FAA TSO C52B PDF

a. Applicability.

(1) Minimum Performance Standards. This Technical Standard Order (TSO) prescribes the minimum performance standards that flight director equipment must meet in order to be identified with the applicable TSO marking. Flight director equipment that are to be so identified and that are manufactured on or after the date of this TSO must meet the standards set forth in the Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc. (SAE) Aerospace Standard (AS) 8008, "Flight Director Equipment," reaffirmed May 1991, as amended and supplemented by this TSO.

(2) Environmental Standards. The equipment shall be subject to the test conditions as specified in RTCA Document No. DO-160C, "Environmental Conditions and Test Procedures for Airborne Equipment," dated December 4, 1989.

(3) Software. If the equipment design includes a digital computer, the software must be developed in accordance with RTCA Document No. DO-178B, "Software Considerations in Airborne Systems and Equipment Certification," dated December 1, 1992. In accordance with RTCA/DO-178B, Paragraph 9.3, the applicant must submit the following document to the Manager, Aircraft Certification Office (ACO), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), having purview of the manufacturer's facilities, for review and approval:

Plan for Software Aspects of Certification (PSAC)

Software Configuration Index

Software Accomplishment Summary

All data supporting the applicable objectives found in Annex A, Process Objectives and Outputs by Software Level, must be available for review. For software developed prior to the availability of RTCA/DO-178B, Section 12.1.4 provides a method for upgrading a baseline for software development so that changes can be made in accordance with the criteria contained in RTCA/DO-178B.

NOTE 1: The FAA recommends that the PSAC be submitted early in the software development process. Early submittal will allow the applicant to resolve issues with the Software Aspects of Certification Plan such as partitioning and determination of software levels.

NOTE 2: The applicant should substantiate software levels in the safety assessment process outlined in RTCA/DO-178B. If the equipment incorporates more than one software level, appropriate partitioning of different software levels is required. As an alternative to substantiating the software level(s) in a safety assessment, the applicant may develop all software that affects navigation and integrity functions to at least the Level C criteria.