AS9102 First Article Inspection Kit

A first article package that gets rejected costs you days: re-inspection, re-submission, and a held shipment. Most rejections come from the same handful of mistakes: missed notes, "OK" instead of actual values, cert revisions that don't match the drawing, or a partial FAI with no baseline.

This kit gives you the forms and the process to get it right. It was built by Matt Norman: 15 years as a U.S. Navy Aviation Structural Mechanic, then quality inspection and QA/QC supervision in commercial space and defense manufacturing. Plain shop-floor language, no fluff.

What's inside (Excel, Word, and PDF):

- 01 FAI Forms 1-2-3 workbook (Excel): Form 1 Part Number Accountability, Form 2 Product Accountability (materials, special processes, functional tests), and Form 3 Characteristic Accountability with balloon numbering. Form 3 calculates limits, flags PASS/FAIL, flags failures with no NCR number, and warns when gauge resolution is too coarse for the tolerance. Includes an FAI Index with a production-lapse flag and a filled-in example package for a fictional part.

- 02 Ballooning Guide (PDF): what to balloon (notes, flag notes, title block, GD&T, multiples), numbering rules, a worked example tied to the Excel example, and a ballooning QA check.

- 03 FAI Procedure Template (Word + PDF): editable procedure for your QMS covering triggers, ballooning, inspection, Form 2 cert checks, nonconformances, approval, partial FAI, supplier FAI, and records. Replace the [brackets] and route it through document control.

- 04 Full vs. Partial (Delta) FAI Decision Guide (PDF): decision flow, a trigger table (design, source, process, location, tooling, NC program, lapse, and more) showing what to re-verify, and a Trigger Evaluation Record that proves to an auditor you evaluated the change.

- 05 Common Rejection Reasons Checklist (PDF): 29 reasons FAI packages get sent back and how to prevent each, organized by Form 1, Form 2, Form 3, and package.

- 00 Start Here guide.

Who it's for: quality managers, inspectors, and the "quality person who also does three other jobs" at machine shops, sheet-metal and assembly shops, and special-process houses supplying aerospace and defense primes.

What it is not: a copy of AS9102 or the official SAE form. The workbook follows the Rev C Form 1-3 field layout for customers that accept equivalent forms. If your customer requires its own form or a portal, use the workbook as your working sheet. You still need your own copy of AS9102.

License: one company, all sites and users. Instant download. Works in Excel 2016+ / Microsoft 365 and LibreOffice; no macros.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by SAE International, IAQG, or any current or former employer of the author. Using this kit does not guarantee customer acceptance of an FAI.