Propeller Development Process: Conflict and Cooperation Between the Department of Defense and Civil Aviation

The purpose of this thesis was to compare and contrast the acquisition of the Electronic Propeller Control System through both the Department of Defense and Civil Aviation processes controlled by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The author was a planner and participant in the Department of Defense (DoD) process. Information about the Civil Aviation process was obtained via email and telephone communication with participants, some of whom aided both processes.

Strong similarities existed in system design and prototype manufacture for both processes. A large portion of developmental flight test was similar, if not identical. In particular, both the DoD and the FAA highlighted several identical sub-areas for safety analysis.

Numerous differences in certification requirements and testing existed between the two entities, based on what each organization had to acquire in order to enter flight test. The up front safety checks of the DoD stood in bold contrast to the Civil operations under an FAA experimental certificate. Other differences were predicated primarily on military operations under the public aircraft exemption from FAA standards.

Recommendations regarding the improvement of acquisition focus primarily on the reduction of duplicate, redundant efforts by the two organizations and include: cooperative test between the DoD and the FAA; information sharing; updated certification standards; and data base compilation of successful tests techniques.