a particular CAMO then the ARC can be extended by that CAMO twice (so a total of 36 months since original issue). Then the ARC has to be renewed.
The CAMO is not necessarily also the Maintenance Organisation although normally they are one and the same. The CAMO is also responsible for monitoring continuing airworthiness data (Airworthiness Directives, Service Bulletins etc) and raising maintenance workpacks.
The CAA charge the same amount for an ARC issue as an extension. For the CAMO, the ARC issue process is around 5 pages of form filling in and a physical inspection of the aircraft. An ARC extension is a 2 page form and no inspection.
There is nothing to stop the ARC being renewed/extended early although ultimately, the expiry date will still be the same – 12 months/36 months after the issue date. If I remember correctly, an ARC extended within 30 days of its expiry will run to the original expiry date so in theory you could get 13 months.
The better option if the ARC has expired (but could be extended) is to work with the CAMO and have them simply renew the ARC at the day the Annual inspection is completed regardless of it’s due an extension or renewal. That way the ARC and Annual due dates are the same and you get the full 12 months out of both. The only downside for a capable CAMO is about 20-30 minutes of form filling in which shouldn’t be a real issue for the sake of keeping the customer happy.
That post illustrates how insane this has become. Silvaire, you hear me? 
