[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 166 (Thursday, August 27, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 45772-45773]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-23006]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Part 23
[Docket No. CE147, Notice No. 23-98-03-SC]
Special Conditions: Raytheon Aircraft Company, Model 3000,
Airplane Design
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of proposed special conditions.
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SUMMARY: This notice proposes special conditions for the Raytheon Model
3000 airplane. This airplane will have novel or unusual design features
associated with the digital electronic engine/propeller controls and
the suction defueling system. The applicable airworthiness regulations
do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for these
design features. These proposed 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.
DATE: Comments must be received on or before September 28, 1998.
ADDRESS: Comments on this proposal may be mailed in duplicate to:
Federal Aviation Administration, Regional Counsel, ACE-7, Attention:
Rules Docket, Docket No. CE147, 601 East 12th Street, Kansas City,
Missouri 64106, or delivered in duplicate to the Regional Counsel at
the above address. Comments must be marked: CE147. Comments may be
inspected in the Rules Docket weekdays, except Federal holidays,
between 7:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dave Keenan, Federal Aviation
Administration, Aircraft Certification Service, Small Airplane
Directorate, ACE-111, 601 East 12th Street, Kansas City, Missouri, 816-
426-6934, fax 816-426-2169.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Comments Invited
Interested persons are invited to participate in the making of
these proposed special conditions by submitting such written data,
views, or arguments as they may desire. Communications should identify
the regulatory docket or notice number and be submitted in duplicate to
the address specified above. All communications received on or before
the closing date for comments will be considered by the Administrator.
The proposals described in this notice may be changed in light of the
comments received. All comments received will be available in the Rules
Docket for examination by interested persons, both before and after the
closing date for comments. A report summarizing each substantive public
contact with FAA personnel concerning this rulemaking will be filed in
the docket. Persons wishing the FAA to acknowledge receipt of their
comments submitted in response to this notice must include with those
comments a self-addressed, stamped postcard on which the following
statement is made: ``Comments to CE147.'' The postcard will be date
stamped and returned to the commenter.
Background
On January 15, 1996, Raytheon Aircraft Company (formerly Beech
Aircraft Corporation) applied for a Type Certificate (TC) for their new
Model 3000. The Model 3000 is an all-metal, low-wing monoplane of
conventional construction, powered by a single Pratt & Whitney (P&W)
PT6A-68 engine flat rated at 1100 SHP. The airframe will be stressed
for 7g positive and 3.5g negative loading. Maximum takeoff weight will
be 6,300 pounds. The crew compartment will be pressurized to a maximum
differential of 3.6 psig and accommodate two pilots equipped with zero-
zero ejection seats in a stepped tandem seating arrangement. The
airplane will feature a 3,000 psi hydraulic system, powered by a single
engine driven pump, to operate the landing gear, flaps, and speed
brakes. The V/mo/ for the Model 3000 will be 320 KCAS, and
the maximum altitude will be 31,000 feet MSL. Each cockpit will be
equipped with electronic flight instruments for primary attitude,
heading, and navigation information display.
Type Certification Basis
Under the provisions of 14 CFR part 21 Sec. 21.17, Raytheon
Aircraft Company must show that the Model 3000 meets the applicable
provisions of part 23, effective February 1, 1965, as amended by
Amendments 23-1 through 23-47; 14 CFR part 23, Secs. 23.201, 23.203,
and 23.207, as amended by Amendment 23-50; 14 CFR part 34, effective
September 10, 1990, as amended by the amendment in effect on the date
of
[[Page 45773]]
certification; 14 CFR part 36, effective December 1, 1969, as amended
by Amendment 36-1 through the amendment in effect on the day of
certification; The Noise Control Act of 1972; and special conditions
for Protection from High Intensity Radiated Fields (HIRF); exemptions,
if any; equivalent level of safety findings, if any; and the special
conditions adopted by this rulemaking action.
If the Administrator finds that the applicable airworthiness
regulations (part 23) do not contain adequate or appropriate safety
standards for the Model 3000 because of a novel or unusual design
feature, special conditions are prescribed under the provisions of
Sec. 21.16.
In addition to the applicable airworthiness regulations and special
conditions, the Model 3000 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 pursuant to Sec. 611 of Public Law 92-574, the
``Noise Control Act of 1972.''
Special conditions, as appropriate, are issued in accordance with
Sec. 11.49 after public notice, as required by Secs. 11.28 and
11.29(b), and become part of the type certification basis in accordance
with Sec. 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 under the provisions of Sec. 21.101(a)(1).
Novel or Unusual Design Features
The Model 3000 will incorporate the following novel or unusual
design features:
Digital Electronic Engine Controls
The Model 3000 design includes a digital electronic engine/
propeller control, known as a Power Management Unit (PMU). Although the
precedent for electronic engine controls has been previously
established, the PMU utilized on the Model 3000 performs functions not
envisaged when part 23 was developed. With the Model 3000, the (Power
Control Lever) PCL is a single lever, which has a mechanical and
electrical interface to the PMU in order to produce ``jet-like'' thrust
characteristics during rapid power changes and at low power conditions.
PCL movement is transmitted to the PMU, which, in turn, controls fuel
flow, gas generator speed, and propeller speed. Propeller pitch is not
pilot controllable; therefore, a separate propeller control lever is
not supplied. During normal operation, propeller pitch is governed at
100 percent Np. Low airspeed and power combinations result in propeller
pitch going to the mechanical low pitch stop (similar to a fixed-pitch
propeller). During large power transitions below 100 percent Np (idle
to takeoff power), the PMU will control propeller pitch. The PMU is
utilized to control the thrust response of the engine-propeller
combination and it prohibits operation of the engine-propeller
combination in propeller RPM ranges with adverse vibration
characteristics. There is no guidance in part 23 concerning the
protection of the PMU from the indirect effects of lightning.
Suction Defuel Capability
The Model 3000 design includes a suction defuel capability not
envisaged when part 23 was developed. It is understood that suction
defuel is a common feature in part 25 airplanes. The Model 3000
airplane will have pressure fuel and defuel as well as gravity fuel and
defuel capability. Pressure defueling essentially entails reversing the
pumps on the fueling vehicle and ``sucking'' fuel from the airplane
though the servicing port. Section 23.979 addresses pressure fueling
but not suction defueling. Any suction defuel system components, in
addition to meeting the general requirements for part 23 fuel systems,
must also function as intended.
Applicability
As discussed above, these special conditions are applicable to the
Model 3000. Should Raytheon 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 under the provisions of Sec. 21.101(a)(1).
Conclusion
This action affects only certain novel or unusual design features
on one model of airplanes. It is not a rule of general applicability,
and it affects only the applicant who applied for the FAA for approval
of these features on the airplane.
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 part 21,
Secs. 21.16 and 21.17; and 14 CFR part 11, Secs. 11.28 and 11.29(b).
The Proposed Special Conditions
Accordingly, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) proposes the
following special conditions as part of the type certification basis
for Raytheon Aircraft Company Model 3000 airplanes.
1. Digital Electronic Engine/Propeller Control (PMU)
(a) Any failure of the Power Management Unit must be annunciated to
the crew.
(b) Failures of the Power Management Unit that affect flight
characteristics must be identified and evaluated, and appropriate
flight manual procedures developed, including possible prohibitions on
continued flight or dispatch.
(c) The functioning of the Power Management Unit must be protected
to ensure that the control will continue to perform critical functions
(functions whose failure condition would prevent continued safe flight
and landing) after the aircraft is exposed to lightning.
2. Suction Defuel
(a) The airplane defueling system (not including fuel tanks and
fuel tank vents) must withstand an ultimate load that is 2.0 times the
load arising from the maximum permissible defueling pressure (positive
or negative) at the airplane fueling connection.
Issued in Kansas City, Missouri on August 14, 1998.
Michael Gallagher,
Manager, Small Airplane Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service.
[FR Doc. 98-23006 Filed 8-26-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-M
