Eisenach, Germany
Flight Design general aviation, the European light aircraft manufacturer passed an in-depth engineering audit by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). The on-site inspection by CAAC was a major milestone in the validation process for acceptance of the Flight Design F2-CS23 by the validation authority. 
Validation is the review process by a regulatory agency to confirm compliance. A validation audit includes a deep dive into the testing and calculations used for showing compliance to a certification specification.
The Flight Design F2-CS23 is the type-certified version of F2 which was first accepted by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in December of 2021. The F2 design is also sold as a S-LSA in several countries.
The Flight Design team was led by Matthias Betsch, Christian Majunke, Alexander Kosolapov and Wu Xiao Dong, the heads of the Design Organization, Airworthiness and Quality management and FDGA China respectively. The CAAC on-site inspection team consists of 4 members including senior engineers and flight test pilot, which was led by Mr. Liu Xiaojie, Director of Airworthiness Division of CAAC-AAD. EASA assisted the process by providing several senior managers for coordination from their Cologne headquarters.
„We are very pleased with the result of the F2-CS23 on-site inspection by the CAAC this week, “ said Matthias Betsch, Head of the Flight Design general aviation Design Organization. Our Design Organization is located in Eisenach, Germany but our team of engineers is truly international. The fact that their great work has now been accepted by EASA and CAAC is a testament to their professionalism and hard work“.
The F2 series and its unique concept of multiple models (F2-LSA, F2-CS23, F4 four-seat and the F2e, an electric variant) based upon universal design features, was largely the vision of Mr. Betsch, who has been a leader in aviation in many forms for 40 years.
The F2 CS23 is also in the validation process by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for eventual sale in the United States.