Trace Files
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Aircraft part records

One permanent record for every part, from the day it is made.

Trace Files is an append-only trace file per serialized part. Each organization that handles the part signs its own events, documents are stored by their fingerprint, and the whole chain is anchored daily to a public ledger.

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  • Append-only, hash-chained events
  • Ed25519 signatures per organization
  • Content-addressed documents
  • Daily Merkle root on a public chain
Live from the demo locker
3214-0451-02
Fuel pump assembly, engine driven · S/N FP-88213
Chain verified
  1. Aug 30, 2026Transfer of ownership 2
    Transferred from Atlas Regional Airlines to Northgate Parts Distribution
    Ref PO NG-2026-1187 · OH · Overhauled
  2. Mar 3, 2019Repair / overhaul 3
    Overhaul by Skyline MRO
    Ref WO-19-0412 · OH · Overhauled · Work scope Overhaul · Repair station SK4R881Y
  3. Feb 14, 2019Removal 2
    Removed from N482AR by Atlas Regional Airlines
    Ref N482AR · AR · As removed · Aircraft N482AR · Position Engine 1 · TSN 9,412 h · CSN 6,105 · Reason Low output pressure
  4. Sep 28, 2016Installation
    Installed on N482AR by Atlas Regional Airlines
    Ref N482AR · Aircraft N482AR · Position Engine 1 · TSN 0 h · CSN 0
  5. Sep 20, 2016Transfer of ownership 2
    Transferred from Northgate Parts Distribution to Atlas Regional Airlines
    Ref PO ATL-16-3320 · NE · New
  6. May 2, 2014Transfer of ownership 2
    Transferred from Meridian Aerospace to Northgate Parts Distribution
    Ref PO NG-2014-0221 · NE · New
  7. Mar 11, 2014Certification 2
    Certified by Meridian Aerospace
    Ref 8130-3 no. MA-14-03118 · NE · New
  8. Mar 11, 2014birth 2
    Manufactured by Meridian Aerospace
    NE · New
ZNCJ-34PK-0WT7Open the full trace file

How a file starts

Two ways in. Both end up in the same shared record, and every hand after that scans the same code.

Route 1

The OEM, at birth

The production approval holder creates the record and the Cert Key when the part is made. The new 8130-3 or OEM certificate of conformance is the first entry, and the QR goes on the data tag and the paperwork.

  1. 2Distributor receives: scans the QR, files its receiving paperwork
  2. 3Distributor sells: ship-to named, shipping paperwork and CofC recorded
  3. 4Operator receives: scans the QR, attaches receiving paperwork
  4. 5Operator sells surplus: the next holder scans on arrival, and so on
Route 2

Whoever holds it today

Distributors, brokers, repair stations and operators hold millions of parts with paper trace and no code. They upload what they have in bulk, through the intake tool or the API, and each part gets its trace file and code.

  1. 1Mass upload of documents and the inventory export, thousands of files at a time
  2. 2Files matched to parts by part number and serial; anything uncertain goes to a review queue
  3. 3The holder signs the history as attested; issuer-verified once the original issuer countersigns
  4. 4Codes issued and QR labels printed; from here it flows exactly like Route 1

How it works

Four steps, no new paperwork. The documents you already produce become the evidence; Trace Files makes them tamper-evident and easy to hand over. Records are kept for the life of the part, plus [X years] after it is scrapped.

  1. 01

    Start the file

    The manufacturer, or the current holder, creates a trace file for the part. It gets a 12-character Cert Key and a QR that go on the tag.

  2. 02

    Add events

    Every sale, certification, installation, removal and repair is appended with its documents. Nothing is ever edited or deleted; corrections are new events.

  3. 03

    Chain and anchor

    Each event hashes the one before it and is signed with the organization's key. Once a day the head of every file is rolled into one Merkle root and published on a public chain.

  4. 04

    Look up and verify

    Anyone with the code sees the full history. Every check is reproducible from the stored bytes and the published keys, so a buyer or auditor does not have to trust us.

A collaborative effort

Four organizations, each bringing what the others lack

Launching a shared part record takes a deep understanding of the industry and the part data behind it, the intelligence to read the documents that prove a part's history, the reach to put it in front of every buyer and seller, and the credibility to be adopted by the suppliers who hold the parts today. Trace Files is what happens when all four are joined into one signed, permanent file.

  • Fulcrum 360 logo
    Champion of the project and technical knowledge base

    Knows what the industry needs, and carries the part details.

    Fulcrum 360 is a subscription platform for the aviation aftermarket. One lookup returns what a part is, who makes it, what it fits, its bill of materials and manuals, FAA PMA, AD and type-certificate data, DLA pricing and procurement history, market pricing and live ILS availability.

    • CAGE-code identity for every organization
    • FAA, DLA and OEM data cross-referenced per P/N
    • API-first, built for ERP and MRO integration
    Why Fulcrum 360

    Fulcrum 360 works with MROs, distributors and operators every day and understands, in detail, what they actually need from a part record. It carries the part details: every trace file is tied to the part number data, fitment, FAA and OEM references its customers already rely on, so a serial number's history sits on top of everything known about the part.

  • ILS logo
    Access to the market

    The user reach to launch this successfully.

    Inventory Locator Service, a CAMP company, runs the aerospace industry's largest parts and repair marketplace: more than a billion listed parts, 29,000+ customers in 125+ countries, 180,000+ part searches a day and real-time integrations with SAP, Oracle, Salesforce and the major MRO systems.

    • 1B+ parts listed, 29,000+ customers, 125+ countries
    • $7B+ in RFQ value flowing through the platform
    • Real-time integration with ERP and MRO systems
    Why ILS

    A shared record is only useful if both sides of a sale use it. ILS already reaches the buyers and sellers who handle these parts every day, and its integrations sit inside their systems. That reach is what takes Trace Files from a good idea to an industry standard: a Cert Key on the listing, and a verified history in front of the buyer from day one.

  • ProvenAir logo
    Champion of the project and technical knowledge base

    The AI that reads the documents and frames the record.

    ProvenAir digitizes and analyzes aircraft records for lessors, airlines, MROs and suppliers, specializing in life-limited parts, engines, landing gear and APUs. Its AI-assisted platform builds back-to-birth trace histories and audit-ready reports, and has analyzed 5,000+ major assets and surfaced more than 10,000 human errors in records.

    • Back-to-birth trace for LLPs, engines, gear and APUs
    • 5,000+ major assets analyzed, 10,000+ record errors found
    • AI-assisted OCR and audit-ready compliance reports
    Why ProvenAir

    Part records arrive as scanned 8130-3s, work orders, invoices and logbook pages, not as clean data. ProvenAir's AI reads those documents, extracts what matters and frames them into a structured, back-to-birth history, and it has learned from thousands of assets where records go wrong. That intelligence is what turns a folder of paper into a Trace Files trace file.

  • Aviation Suppliers Association logo
    Credibility and reach

    The association that reaches the suppliers who hold the parts.

    The Aviation Suppliers Association is the not-for-profit trade association for companies that buy and sell aircraft parts, and the body behind the ASA-100 quality standard and accreditation used by distributors worldwide. It represents the industry on regulatory and quality matters in the U.S. and abroad.

    • Trade association for parts distributors and suppliers
    • ASA-100 quality standard and accreditation
    • Voice of the parts industry with the FAA and regulators
    Why Aviation Suppliers Association

    Route 2 depends on the surplus suppliers and distributors who hold millions of parts today. ASA reaches them directly through its membership, and its sponsorship lends the credibility a shared industry record needs to be adopted. It is the influence that gets Trace Files started.

Fulcrum 360 champions the project and carries the part details behind every trace file.

ProvenAir champions the project and supplies the intelligence that reads the documents.

ILS brings access to the market: the buyers and sellers who handle these parts every day.

ASA as sponsor and collaborator, lends credibility and reaches the surplus suppliers who hold the parts.

Built for every hand the part passes through

Your company type decides your first upload. Everything after that is the same append-only file.

Why a public chain, and why only for timestamps

Your part records never go on a blockchain. They stay in your locker, signed with your key, and are shared only with whoever holds the Cert Key.

What does go on a public chain is one hash per day: the Merkle root of every file head. That single number proves, to anyone, that a given event existed by a given date and has not been altered since. It costs almost nothing and reveals nothing.

Every other guarantee comes from plain cryptography you can check yourself: SHA-256 fingerprints of documents, a hash chain from each event to the previous one, and Ed25519 signatures against each organization's published key.

What a verifier checks

  • Genesis hash. The part identity (P/N, S/N, lot, creator) matches the chain origin.
  • Document fingerprints. Every stored file still hashes to the value recorded in its event.
  • Hash chain. Each event recomputes and links to the previous one, ending at the current head.
  • Organization signatures. Each event and countersignature verifies against the signer's public key.
  • Public anchor. The head hash is included, by Merkle proof, in a root published on chain.

Pricing

Free to add records. Paid to verify them. The more records added for free, the more valuable verified access becomes.

Add records

Free

OEMs, distributors, MROs, operators

  • Create trace files and record events
  • Attach documents, unlimited
  • Bulk intake and API for your own parts
  • Read your own inventory
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Locker

[PRICE]/mo

Organizations that hold parts

  • Verify any part, not only your own
  • Team seats and roles
  • Webhooks and ERP connectors
  • Branded trace certificates
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Verify

[PRICE]/lookup

Buyers, lessors, auditors

  • Full history for any Cert Key
  • Verification report and certificate
  • Every document, downloadable
  • Blocks of lookups available
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