2024-18547

Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following: • the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document • the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to • the agency docket number / agency internal file number • the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration • 14 CFR Part 29 • [Docket No. FAA-2024-0895; Special Conditions No. 29-057-SC] AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT. ACTION: Final special conditions. SUMMARY: These special conditions are issued for the Bell Model 525 helicopter. This helicopter will have a novel or unusual design feature when compared to the state of technology envisioned in the airworthiness standards for transport category helicopters. This design feature is a four-axis full authority digital fly-by-wire (FBW) flight control system (FCS) that provides for aircraft control through pilot input or coupled auto pilot modes. 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: Effective August 22, 2024. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gregory Thumann, Performance and Environment Unit, AIR-621A, Technical Policy Branch, Policy and Standards Division, Aircraft Certification Service, Federal Aviation Administration, 1801 S Airport Road, Wichita, KS 67209; telephone and fax (405) 666-1052; email Gregory.G.Thumann@faa.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background On December 15, 2011, Bell applied for a type certificate for a new 14 CFR part 29 transport category helicopter designated as the Model 525. Bell applied for multiple extensions to its certification application, with the most recent occurring on September 21, 2023. The helicopter is a medium twin-engine rotorcraft. The maximum takeoff weight is 20,500 pounds, with a maximum capacity of 16 passengers and a crew of 2. Type Certification Basis Under the provisions of 14 CFR 21.17, Bell must show that the Model 525 meets the applicable provisions of part 29, as amended by Amendments 29-1 through 29-55 thereto. The Bell Model 525 certification basis date is December 31, 2019. If the Administrator finds that the applicable airworthiness regulations ( i.e.,14 CFR part 29) do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for the Bell Model 525 because of a novel or unusual design feature, special conditions are prescribed under the provisions of § 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 § 21.101. In addition to the applicable airworthiness regulations and special conditions, the Bell Model 525 helicopter must comply with the exhaust-emission requirements of 14 CFR part 34, and the noise-certification requirements of 14 CFR part 36. The FAA issues special conditions, as defined in 14 CFR 11.19, in accordance with § 11.38, and they become part of the type-certification basis under § 21.17(a)(2). Novel or Unusual Design Feature The Bell Model 525 helicopter will incorporate the following novel or unusual design feature: a four-axis full authority digital FBW FCS that provides aircraft control through pilot input or coupled auto pilot modes in addition to degraded modes. D…

Fonte: Federal Register (federalregister.gov). Texto original em inglês. Conteúdo sanitizado por segurança.