Compliance Accelerator

Certification requires evidence for every computer, operating system, tool, and line of code between an aircraft function and the airframe. The accelerator removes most of that effort from the applicant’s critical path. It combines an integrated modular avionics (IMA) platform developed for TSO-C153a authorization, the data required to integrate it, and engineering support from an experienced certification team.

The platform

Developed for TSO-C153a

TSO-C153a is the FAA Technical Standard Order for IMA platforms and modules. Each H-series computer, with its real-time operating system (RTOS), forms an IMA platform developed for authorization as a module under TSO-C153a, with hardware to DO-254 and software to DO-178C at Development Assurance Level (DAL) A, and environmental qualification to DO-160G. Hover is the TSO applicant for the platform and holds the Project Specific Certification Plan (PSCP).

DO-297 incremental acceptance

DO-297 divides IMA certification into six tasks. Hover is completing Task 1, module acceptance, for the platform and its RTOS as part of the TSO-C153a authorization. On authorization, that credit carries into the applicant’s project, which can then concentrate on the aircraft-specific tasks:

DO-297 task	Responsibility
1. Module acceptance	Hover, under TSO-C153a
2. Application software and hardware acceptance	Applicant, using Hover data and tools
3. IMA system acceptance	Applicant, using Hover data and tools
4. Aircraft integration, including validation and verification	Applicant, with Hover support
5. Change of modules or applications	Applicant, with Hover support
6. Reuse of modules or applications	Applicant, with Hover support

TSO-C153a is not a functional TSO: the platform provides no aircraft function on its own. The functional software hosted on it is approved either under its own functional TSO authorization, such as airborne weather radar under TSO-C63e, or as part of the aircraft’s type certification, in both cases building on the platform’s TSO-C153a authorization and usage domain.

TSO authorization does not include installation approval. That is granted through the aircraft’s Type Certificate (TC), amended TC, or Supplemental Type Certificate (STC).

A single baseline

The H-series is supplied with the Hover Real-Time Operating System (H-RTOS), Software Development Kit (H-SDK), and Data Loader (H-DL). Hardware, software, and tools share one TSO-C153a baseline, with no third-party integration gap and no separate baseline to maintain.

Certification data supplied

In line with TSO-C153a Appendix 3, the platform is supplied with:

Data	Purpose
User Guide and usage domain	Configuration settings and usage rules within which module acceptance credit applies
Installation Manual	Installation, usage limitations, and marking
Compliance summaries	Compliance with TSO-C153a and DO-297
Accomplishment summaries and configuration indexes	Software and hardware life cycle and configuration status
DO-160G Qualification Test Plan and Report	Environmental qualification
Safety report	Platform safety assessment
Tool qualification data	Qualification under DO-330 of the platform configuration, real-time coverage analysis, and verification tools

AI accelerator

Hover manages its certification data in a Git-based configuration management system (CMS):

• Configuration control. Plans, standards, requirements, and configuration items are held as text in Git, which is the configuration record. Changes are made through reviewed pull requests, with access control, approvals, baselines, problem reporting, and status accounting.
• Continuous traceability. Every change rebuilds the complete data set and validates it against a schema. A broken trace link or missing field fails the build rather than surfacing at a Stage of Involvement review.
• Review. AI-assisted engineering review assesses the data for consistency with the applicable standards, verifies traceability, and identifies deficiencies.

Engagement

1. Certification basis and gap analysis

Agreement of the certification basis. For electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft and other electric and hybrid-electric aircraft, this typically involves special conditions and consensus standards that do not yet address the architecture. See the regulations and standards gap analysis.

2. Safety assessment and DAL assignment

ARP4761A safety assessment, from Functional Hazard Assessment (FHA) to System Safety Assessment (SSA), and Development Assurance Level assignment under ARP4754B. Architecture decisions at this stage determine the extent of DAL A software and hardware; the holistic safety analysis describes how architectural mitigation reduces it.

3. Certification planning

Preparation or review of the PSCP, the Plan for Software Aspects of Certification (PSAC), the Plan for Hardware Aspects of Certification (PHAC), and the supporting development, configuration management, process assurance, and validation and verification plans.

4. Stage of Involvement reviews

Alignment of the four Stage of Involvement (SOI) reviews (planning, development, verification, and final) with program milestones, and preparation for each with FAA Designated Engineering Representatives (DERs) on staff, so that findings are closed before review.

5. Integration and qualification

Integration support on the H-series, including multicore timing analysis for AC 20-193, and DO-160G environmental qualification.

6. Data submission and approval

Compilation and submission of life cycle data for TSO authorization, TC, or STC, and support through to approval.

Applicability

• eVTOL and Advanced Air Mobility developers certifying flight control, propulsion, and battery management functions.
• Uncrewed aircraft developers certifying autonomy and Detect and Avoid (DAA).
• Transport aircraft and rotorcraft programs replacing federated computers with integrated modular avionics.
• Equipment suppliers seeking a functional TSO for an application hosted on an IMA platform.