# Aircraft papers (certificates, POH and weight and balance)

> Keep a copy of the airworthiness certificate and the registration, and the current POH and weight and balance, on the aircraft. Staff are told which certificate is missing. Members who book it can open the ones marked for bookers. Staff can replace a stale file.

Source: https://www.aerscheduler.com/docs/maintenance/aircraft-papers
Section: Maintenance and squawks. For: Owners, Admins, Dispatchers, Technicians, Instructors, Students, Renters.

Open the aircraft, then `Papers` (web console). Staff upload a copy of the
airworthiness certificate and the registration, and the current POH and weight and balance.
Anyone who can book the tail can open the ones marked for bookers. Unlike a squawk photo, a
stale paper can be removed.

**Who can do this:** Owners, Admins, Dispatchers, Technicians, Instructors, Students, Renters

## Put a POH or W\&B on a tail

1. **Open the aircraft**

   `Aircraft` (web console), then the tail. On the phone, open the same aircraft
   from Resources.

2. **Open Papers**

   On the console the Papers section is in the left rail. On the phone it is a section on
   the aircraft page. Staff always see it. Members only see it when there is something
   they can open.

3. **Add the file**

   Category first. The form opens on whichever of **Airworthiness certificate** and
   **Registration certificate** is still missing, else on POH. On the phone, Category and Who
   can open it each open a picker in the same sheet. Attach a jpg, png, or pdf, up to
   25 MB. You can keep up to five files in each category. On the iPhone, use **Take photo**,
   **Choose from Photos**, or **Browse Files**. The photo shows on the aircraft once it
   is saved. Tap it to zoom. A PDF shows as a document card.
   Chrome on a Mac may not read a raw HEIC; export JPEG from Photos instead.

## The certificate and the registration

Every US aircraft has to carry an airworthiness certificate and a registration certificate
(14 CFR 91.203). Until the aircraft has a copy of both on file, staff see a line at the top of
Papers saying which is missing: "No airworthiness certificate or registration on file", or just
the one. It is a reminder, not a block: nothing stops the aircraft being booked.

| Category                            | What goes in it                                                                                                                                                                                               |
| ----------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Airworthiness certificate           | A photo or scan of the certificate, FAA Form 8100-2 (standard) or 8130-7 (special).                                                                                                                           |
| Registration certificate            | The current certificate of aircraft registration. Track when it expires with the [Registration renewal](https://www.aerscheduler.com/docs/maintenance/add-the-standard-airworthiness-inspections) inspection. |
| Operating limitations               | The separate operating limitations some aircraft carry, such as an experimental or light-sport aircraft. On most aircraft they are in the POH.                                                                |
| POH, Weight and balance             | The current ones, not a history.                                                                                                                                                                              |
| Insurance, Form 337, Logbook, Other | Whatever else the shop keeps for the tail.                                                                                                                                                                    |

## Who can open what

POH and weight and balance default to **Bookers**, so a student opening that aircraft (or
booking it) can read them. The certificates, operating limitations, insurance, 337s and
logbook scans default to **Staff**. Staff can flip any of them.

Owners, admins, dispatchers, and technicians can add or remove files. Instructors,
students, and renters can only open the booker-visible ones.

## On a customer's aircraft

Nobody books a customer's aircraft, so its papers ask **Keep to the shop** or **Show to the
owner** instead. A paper shown to the owner is on their aircraft's page when they sign in, and
**Keep to the shop** on the paper hides it again. Your own aircraft have no owners to show
papers to, so the choice is not offered there. See
[Work on a customer's aircraft](https://www.aerscheduler.com/docs/maintenance/work-on-a-customers-aircraft).

## Booking

When you pick an aircraft on `Book` (web console) (or on the phone when you create
a reservation), a Papers control appears if that tail has files you can see. It does not
block the booking.

## What this is not

- These are the **current** papers, not a history vault. Replacing the W\&B means removing
  the old file and adding the new one.
- Inspection sign-off attachments stay on the compliance record. They are not copied here.
- Squawk photos stay on the squawk. They cannot be deleted. Papers can.

> **Careful:** A wrong weight and balance left on the tail is worse than a missing one. If a file is
> stale, remove it.

## Common questions

**Can a student open the POH?**

Yes, if that file is marked for bookers, which is the default for POH and weight and balance. Insurance and logbook scans default to staff only.

**Why do I only see a file name?**

You should see the photo on the aircraft. Tap it to zoom. A PDF shows as a document card; tap that to open it. The same preview is on squawks and inspection files.

**Can I upload an iPhone photo?**

Yes. Use Take photo or Choose from Photos on the phone. A photo that is really a JPEG with a .HEIC name is stored as a JPEG so the console can open it. A Mac that cannot read HEIC will ask you to export a JPEG from Photos.

**Can I delete a paper after I upload it?**

Yes. Papers are the current documents on the tail. A stale weight and balance should come down. Squawk photos cannot be deleted; papers can.

**Why does Papers say no airworthiness certificate or registration on file?**

Every US aircraft has to carry both, and the organization has no copy of one or both on this aircraft. Add a photo or scan under Airworthiness certificate and Registration certificate and the line goes away. It never stops the aircraft being booked.
