82 FR 21681 - Special Conditions: Textron Aviation Inc. Model 700 Airplane; Design Roll Maneuver Condition

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 89 (May 10, 2017)

These special conditions are issued for the Textron Aviation Inc. (Textron) Model 700 airplane. This airplane will have a novel or unusual design feature when compared to the state of technology envisioned in the airworthiness standards for transport-category airplanes. This design feature is an electronic flight-control system that provides control through pilot inputs to the flight computer. The applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for this design feature. These special conditions contain the additional safety standards that the Administrator considers necessary to establish a level of safety equivalent to that established by the existing airworthiness standards.

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 89 (Wednesday, May 10, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 21681-21683]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-09440]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 25

[Docket No. FAA-2017-0215; Special Conditions No. 25-669-SC]


Special Conditions: Textron Aviation Inc. Model 700 Airplane; 
Design Roll Maneuver Condition

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Final special conditions; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: These special conditions are issued for the Textron Aviation 
Inc. (Textron) Model 700 airplane. This airplane will have a novel or 
unusual design feature when compared to the state of technology 
envisioned in the airworthiness standards for transport-category 
airplanes. This design feature is an electronic flight-control system 
that provides control through pilot inputs to the flight computer. The 
applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or 
appropriate safety standards for this design feature. These special 
conditions contain the additional safety standards that the 
Administrator considers necessary to establish a level of safety 
equivalent to that established by the existing airworthiness standards.

DATES: This action is effective on Textron on May 10, 2017. We must 
receive your comments by June 26, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Send comments identified by docket number FAA-2017-0215 
using any of the following methods:
     Federal eRegulations Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/ and follow the online instructions for sending 
your comments electronically.
     Mail: Send comments to Docket Operations, M-30, U.S. 
Department of Transportation (DOT), 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Room 
W12-140, West Building Ground Floor, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
     Hand Delivery or Courier: Take comments to Docket 
Operations in Room W12-140 of the West Building Ground Floor at 1200 
New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
     Fax: Fax comments to Docket Operations at 202-493-2251.
    Privacy: The FAA will post all comments it receives, without 
change, to http://www.regulations.gov/, including any personal 
information the commenter provides. Using the search

[[Page 21682]]

function of the docket Web site, anyone can find and read the 
electronic form of all comments received into any FAA docket, including 
the name of the individual sending the comment (or signing the comment 
for an association, business, labor union, etc.). DOT's complete 
Privacy Act Statement can be found in the Federal Register published on 
April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477-19478)
    Docket: Background documents or comments received may be read at 
http://www.regulations.gov/ at any time. Follow the online instructions 
for accessing the docket or go to Docket Operations in Room W12-140 of 
the West Building Ground Floor at 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., 
Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
except Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Greg Schneider, FAA, Airframe and 
Cabin Safety Branch, ANM-115, Transport Airplane Directorate, Aircraft 
Certification Service, 1601 Lind Avenue SW., Renton, Washington 98057-
3356; telephone 425-227-2116; facsimile 425-227-1320.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FAA has determined that notice of, and 
opportunity for prior public comment on, these special conditions is 
impracticable because these procedures would significantly delay 
issuance of the design approval and thus delivery of the affected 
airplane.
    In addition, the substance of these special conditions has been 
subject to the public-comment process in several prior instances with 
no substantive comments received. The FAA therefore finds it 
unnecessary to delay the effective date and finds tthat good cause 
exists for making these special conditions effective upon publication 
in the Federal Register.

Comments Invited

    We invite interested people to take part in this rulemaking by 
sending written comments, data, or views. The most helpful comments 
reference a specific portion of the special conditions, explain the 
reason for any recommended change, and include supporting data.
    We will consider all comments we receive by the closing date for 
comments. We may change these special conditions based on the comments 
we receive.

Background

    On November 20, 2014, Textron applied for a type certificate for 
their new Model 700 airplane. The Model 700 airplane is low-wing, 
pressurized, turbofan-powered executive jet airplane with seating for 
two crewmembers and up to 12 passengers. This airplane will have two 
Honeywell AS907-2-1S turbofan engines and a maximum takeoff weight of 
38,514 pounds.

Type Certification Basis

    Under the provisions of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 
CFR) 21.17, Textron must show that the Model 700 airplane meets the 
applicable provisions of part 25, as amended by Amendments 25-1 through 
25-139, 25-141, and 25-143.
    If the Administrator finds that the applicable airworthiness 
regulations (i.e., 14 CFR part 25) do not contain adequate or 
appropriate safety standards for the Textron Model 700 airplane because 
of a novel or unusual design feature, special conditions are prescribed 
under the provisions of Sec.  21.16.
    Special conditions are initially applicable to the model for which 
they are issued. Should the type certificate for that model be amended 
later to include any other model that incorporates the same novel or 
unusual design feature, these special conditions would also apply to 
the other model under Sec.  21.101.
    In addition to the applicable airworthiness regulations and special 
conditions, the Model 700 airplane must comply with the fuel-vent and 
exhaust-emission requirements of 14 CFR part 34, and the noise-
certification requirements of 14 CFR part 36. The FAA must issue a 
finding of regulatory adequacy under Sec.  611 of Public Law 92-574, 
the ``Noise Control Act of 1972.''
    The FAA issues special conditions, as defined in 14 CFR 11.19, in 
accordance with Sec.  11.38, and they become part of the type 
certification basis under Sec.  21.17(a)(2).

Novel or Unusual Design Features

    The Model 700 airplane will incorporate the following novel or 
unusual design feature: An electronic flight-control system that 
provides control through pilot inputs to the flight computer.

Discussion

    The roll control system uses both ailerons and flight spoilers. The 
aileron control system is a fully mechanical system, and the flight 
spoilers are fly-by-wire. Section 25.349 specifies roll maneuver load 
conditions that are based on aileron deflection, rather than control-
wheel deflection. By specifying the load conditions in terms of aileron 
deflection, the current requirement does not address electronic flight 
controls that cause nonlinearities and other loads caused by spoilers. 
Since this type of system affects flight loads, and therefore the 
structural capability of the airplane, special conditions are necessary 
to address these effects.
    These special conditions differ from current requirements in that 
they require the actuation of the cockpit roll control, as opposed to 
the aileron itself, to perform the roll maneuver. Also, these special 
conditions require an additional load condition at VA, in 
which the cockpit roll control is returned to neutral following the 
initial roll input.
    These special conditions differ from similar special conditions 
applied to previous similar technologies. These special conditions are 
limited to the roll axis only, whereas previous special conditions also 
included the pitch and yaw axes. Special conditions are no longer 
necessary for the pitch or yaw axes because Amendment 25-91 takes into 
account the effects of an electronic flight-control system in those 
axes (Sec.  25.331 for pitch and Sec.  25.351 for yaw).
    These special conditions contain the additional safety standards 
that the Administrator considers necessary to establish a level of 
safety equivalent to that established by the existing airworthiness 
standards.

Applicability

    As discussed above, these special conditions are applicable to the 
Textron Model 700 airplane. Should Textron apply at a later date for a 
change to the type certificate to include another model incorporating 
the same novel or unusual design feature, these special conditions 
would apply to that model as well.

Conclusion

    This action affects only one novel or unusual design feature on one 
model of airplane. It is not a rule of general applicability.
    The substance of these special conditions has been subjected to the 
notice and comment period in several prior instances and has been 
derived without substantive change from those previously issued. It is 
unlikely that prior public comment would result in a significant change 
from the substance contained herein. Therefore, because a delay would 
significantly affect the certification of the airplane, the FAA has 
determined that prior public notice and comment are unnecessary and 
impracticable, and good cause exists for adopting these special 
conditions upon publication in the Federal Register. The FAA is 
requesting comments to allow interested persons to submit views that

[[Page 21683]]

may not have been submitted in response to the prior opportunities for 
comment described above.

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 25

    Aircraft, Aviation safety, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

    The authority citation for these special conditions is as follows:

    Authority:  49 U.S.C. 106(g), 40113, 44701, 44702, 44704.

The Special Conditions

    Accordingly, pursuant to the authority delegated to me by the 
Administrator, the following special conditions are issued as part of 
the type certification basis for Textron Aviation Inc. Model 700 
airplanes.
    In lieu of compliance with Sec.  25.349(a), the following 
conditions, speeds, and cockpit roll control motions (except as the 
motions may be limited by pilot effort) must be considered in 
combination with an airplane load factor of zero and of two-thirds of 
the positive maneuvering factor used in design. In determining the 
resulting control-surface deflections, the torsional flexibility of the 
wing must be considered in accordance with Sec.  25.301(b):
    1. Conditions corresponding to steady rolling velocities must be 
investigated. In addition, conditions corresponding to maximum angular 
acceleration must be investigated for airplanes with engines or other 
weight concentrations outboard of the fuselage. For the angular-
acceleration conditions, zero rolling velocity may be assumed in the 
absence of a rational time history investigation of the maneuver.
    2. At VA, sudden movement of the cockpit roll control up 
to the limit is applied. The position of the cockpit roll control must 
be maintained until a steady roll rate is achieved, and then must be 
returned suddenly to the neutral position.
    3. At VC, the cockpit roll control must be moved 
suddenly and maintained so as to achieve a roll rate not less than that 
obtained in paragraph 2.
    4. At VD, the cockpit roll control must be moved 
suddenly and maintained so as to achieve a roll rate not less than one 
third of that obtained in paragraph 2.

    Issued in Renton, Washington, on April 24, 2017.
Michael Kaszycki,
Assistant Manager, Transport Airplane Directorate, Aircraft 
Certification Service.
[FR Doc. 2017-09440 Filed 5-9-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-13-P