[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