Type rating weight

C

clestudentpilot

Well-Known Member
Does anyone know what is special about the weight 12,500 lbs? I know that that is the key figure for type ratings, and I know in ATC that that is a key weight in aircraft categories, but where did that weight come from? What is special about that weight, does it relate to the maximum certified takeoff weight of some aircraft, and the FAA just used it as the weight point for type ratings? On a related note, does anyone know how the weights 41,000 lbs., and 255,000 lbs. were determined for large and heavy aircraft? Thanks in advance for your replies
 
I believe it was at one point a definition for transport category aircraft, but that's off the top of my head and completely unreliable. I'll try to do some digging to find out something concrete.
 
Pretty sure it is empty weight. My aircraft sits on the ramp at 10.5, but max T/O is 14.5. No type rating required or applicable.
 
///AMG said:
Pretty sure it is empty weight. My aircraft sits on the ramp at 10.5, but max T/O is 14.5. No type rating required or applicable.
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You might want to double check your information. The regs require a type rating for any "large aircraft" and part 1 defines a large aircraft as an aircraft of more than 12,500 lbs maximum certificated take-off weight.
 
///AMG said:
Pretty sure it is empty weight. My aircraft sits on the ramp at 10.5, but max T/O is 14.5. No type rating required or applicable.
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You fly under different rules. ;)

The 12,500 lbs is a loaded weight. Which is why the King Air 200 is 12,500 lbs. MTOW in the civilian world and can take off at a higher GW in the military.
 
Cool, I stand corrected. Maybe they just don't offer that type rating. I do know the students who go through multiengine school in the TC-12 get a Super King Air type rating, and then generally get an L-188 rating when they qual in the P-3C. Probably because there is no civilian equivalent of the Goshawk/Hawk family of aircraft I guess
 
Well, actually in the civilian world a pilot would need a type rating for a goshawk regardless of MTOW. Any turbojet aircraft requires a type rating regardless of weight.
 
///AMG said:
Cool, I stand corrected. Maybe they just don't offer that type rating. I do know the students who go through multiengine school in the TC-12 get a Super King Air type rating, and then generally get an L-188 rating when they qual in the P-3C. Probably because there is no civilian equivalent of the Goshawk/Hawk family of aircraft I guess
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Not only that but Military aircraft (and all public use aircraft) do not have a N-number, therefore don't fall under the same regs.
 
mjg407 said:
Not only that but Military aircraft (and all public use aircraft) do not have a N-number, therefore don't fall under the same regs.
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Wouldn't exactly say all. I know several public use aircraft that have N-numbers. If memory serves, N-numbers are for registration purposes and are separate from the aircraft's certification. However, (again, if I remember correctly) you are required to surrender the airworthiness certificate if you make an airplane public use.


FYI, just because an airplane has a a MTOW greater than 12,500 doesn't automatically mean you need a type rating to fly it. If approved by the FAA, companies can acquire a waiver to remove the requirement for a type rating for an airplane (See AT-802).
 
ctab5060X said:
Wouldn't exactly say all. I know several public use aircraft that have N-numbers. If memory serves, N-numbers are for registration purposes and are separate from the aircraft's certification. However, (again, if I remember correctly) you are required to surrender the airworthiness certificate if you make an airplane public use.


FYI, just because an airplane has a a MTOW greater than 12,500 doesn't automatically mean you need a type rating to fly it. If approved by the FAA, companies can acquire a waiver to remove the requirement for a type rating for an airplane (See AT-802).
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Some do, but most do not. NASA's P-3 does have a N-number, but the CBPs do not. But the FAA does have to certify the aircraft or place it in either the Experimental or Restricted category. Hence you need a type rating to fly a firefighting P-3, but not a military one.
 
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