Crane Aerospace & Electronics, a segment of Crane Co., announced that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has awarded a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) for Crane’s SmartStem Wireless Tire Pressure System to be fitted on Bombardier Q-Series aircraft (Dash 8 -100, -300, and -400). This certification makes SmartStem the first tire pressure indication system to be available for any regional commercial aircraft. Additionally, this STC establishes a DO.178 and DO.254 ‘Design Assurance Level B’ pedigree of the handheld system. In general, DO.178 is the software standard and DO.254 is the hardware standard against which many aerospace products are certified.
Furthermore, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a letter stating their legal opinion allowing the SmartStem Wireless Tire Pressure Monitoring System to be used by Part 135 pilots to check tire pressure on all certified aircraft.