The FAA Flags 3D Printed Cockpit Accessories As Unapproved Parts and What That Means for the Gear on Your Panel

The FAA has issued a notice this week flagging 3D-printed cockpit accessories - cup holders, yoke grips, phone and tablet mounts, panel trim, and knobs - as unapproved parts when installed on type-certificated aircraft. According to reporting from AVweb, these hobby-printed plastic components are being marketed and installed without the approvals regulations require. If a part is permanently mounted or clamped to your airplane and lacks proper approval, your aircraft may be technically unairworthy.

What the FAA Notice Actually Says

The agency is targeting a fast-growing cottage industry: little plastic parts printed on consumer machines and sold online for airplanes. Many are being sold and installed for certificated aircraft with none of the required approvals.

In plain terms, that makes them unapproved parts. This affects you directly if you own or fly a standard category airplane and have been treating the panel as a place to bolt on gadgets.

What “Unapproved Part” Really Means

Two pillars govern this. There’s the aircraft, which holds a type certificate. And there’s the part, which - if it goes onto a certificated airplane in a way that matters - generally needs its own approval.

That approval usually comes through one of several paths: a Parts Manufacturer Approval (PMA), a Technical Standard Order (TSO) authorization, coverage under the aircraft’s type design, a field approval, or a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC).

A part printed in a garage from a spool of filament has none of that. Nobody has tested how it behaves under load or vibration over hundreds of hours, whether it meets cabin flammability standards, or whether it off-gasses when it heats up on a summer ramp.

Why This Matters for Pilots

This stops being paperwork the moment you consider what these accessories touch. A yoke grip goes on a primary flight control. A printed knob might sit on a fuel selector or trim wheel. A tablet mount lives right in the cockpit, where it could become a projectile in turbulence or jam against a control.

The concern isn’t that a cup holder will bring down an airliner. It’s that plastic parts of unknown quality end up in places where quality is the entire point.

There’s also the fire angle. Cabin materials on certificated aircraft must meet flammability requirements for a reason. A print made from filament optimized for desk toys was never evaluated against those standards. In a cockpit fire, material that melts, drips, or feeds the flames is exactly what you don’t want.

What You Should Do Before Your Next Flight

Walk around your own cockpit - not the airplane, the cockpit. Look at every non-original item and ask: do I know where this came from and whether it’s approved for this airplane? If the answer is no, that’s a conversation for your next annual.

Understand the portable-versus-installed distinction. A device you carry on and off, that isn’t attached to the aircraft and doesn’t interfere with any control, lives safely in your flight bag. Something permanently mounted, adhered, or clamped to structure or controls is where you need approval.

Talk to your A&P before installing anything. Your Airframe and Powerplant mechanic is the person who signs off that the airplane is airworthy. An unapproved part installed as part of the aircraft can compromise that - and you might not discover the problem until an inspection catches it.

This Isn’t a War on 3D Printing

To be fair to the makers: additive manufacturing is a serious, legitimate part of aerospace. Manufacturers use it in certified components made under proper controls - validated materials, tested processes, and full traceability. The technology isn’t the problem. A plastic part with no data behind it going into a strictly regulated airplane is.

If you fly experimental amateur-built, this lands differently. In that world you have far more latitude to fabricate and install your own parts, and builders 3D-print cockpit pieces every day. This notice is aimed squarely at the type-certificated fleet. Know which set of rules your airplane lives under - they are not the same.

The Bigger Trend to Watch

This is the FAA reacting to technology getting cheap and accessible faster than the rules can catch up. A decade ago, making a custom airplane part meant a machine shop. Today it means a printer on a workbench and a marketplace listing.

The regulations haven’t changed. What’s changed is how easy it’s become to accidentally step over the line. Expect more guidance like this, not less, as manufacturing tools keep spreading.

Key Takeaways

• The FAA notice (reported by AVweb this week) classifies unapproved 3D-printed cockpit accessories on certificated aircraft as unapproved parts.
• Portable, non-interfering devices in your flight bag are fine; items bolted, glued, or clamped to the airplane need approval (PMA, TSO, STC, field approval, or type design coverage).
• The real risks are flammability, off-gassing, and behavior under load and vibration - none of which hobby-printed parts have been tested for.
• An unapproved installed part can make your aircraft technically unairworthy, sometimes without your knowledge.
• The rules apply to the type-certificated fleet; experimental amateur-built aircraft have far more latitude.