[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 217 (Tuesday, November 10, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 62930-62931]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-30091]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Part 23
[Docket No. CE147, Special Conditions No. 23-094-SC]
Special Conditions: Raytheon Aircraft Company, Model 3000,
Airplane Design
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.
ACTION: Final special conditions.
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SUMMARY: These special conditions are issued 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 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.
EFFECTIVE DATE: December 10, 1998.
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:
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 VMO 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 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, 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 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.
[[Page 62931]]
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
through 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.
Discussion of Comments
Notice of proposed special conditions No. 23-98-03-SC for the
Raytheon Aircraft Company Model 3000 was published in the Federal
Register on August 27, 1998 (63 FR 45772). No comments were received,
and the special conditions are adopted as proposed.
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 airplane. It is not a rule of general applicability,
and it affects only the applicant who applied to 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,
21.16 and 21.17; and 14 CFR part 11, 11.28 and 11.49.
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 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 October 26, 1998.
Marvin Nuss,
Assistant Manager, Small Airplane Directorate.
[FR Doc. 98-30091 Filed 11-9-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P