Aerospace Technical Writing and Aircraft Documentation
Aerospace Technical Writing
Technical documentation for the people who build, certify, install, operate, maintain, and support aerospace products.
For more than 35 years, aerospace manufacturers, suppliers, completion centers, MROs, and defense contractors have trusted AEC to develop the technical publications that support certification, manufacturing, operation, maintenance, and continued airworthiness.
This support helps customers reduce the documentation burden on engineering teams, address publication backlogs, keep programs moving, and maintain current technical information as products and requirements change.
Our team combines experienced technical writers and illustrators with former mechanics, technicians, and inspectors. This technical depth helps us understand the systems, identify gaps, and create documentation that works for the people using it.
AEC supports ATA iSpec 2200, S1000D, legacy ATA 100, FAA-related documentation requirements, OEM-specific systems, and customer-defined standards. Our quality management system is certified to AS9100D, supporting consistent planning, review, configuration control, and delivery.
AEC also supports defense and government technical writing, manufacturing technical writing, and transportation technical writing programs, and provides technical writing services, technical writing outsourcing and contract writers, and technical documentation services and solutions across industries.
Aerospace Documentation We Produce
AEC develops, revises, maintains, and converts a broad range of aerospace technical publications for manufacturing, certification, operation, and continued service.
Aircraft Maintenance Manuals (AMM)
Procedures and technical information for inspecting, servicing, testing, removing, installing, and maintaining aircraft systems and installed equipment.
Component Maintenance Manuals and Publications (CMM/CMP)
Shop-level instructions for disassembly, inspection, testing, repair, reassembly, illustrated parts data, and return to service.
Illustrated Parts Catalogs and Lists (IPC/IPL)
Illustrated parts information that identifies assemblies, components, part numbers, quantities, effectivity, and related ordering data.
Instructions for Continued Airworthiness and Airworthiness Limitations
AEC has developed thousands of complete ICA packages for aircraft, VIP interiors, components, modifications, and installed equipment. Depending on complexity, an ICA may be a short standalone document or a multi-manual package organized through a principal manual and incorporating maintenance, parts, inspection, life-limit, wiring, airworthiness-limitation and other critical information.
Service Bulletins and Temporary Revisions
We create and incorporate service bulletins, service letters, temporary revisions, and other change information that must remain coordinated across the applicable publication set.
Task Cards, Work Instructions, and Installation Instructions
AEC develops instructions for technicians, assemblers, installers, inspectors, and maintenance personnel. These may support production, equipment installation, scheduled maintenance, repair, modification, or shop-floor operations.
Flight and Operating Manuals
We support Aircraft Flight Manuals, Flight Crew Operating Manuals, operating procedures, quick-reference information, and other publications used by flight crews and operators.
Wiring and Maintenance-Planning Documentation
AEC develops and revises Wiring Diagram Manuals, electrical and EWIS documentation, Maintenance Planning Documents, time limits, maintenance checks, and related technical data.
STC and Interior-Completion Documentation
We support modifications, FAA Supplemental Type Certificate programs, VIP & airline interiors, seating, furnishings, special-missions, and completion projects with ICAs, maintenance manuals, illustrated parts information, flight manual supplements, and related technical publications.
Proven Aerospace Documentation Experience
AEC has supported technical publications across virtually every segment of the aerospace industry, including:
- Commercial Aviation
- Military Aircraft
- Aircraft Interiors
- Cargo Conversion Programs
- Aircraft Completion Centers
- Component Manufacturers
- System & LRU Suppliers
- Rotorcraft
- Space Systems
- Emerging Aerospace Technologies
Our experience includes aircraft systems and components, electrical and mechanical equipment, airline & business jet interiors and furnishings, modifications, specialty equipment, and complex integrated systems supporting both emerging aviation companies and next-generation platforms.
Documentation Support for Boeing Suppliers
AEC supports Boeing suppliers with Component Maintenance Publications and related technical source data.
Our team has experience developing and revising CMP content, preparing T-files, entering information into Boeing systems, and working within Boeing-specific publication requirements and processes. We can help suppliers organize their source data, address publication requirements, and maintain documentation as products and customer requirements change.
Standards, Certification, and Customer Systems
AEC works with ATA iSpec 2200, legacy ATA 100, S1000D, FAA-related documentation requirements, and documentation supporting TC, STC, TSO, and PMA programs. We also work within OEM-specific publishing systems, military standards, and customer-defined templates, conventions, and authoring requirements.
We have developed the documentation that supports certification and continued operation. The customer, design approval holder, or applicable regulatory authority retains technical authority and final approval.
Standards We Work In: ATA iSpec 2200, ATA 100, and S1000D
Aerospace documentation is written to data standards that define structure, numbering, and reuse. Choosing and applying the right one is central to interoperability with OEMs, MROs, and your own publishing systems. AEC authors content in both of the dominant standards and in legacy formats.
ATA 100 and ATA iSpec 2200 chapter numbering
ATA 100 introduced the aviation industry's familiar system of chapter numbering, organizing every aircraft system into numbered ATA chapters and sub-systems (for example, Chapter 32 for Landing Gear and Chapter 27 for Flight Controls). ATA iSpec 2200 is the current document-oriented specification that merged and superseded the older ATA Spec 100 and Spec 2100; it defines how manuals like the AMM and IPC are structured and is used across much of the in-service commercial fleet. The ATA chapter numbering scheme persists everywhere in aviation documentation, including inside S1000D-structured content, so writers must be fluent in it regardless of the publishing standard.
S1000D: data modules, the CSDB, and IETM/IETP
S1000D is a modular, XML-based international specification, part of the ASD/AIA/ATA S-Series family. Instead of monolithic manuals, content is authored as discrete, reusable data modules stored in a Common Source Database (CSDB), with project-specific authoring rules captured in a Business Rules Exchange (BREX). In industry practice the same source modules can be assembled into publications or delivered as an Interactive Electronic Technical Manual (IETM/IETP), a navigable electronic manual rather than a static PDF. S1000D is used on newer commercial programs and most defense platforms. It is a publishing specification, not an FAA regulation.
ATA iSpec 2200 vs S1000D: which standard fits your program
Both standards remain in active, current use, and neither is obsolete. The right choice depends on your platform, your customers' ingestion requirements, and how much content reuse you need. The table below summarizes the practical differences.
| Dimension | ATA iSpec 2200 | S1000D |
|---|---|---|
| Content model | Document-oriented (manuals) | Modular (reusable data modules) |
| Storage | Manual and publication files | Common Source Database (CSDB) |
| Typical use | Much of the in-service commercial fleet | Newer commercial and most defense programs |
| Output | PDF, print, and electronic manuals | Publications and IETM/IETP |
| Reuse | Lower; content tied to the manual | High; modules reused across publications |
Many organizations run a hybrid: ATA iSpec 2200 to satisfy an OEM's ingestion requirements while managing and publishing internally in S1000D. AEC authors content in both ATA iSpec 2200 and S1000D.
FAA Certification and Compliance Support (14 CFR)
Documentation obligations are driven by which certification path a product follows. Buyers should distinguish four approvals, because each generates different deliverables. These are general industry explanations. AEC produces the technical documentation that supports these programs rather than issuing the certificates or approving the data.
- Type Certificate (TC): approval of the design of a new aircraft, engine, or propeller. Drives the original AMM, IPC, ICA, and the full baseline publication set.
- Supplemental Type Certificate (STC): approval of a major design change to an already-certificated product. Drives a data package, any flight manual supplement, and an ICA covering the modification.
- Technical Standard Order (TSO) authorization: a design-and-production approval to manufacture an article meeting a minimum performance standard. A key nuance: a TSO authorization is not by itself installation approval; installing the article still requires a separate approval such as an STC, TC, or field approval.
- Parts Manufacturer Approval (PMA): approval to produce a replacement or modification part for a specific product. It is model-specific, unlike the generic performance basis of a TSO article.
For STC and major-alteration work specifically, the technical-writing scope centers on the quality and clarity of the data package, flight manual supplements, and the modification ICA. AEC's writers, illustrators, and engineering-experienced staff produce these deliverables so they integrate cleanly with your certification effort.
Writers Who Understand the Product and the Work
AEC's writers do more than organize words provided by others. They review engineering drawings, specifications, source data, parts information, maintenance requirements, and other technical material to develop a working understanding of the product and the task.
This allows our writers to develop content from available source data while using engineers and other experts efficiently for clarification and validation.
Our team includes former mechanics, technicians, engineers, inspectors, illustrators, editors, and experienced technical writers. Many bring hands-on experience that helps them:
- Interpret complex engineering and maintenance information
- Identify gaps, conflicts, and missing source data
- Ask informed technical questions
- Provide practical feedback on procedures and content
- Collaborate effectively with engineers and Subject Matter Experts when clarification or validation is needed
When required, AEC can also support onsite research, equipment observation, procedure review, and collaboration with operators, maintainers, technicians, and production personnel.
Customer Success Story
Teamwork and communication are critical in any business, and this has never been an issue with AEC; in fact, this has been a very positive aspect of working with AEC on a daily basis. AEC has proven, on multiple occasions, to go above and beyond in order to adhere to a tight schedule of aircraft deliveries. Working with AEC has been a pleasure.
Bombardier Challenger and Global Technical Publications
Why Outsource Aerospace Technical Writing
Aerospace documentation demand is uneven. It spikes around certification milestones, fleet entry, and major revisions, then quiets down. Staffing for the peak with full-time hires is expensive and slow; staffing for the average leaves you exposed when deadlines compress. Outsourcing solves the mismatch.
- Cost and capacity: pay for documentation effort when you need it instead of carrying fixed headcount through the troughs.
- Compliance consistency: a dedicated documentation partner applies one quality process and standard across deliverables, reducing the variability that creeps in when SMEs write manuals between other duties.
- Speed: experienced aerospace writers and illustrators reach productive output faster than a new hire learning your standards from scratch.
- Flexibility of model: AEC delivers as a project team or places embedded contract writers inside your tools and workflow, under Time and Materials or Fixed Price terms.
For the broader rationale and the full range of technical documentation services AEC offers across industries, see our technical writing services overview.
Flexible Ways to Work With AEC
AEC can support a single complex publication, a temporary workload increase, or a long-term documentation program.
Fixed-price projects
AEC completes a clearly defined scope for an agreed price and schedule.
Hourly project support
AEC provides flexible support billed for the actual time required.
Embedded writers and dedicated teams
AEC personnel work as an extension of the customer's organization.
Managed documentation programs
AEC coordinates the resources and day-to-day execution required to maintain a publication set, backlog, or recurring workload.
Learn more about our Technical Writing Outsourcing and Contract Writers services.
What an Aerospace Technical Writer Does
An aerospace technical writer turns engineering source data, drawings, and subject-matter input into clear, compliant procedures and reference content that a mechanic, inspector, or operator can act on safely. The role blends writing skill with hands-on aviation knowledge: reading engineering data and service information, structuring content to a data standard like ATA iSpec 2200 or S1000D, applying ATA chapter numbering, working with illustrators on exploded views and callouts, and maintaining configuration control across revisions. Strong aerospace writers often come from maintenance, engineering, or inspection backgrounds, which is why AEC's team includes former mechanics, technicians, engineers, and inspectors alongside career technical writers and editors. That mix is what lets a procedure read correctly to the person performing it on the floor.
From Data to Done
From scope and source review to delivery and ongoing lifecycle support.
Scope and Source Review
We review the available engineering data, drawings, specifications, configurations, standards, and customer requirements. Together, we define the deliverables, responsibilities, schedule, and review process.
Authoring and Illustration
AEC writers and illustrators develop the content in the required format, software, publishing system, and documentation standard.
Quality Review and Customer Validation
The documentation moves through the appropriate AEC quality reviews and customer and Subject Matter Expert review, as applicable. Comments, corrections, and technical decisions are carefully incorporated and tracked.
Delivery and Lifecycle Support
AEC delivers the required publication files and can continue supporting revisions, configuration changes, temporary revisions, source-data updates, and recurring publication cycles.
Frequently asked questions
An Aircraft Maintenance Manual (AMM) covers servicing the aircraft on-wing: inspection, servicing, removal and installation, adjustment, and testing of installed systems, organized by ATA chapter. A Component Maintenance Manual (CMM) covers a single removable component off the aircraft, usually in a repair shop, and tells you how to disassemble, test, repair, reassemble, and re-certify it. A CMM normally includes an integrated Illustrated Parts List for ordering piece-parts.
Both standards are in active use and neither is obsolete. ATA iSpec 2200 is document-oriented and common across much of the in-service commercial fleet. S1000D is modular and XML-based, storing reusable data modules in a Common Source Database, and is used on newer commercial programs and most defense platforms. The right choice depends on your platform, your customers’ ingestion requirements, and how much content reuse you need. Many organizations run a hybrid. AEC authors content in both standards.
Under 14 CFR 21.50, the design approval holder is required to furnish Instructions for Continued Airworthiness. The product airworthiness standards (14 CFR 23.1529, 25.1529, 27.1529, and 29.1529, with parallel engine and propeller requirements) define what those instructions must contain. AEC produces ICA documentation that supports a customer’s compliance with these requirements; the customer or design-approval holder owns the approved data and the regulatory submission.
The Airworthiness Limitations Section is the part of the ICA that contains mandatory limitations, such as life limits and required inspections. It must be clearly segregated and identified as approved data so it cannot be casually changed. It is typically the most-cited element of an ICA.
Yes. A Supplemental Type Certificate approves a major design change to an already-certificated product, and when that change affects the maintenance instructions, an ICA covering the modification is required. STC documentation typically includes the data package, any flight manual supplement, and the modification ICA.
An Illustrated Parts Catalog (IPC) identifies and orders every part on an aircraft or assembly, pairing exploded technical illustrations with part numbers, nomenclature, quantities, and effectivity. An Illustrated Parts List (IPL) applies the same concept at the component level and is usually integrated inside a Component Maintenance Manual. Both depend on disciplined technical illustration tied tightly to the parts data.
Yes. AEC authors content in both ATA iSpec 2200 and S1000D, as well as in legacy formats, using tools such as Adobe FrameMaker, PTC Arbortext, Adobe InDesign, and structured DITA/XML. The ATA chapter numbering scheme is used across both standards, so our writers apply it regardless of the publishing format.
Talk to an Aerospace Documentation Expert
Tell us about your aircraft, component, manufacturing, modification, or FAA certification documentation needs. We can help determine the appropriate scope, team, standards, and engagement approach.