How To Interpret the List of HGMA Certification Transactions
The HGMA Certification List is a text file list of “transactions,” where each transaction is either an original documentation package, or a followup addendum, submitted by a member manufacturer and accepted by the HGMA review board. For relevance and ease of use, the list is sorted in reverse chronological order, with the most recent transactions at the top of the list. The full list contains all 465 transactions submitted to and accepted by the HGMA.
When a new glider model / size is being certified for the first time, the manufacturer will present a complete original package of documentation for that specific model / size. Upon review and acceptance of the package by the HGMA review board, a certificate of compliance will be issued for that model/size designation.
In the certification list, each such transaction will have an entry in the “Model” field giving the name of the glider model / size, and an entry of “package” in the “Type” field.
If the manufacturer makes a design or construction change to a certified model, the standards require that an “addendum” be filed to the original certification package, specifying the changes made. If the nature of those changes is such that there is a question of whether the glider will still comply with the HGMA standards, the manufacturer must submit testing documentation adequate to show that the glider in the new configuration still complies. When such an addendum is filed, the manufacturer may, or may not choose to designate the modified glider with a new model designation – i.e. a new name.
If the glider as modified is given a new name, then the new name will appear in the “Model” field, and the original name under which the glider was certified, and to which the addendum applies, will appear in the “AddendToModel” field.
If the glider as modified is not given a new name, (i.e. no new certified model is created by the addendum) then the original model name will appear in both the “Model” field, and the “AddendToModel” field.
For any addendum, a brief description of the changes made to the original model will generally be listed in the transaction entry. (Some addendum records do not contain such a comment entry.)
Note that airworthiness certificates are issued to a specific HGMA member manufacturer, based on documentation submitted by that manufacturer. In the case where a manufacturing company is sold to new owners, which may involve a change in the name of the company, the manufacturing rights for specific models, and the ownership of the applicable airworthiness certificates, may or may not be included in the sale of the manufacturer. As a result, certificates issued to the original manufacturer, may or may not apply to models of the same name manufactured under a different manufacturer name. In order for those certificates to apply, the new manufacturer would have to have purchased the rights to manufacture the glider model in question, and the glider would have to be manufactured in accordance with the specifications submitted in the original documentation package, or those specifications as modified by any subsequent addendums.
Note also that there is no such thing as an HGMA issued Certification Sticker or Label affixed to the glider that identifies it as an HGMA certified glider. The HGMA certification standards require that each certified glider bear an operating limitations placard, but that placard is not a certification sticker. The placard merely lists the operating limitations for the glider, and a glider that has not been certified may bear such a placard.
Similarly, the HGMA standards require that the owner’s manual for each certified glider contain a “Compliance Verification Specification Sheet” which is a list of measurements that the owner can use to verify whether a given glider has been produced in the same configuration as that which was certified. Since the manual containing this specification sheet is a required part of an application for certification, a manufacturer will normally compile this information and include it in the manual for any glider for which an application for certification is anticipated. In order for the glider to be subsequently certified, the application must then be submitted and accepted. The existence of the Compliance Verification Sheet should not, therefore, by itself be interpreted as evidence that the glider is certified.
How to use the list to determine if a given glider is HGMA certified
You can filter the list for a given glider model and size by the model name or you can filter by the manufacturer name.
If you select by manufacturer, the list will show all transactions involving gliders made by that manufacturer. The transactions will be listed in reverse chronological order, and because of this, multiple transactions for a given model will not necessarily be grouped together. To see all transactions for a given model, it is best to select by model.
In the list, after filtering by the model you are looking for, note the date of each transaction. If your glider has the same exact model name as that listed, and if it was produced shortly before, or shortly after the transaction date shown, the likelihood is that it is the same as the certified model. If the model name of your glider differs from all of those shown on the list, it has not been issued an HGMA certificate of compliance.
If your model appears on the list, but it was produced either substantially before the original transaction date, or substantially after the most recent transaction date for that model, it may not be covered by the certificate issued for that model. If you know that there were changes made to the glider design either after your glider was made and before the first certification transaction, or after the most recent certification transaction and before your glider was made, and if those changes were substantive, your glider model may not be covered by the listed certification.