E9-26596. Special Conditions: Cessna Aircraft Company, Model 525C; Flight Performance, Flight Characteristics, and Operating Limitations

AGENCY:

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION:

Final special conditions; request for comments.

SUMMARY:

These special conditions are issued for the Cessna Aircraft Company, Model 525C airplane. This airplane will have a novel or unusual design feature(s) associated with turbofan engines, engine location, and certain performance characteristics necessary for this type of airplane that were not envisioned by the existing regulations. 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:

The effective date of these special conditions is November 4, 2009. We must receive your comments by December 4, 2009.

ADDRESSES:

Mail two copies of your comments to: Federal Aviation Administration, Regional Counsel, ACE-7, Attn: Rules Docket No. CE300, 901 Locust, Kansas City, MO 64106. You may deliver two copies to the Regional Counsel at the above address. Mark your comments: Docket No. CE300. You may inspect comments in the Rules Docket weekdays, except Federal holidays, between 7:30 a.m. and 4 p.m.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mr. Lowell Foster, Federal Aviation Administration, Small Airplane Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service, 901 Locust, Room 301, Kansas City, MO 64106; telephone [phone]; facsimile [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The FAA has determined that notice and opportunity for prior public comment hereon are impracticable because these procedures would significantly delay issuance of the approval design and thus delivery of the affected aircraft. 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 that good cause exists for making these special conditions effective upon issuance.

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 ask that you send us two copies of written comments.

We will file in the docket all comments we receive, as well as a report summarizing each substantive public contact with FAA personnel about these special conditions. You can inspect the docket before and after the comment closing date. If you wish to review the docket in person, go to the address in the ADDRESSES section of this preamble between 7:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

We will consider all comments we receive by the closing date for comments. We will consider comments filed late if it is possible to do so without incurring expense or delay. We may change these special conditions based on the comments we receive.

If you want us to let you know we received your comments on these special conditions, send us a pre-addressed, stamped postcard on which the docket number appears. We will stamp the date on the postcard and mail it back to you.

Background

On June 28, 2007, Cessna Aircraft Company applied for a type certificate for their new Model Cessna Model 525C. The Cessna Model 525C is a commuter category derivative configuration of the Model 525B airplane with unique turbofan engines, engine location, and certain performance characteristics necessary for this type of airplane. Unlike similar commuter category jet projects, these special conditions reflect the model history of the model 525 back through normal category for consistency in training.

Type Certification Basis

Under the provisions of 14 CFR, part 21, § 21.17, Cessna Aircraft Company must show that the Cessna Model 525C meets the applicable provisions of part 23, as amended by Amendment 23-1 through 23-59 thereto.

If the Administrator finds that the applicable airworthiness regulations (i.e., 14 CFR part 23) do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for the Model 525C because of a novel or unusual design feature, special conditions are prescribed under the provisions of § 21.16.

In addition to the applicable airworthiness regulations and special conditions, the Model 525C 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; and the FAA must issue a finding of regulatory adequacy under § 611 of Public Law 92-574, the “Noise Control Act of 1972.”

The FAA issues special conditions, as defined in § 11.19, under § 11.38 and they become part of the type certification basis under § 21.17(a)(2).

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, the special conditions would also apply to the other model.

Novel or Unusual Design Features

The Cessna Model 525C will incorporate the following novel or unusual design features: Two aft mounted Williams International FJ44-4A turbofan engines rated at 3,400 pounds of thrust with a Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC) system and other performance characteristics that were not envisioned by the regulations when the Model 525 was originally certificated.

Applicability

As discussed above, these special conditions are applicable to the Cessna Model 525C. Should Cessna Aircraft Company apply at a later date for a change to the type certificate to include another model incorporating the same novel or unusual design feature, the special conditions would apply to that model as well.

Conclusion

This action affects only certain novel or unusual design features on one model of airplane. It is not a rule of general applicability and affects only the applicant who applied to the FAA for approval of these features on the airplane.

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, which is imminent, the FAA has determined that prior public notice and comment are unnecessary and impracticable, and good cause exists for adopting these special conditions upon issuance. The FAA is requesting comments to allow interested persons to submit views that may not have been submitted in response to the prior opportunities for comment described above.

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 23

• Aircraft
• Aviation safety
• Signs and symbols

Citation

The authority citation for these special conditions is as follows:

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 106(g), 40113 and 44701; 14 CFR 21.16 and 21.17; and 14 CFR 11.38 and 11.19.

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 Cessna Model 525C airplanes.

1. SC 23.161, Trim

Instead of the requirements of § 23.161(b)(2), the following applies:

(b)(2) For commuter category airplanes, at all speeds from 1.4 V_S1 to V_MO/M_MO.

2. SC 23.181, Dynamic stability

Instead of compliance with the requirements of § 23.181(a), and (d), the following applies:

(a) Any short period oscillation, not including combined lateral-directional oscillations, occurring between 1.2 V_S and the maximum allowable speed appropriate to the configuration of the airplane must be heavily damped with the primary controls—

(1) Free; and

(2) In a fixed position.

(d) During the conditions as specified in § 23.175, when the longitudinal control force required to maintain speeds differing from the trim speed by at least plus and minus 15 percent or 15 knots, whichever is less, is released after first returning the control to the original trimmed position, the response of the airplane must not exhibit any dangerous characteristics nor be excessive in relation to the magnitude of the control force prior to release. Any long-period oscillation of flight path, phugoid oscillation, that results must not be so unstable as to increase the pilot's workload or otherwise endanger the airplane.

Issued in Kansas City, Missouri, on October 28, 2009.

Margaret Kline,

Acting Manager, Small Airplane Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service.