AERONAUTICAL DESIGN STANDARD HANDBOOK ROTORCRAFT AND AIRCRAFT QUALIFICATION (RAQ) HANDBOOK

1-1 PURPOSE
The purpose of this handbook is twofold.
First, it is intended to serve as a tutorial
for persons unfamiliar with the airworthiness
qualification process. This includes
Government and contractor personnel who
are involved in development of requirements
or members of the design team who are not
directly involved in the qualification process.
In this context the handbook provides
an overview of the airworthiness process for
developing requirements. It describes air
vehicle and typical system requirements as a
guide for airworthiness qualification. Second,
it is intended to serve as a reference
guide for those involved in preparing airworthiness
qualification documentation. This
includes persons who are responsible for
generating and reviewing documentation
that establishes the airworthiness of systems
and subsystems. Requirements for and examples
of airworthiness documentation are
covered in the Appendices to this handbook.

1-2 SCOPE
This handbook addresses the airworthiness
qualification of air vehicles and related
systems. The air vehicle and systems
to which an airworthiness qualification program
is applicable might be completely new
or might be the result of major modification
of a previously qualified system. This
handbook is for guidance only. It cannot be
cited as a requirement. If it is, the contractor
does not have to comply. It is not intended
to provide mandatory or regulatory requirements
that must be achieved during the
course of a program. Such requirements
will be included in the specific contractual
requirements for the program. Excluded
from the discussions of this handbook are
tests normally conducted after completion of
airworthiness qualification testing, such as
force development test and experimentation
(FDTE) tests that are intended to provide
insight into the type of force structure best
suited to the operation of the air vehicle.