EASA Part-26 Excel Tool
EASA recently updated the applicability tool for Part-26 / CS-26 — the additional airworthiness specifications that apply to aircraft in service. The tool is an Excel-based matrix ( https://www.easa.europa.eu/en/downloads/143515/en ) that helps (S)TC holders determine which CS-26 requirements apply to a given aircraft model, and by when For anyone managing design changes on older or complex aircraft, this is a useful reference — applicability under Part-26 is not always straightforward, with the maze of dates for each requirement: certification date, date of first CofA, date of entry/exit production, actual entry into force of the rule itself, you get the idea 😀 ...
What this means practically
When assessing a design change, CS-26 applicability is one of the classification inputs that needs to be considered alongside the primary certification basis. For example: if your STC or modification touches the fuel system on an in-scope helicopter type, 26.440 is now a classification input — and getting the applicability determination wrong at that stage has consequences for both your compliance basis and your approval pathway.
A broader point this raises
Tools like this applicability matrix are genuinely useful — but they also illustrate a tension I see repeatedly in certification environments. Most teams will download this Excel, save it in a shared folder, reference it manually during design change assessments, and move on. The content is digitalised. The process is not. There is a meaningful difference between having information in a digital format and having a digital process. A compliance classification workflow that pulls applicability data automatically — flags CS-26 relevance based on aircraft type, checks LOV status, surfaces it at the moment the engineer needs it — is a fundamentally different thing from an Excel that lives in a folder. One removes a manual step and the associated risk of forgetting. The other just moves the paper online.
Requirement-centric workflows
When evaluating any software, the question worth asking is not "does it store the right documents?" but "does it represent our work digitally?" At CIVIRES the second question acts as a north star and we try to embed it in our software at all levels and representing the unique processes your organisation has.
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