Airworthiness Design Standards Manual

The Airworthiness Design Standards Manual (ADSM) is the companion document to the Technical Airworthiness Manual (TAM). Together, they form the cornerstone of the DND/CAF Technical Airworthiness Program. While the TAM contains rules and standards related to the Technical Airworthiness Program as a whole, the ADSM contains standards related to aeronautical designs. The ADSM also contains advisory material relating to the selection and application of these standards, as they relate to the design, manufacture, maintenance and materiel support of military aeronautical products.

The ADSM augments the TAM by providing the detailed airworthiness requirements and design standards that are deemed acceptable to the Technical Airworthiness Authority (TAA) for application to the certification of DND/CAF aircraft designs. These are the primary tools that will be used to develop the certification basis and Compliance Program required during the certification of new aeronautical products or design changes to in-service military aircraft fleets.

In an effort to keep this CFTO in line with the latest developments in the domain, the ADSM is subjected to frequent changes, to keep the manual aligned with contemporary airworthiness requirements and design standards. At the beginning of 2020, the manual has undergone a major revision, which superseded all previous changes. The version in effect at this time is the original, dated 1 January 2020.

• Airworthiness Design Standards Manual (Original) (PDF, 3.5 MB)

This PDF document has been tested to comply with WCAG 2.0. To access this file, you must have a PDF reader installed. If you do not already have such a reader, there are numerous PDF readers available for free download or for purchase on the Internet:

• Adobe Acrobat Reader
• Foxit Reader (English only)
• xPDF Reader (English only)
• xPERT PDF Reader (English only)

If you have difficulty viewing this PDF document, please e-mail the Directorate of Technical Airworthiness and Engineering Support for assistance.

Change request process

An ADSM Change Request (ACR) form is used to formally request an amendment to the ADSM. The form is to be sent electronically to DTAES 2-2.

Contact

• To obtain a copy of the ADSM, or a copy of the ACR form to initiate a request for change to the ADSM, please contact DTAES 2-2-2-2
• To obtain more information about the ADSM, please contact DTAES 2-2, the ADSM contact officer, or DTAES 3, the ADSM OPI:
  • by email, to DTAES 2-2 or DTAES 3, or
  • by phone, at +1-613-808-3408 or +1-819-939-4760.

Top of Page