What is a FAIR?
FAI and FAIR get used interchangeably, and that causes confusion in exactly the conversations where precision matters. One is an activity. The other is the document that proves it happened.
The short answer
- FAI — First Article Inspection. The activity: the planned, complete, independent verification that a manufacturing process can produce a conforming part.
- FAIR — First Article Inspection Report. The deliverable: the documented package you submit to your customer.
- AS9102 — the SAE standard that defines what that inspection and report have to contain.
- AS9100 — the quality management system standard. It requires first article inspection to be part of your controlled production process; AS9102 is the standard that says how.
What a FAIR contains
- The ballooned drawing or model, with every design characteristic, note, material requirement and surface finish identified by number.
- AS9102 Form 1 — Part Number Accountability, which identifies the part and its configuration. What each form covers.
- AS9102 Form 2 — Product Accountability: material and special process certifications.
- AS9102 Form 3 — Characteristic Accountability: every characteristic with its requirement, tolerance, measured result, determination, method and gage.
- Supporting evidence where required — certifications, test reports, nonconformance records.
FAI is process verification, not just part inspection
This is the part that gets lost. A FAI is not “inspecting the first part carefully”. It is a verification of the process: evidence that the manufacturing process, as set up, is capable of producing parts that meet the design requirements.
That is why a FAI has to be repeated when the process changes, not only when the design does. A new machine, a new fixture, a new supplier for a special process, or a long production gap all undermine the original claim, because the process the FAI validated is no longer the process in use. Full versus partial triggers.
How to tell a complete report from a fragment
| Check | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| All three forms present | Missing Form 2 means material and process evidence is absent, even if every dimension was measured. |
| Form 3 numbers match the ballooned drawing | If they do not match, the measurement cannot be traced to a feature. |
| Every balloon has a Form 3 row | A balloon with no row is an unmeasured characteristic. A row with no balloon is unattributable. |
| Nominals and tolerances recorded separately | A measurement cannot be judged against a requirement that is not stated. |
| Gage IDs present | Without them, values do not trace to calibrated instruments. |
| Part number and revision agree across all forms | Mixed revisions are a common cause of rejection. |
| Partial FAIs reference the baseline | A partial FAI only makes sense as a delta against an earlier, identified report. |
Why the paperwork is the hard part
The inspection itself is well understood. What consumes time is assembling the evidence: ballooning the drawing, getting measured values into a structured table, matching them to the right rows, and keeping revisions aligned across three forms.
On a part with several hundred characteristics, that assembly work is measured in days. On a simple bracket it is an afternoon. Either way it is data handling rather than engineering judgement, which is why it is the part people look to automate first.
Frequently asked questions
What does FAIR stand for?
First Article Inspection Report. It is the documented deliverable produced by a first article inspection, normally containing AS9102 Form 1, Form 2 and Form 3 plus the ballooned drawing that Form 3 references.
What is the difference between FAI and FAIR?
FAI is the activity, the first article inspection itself. FAIR is the report, the package of forms and evidence you submit to demonstrate that the inspection was performed.
What is the difference between AS9102 and AS9100?
AS9100 is the aerospace quality management system standard, which requires first article inspection to be part of your controlled process. AS9102 is the standard that defines the FAI requirements and the forms used to report them.
Does a FAIR need the ballooned drawing?
Form 3 rows are keyed to balloon numbers on the drawing. Without the ballooned drawing there is nothing to tie a measurement back to, so characteristic accountability cannot be verified.
Sources
- IAQG — AS9102 forms and supporting form instructions
- Connect981 — When first article inspection is required
- SAE International — AS9102C, Aerospace First Article Inspection
Standards are revised. Always work from the current published edition of AS9102 from SAE International. This page is orientation only and is not a substitute for the standard.