US aviation technology company Merlin has appointed Tim Trank as Part 25 certification manager. Trank will be responsible for advancing the company's STC and airworthiness programmes on Part 25 aircraft with the FAA and US military to certify its highly automated flight system, the Merlin Pilot.

Trank has gained more than two decades of avionics integration and certification experience from L3Harris and Honeywell, where he specialised in avionic retrofit certification - traffic alert and collision avoidance systems, transponders, windshear, ADS-B In/Out, standby display, air data, weather radar, electronic flight bags and engine maintenance.

"At Merlin, excellence in safety and innovation is our priority. We welcome Tim's vast experience in partnering with regulators to help us certify our advanced automated flight technology," says chief policy and regulatory officer Travis Mason.

During his tenure at L3Harris, Trank managed STC programmes as an FAA Designated Engineering Representative for a wide range of Part 23 and 25 aircraft from companies such as Boeing, Airbus, ATR, Bombardier and Embraer, as well as for business jet OEMs like Gulfstream and Textron. Additionally, he obtained Technical Standard Order, Parts Manufacturer Approval and international validations on hundreds of programmes with the FAA. Most notably, he helped L3Harris become an FAA STC Organisation Design Authorisation (ODA), which he then managed as an administrator and unit member for five years. Following L3Harris, Trank was at Honeywell where he managed the company's STC ODA for two years.

"Merlin is a place where great aviation professionals can apply their unique skills and expertise to transform the future of flight. We're excited to have Tim aboard as we further the development and certification programme for our automated flight technology that will immensely increase airspace accessibility," says CEO and founder Matt George.

"Aviation certification is a complex process but essential to ensuring our skies are safe, scalable and accessible," adds Trank. "There is remarkable technology innovation emerging across the industry; Merlin exemplifies that innovative spirit with its unique and pragmatic approach to autonomous flight by augmenting existing pilot functions to reduce crew workload."