[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 46 (Friday, March 8, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15112-15114]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-05230]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration Aviation


Rulemaking Advisory Committee; Transport Airplane Performance and 
Handling Characteristics--New Task

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of new task assignment for the Aviation Rulemaking 
Advisory Committee (ARAC).

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SUMMARY: The FAA assigned ARAC a new task to prioritize potential topic 
areas for development of new or revised requirements and guidance 
material for airplane performance and handling characteristics in new 
transport category airplanes. The output of this task is intended to 
support FAA planning for subsequent ARAC taskings in these topic areas. 
This notice is to inform the public of this ARAC activity.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joe Jacobsen, Airplane & Flight Crew 
Interface Branch, ANM-111, Transport Airplane Directorate, Federal 
Aviation Administration, 1601 Lind Ave. SW., Renton, Washington 98057-
3356; telephone (425) 227-2011, facsimile (425) 227- 1149; email 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The FAA established ARAC to provide advice and recommendations to 
the FAA Administrator on the FAA's rulemaking activities with respect 
to aviation-related issues. This includes obtaining advice and 
recommendations on the FAA's commitments to harmonize FAA regulations 
with its partners in Europe, Canada, and Brazil; in this instance, on 
airplane performance and handling characteristics standards. ARAC will 
address this task under the Transport Airplane and Engine (TAE) 
Subcommittee, and will reestablish the Flight Test Harmonization 
Working Group (FTHWG) to assist in completion of this task.
    The FAA has established regulations and policy in the areas of 
airplane performance and handling characteristics. However, existing 
standards do not adequately address airplane designs using fly-by-wire 
technology. Additionally, there are a number of issues, such as several 
items in the areas of takeoff and landing performance and flying 
qualities that may not be adequately addressed by the existing 
airworthiness requirements and guidance material. Finally, there are 
cases where guidance information provided by the airworthiness 
authorities is not harmonized, sometimes leading to different 
compliance findings.

The Task

    The FAA tasked ARAC to consider several areas within the airplane 
performance and handling qualities requirements of the 14 CFR part 25 
airworthiness standards and guidance for possible revision. The task 
includes prioritizing the list of topic areas provided in this notice 
based on prioritization criteria established by the FTHWG. The 
prioritization criteria should consider harmonization of regulatory 
requirements and associated guidance material for airworthiness 
certification of airplane designs. Recommendations may result in 
subsequent ARAC taskings for standards recommendations in follow-on 
phases. ARAC may also recommend additional topics in the general area 
of airplane performance and handling qualities that are not on the list 
provided in this notice
    The working group will provide a draft report to ARAC recommending 
focus areas and work plans to address those areas the FTHWG identified 
as high priorities for airworthiness standards development relative to 
new

[[Page 15113]]

airplane designs. This report will provide the rationale for the 
priority recommended as well as identify those items for which 
coordination with other working groups or experts outside the FTHWG may 
be needed. The report will also include a proposed schedule for 
accomplishment of the plan, including whether multiple topics can be 
worked simultaneously. If there is disagreement within the working 
group, those items should be documented, including the rationale from 
each party and the reasons for the disagreement. The following subject 
areas should be considered:
    1. Fly-by-wire (FBW) Flight Controls. Regulatory requirements and 
associated guidance material for airworthiness certification of 
airplane designs using FBW technology to obviate longstanding, 
repetitively used FBW special conditions. Specific areas include:
    a. Applicability/adaptation of Amendment 25-121 airplane 
performance and handling characteristics in icing conditions 
requirements
    b. Design maneuver requirements,*
    c. Design dive speed,*
    d. Side stick controls,*
    e. Flight envelope protection, and *
    f. Interaction of airplane systems and structure.*

    * Note: These items should be considered for coordination with 
other working groups.

    2. Takeoff and Landing Performance. Regulatory requirements and 
associated guidance material for airworthiness certification in the 
following areas listed below. (Note: This topic area excludes items 
addressed by the Takeoff and Landing Performance Assessment Aviation 
Rulemaking Committee.)
    a. Flight test methods used to determine maximum tailwind and 
crosswind capability. Additionally, for crosswind testing, better 
define intended operational use of demonstrated maximum steady and 
gusting crosswind performance.
    b. Wet runway stopping performance. Recent landing overruns on wet 
runways have raised questions regarding current wet runway stopping 
performance requirements and methods. Analyses indicate that the 
braking coefficient of friction in each case was significantly lower 
than expected for a wet runway (i.e., lower than the level specified in 
FAA regulations). Consideration should also be given to the scheduling 
of landing performance on wet porous friction course and grooved runway 
surfaces. Recommendations may include the need for additional data 
gathering, analysis, and possible rulemaking.
    c. Go-around performance, specifically height lost in executing a 
go-around. While airplanes may be able to demonstrate the climb 
gradient capability prescribed in 14 CFR/European Aviation Safety 
Agency (EASA) Certification Specification (CS) 25.121, it may not be 
able to achieve it quickly enough, particularly when executing a go-
around close to the ground.
    d. Performance standards and guidance regarding landing in abnormal 
configurations.
    e. Guidance regarding the function and use of the amber band on 
airspeed tapes. Manufacturers' philosophies differ regarding the 
meaning of the amber band in an airspeed tape display, as do U.S. and 
European regulatory authorities' policies regarding acceptance of 
target airspeeds within the amber band.
    f. Guidance on piloting procedures used to evaluate airplane tail 
clearance during certification flight tests for takeoff performance.
    g. Landing distance performance for autoland and landing distance 
performance using heads-up-displays (HUD). Use of autoland or HUD may 
invalidate landing distance performance determined for compliance to 14 
CFR/CS 25.125.
    h. Steep approach landing performance. Current airplane 
certification standards are not harmonized among the U.S., Canadian, 
Brazilian, and European airworthiness authorities.
    i. Narrow runway operations. Current airplane certification 
standards do not identify minimum runway widths for which the standards 
apply.
    j. Reduced and derated takeoff thrust procedures. Updates to 
existing guidance material may be appropriate to limit the number of 
derates permitted for a specific airframe/engine combination.
    k. Guidance material for pressure error measurement during takeoff 
until out of ground effect to ensure proper data reduction for 
calculation of takeoff distance performance.
    l. Guidance material addressing the adverse effects on stall speed 
in ground effect.
    3. Handling Characteristics. Regulatory requirements and associated 
guidance material for airworthiness certification in the following 
areas:
    a. Guidance material for assessing handling qualities. Advisory 
Circular 25-7C, ``Flight Test Guide for Certification of Transport 
Category Airplanes,'' provides an FAA Handling Quality Rating Method 
(HQRM) that is intended to provide a systematic way of determining 
appropriate minimum handling qualities requirements and evaluating 
those handling qualities for failure conditions affecting an airplane's 
flying qualities. The FAA handling quality rating system is not 
universally accepted within industry, nor is it accepted by EASA.
    b. Guidance for assessing susceptibility to pilot-induced 
oscillations/airplane-pilot coupling (PIO/APC). Guidance provided in AC 
25-7C for evaluating PIO/APC is also not well accepted by airplane 
manufacturers, is not harmonized with EASA, and has been superseded to 
some extent in recent certification programs. Modified guidance is 
needed to both simplify and standardize the methods for evaluating an 
airplane's susceptibility to PIO/APC.

Schedule

    The required completion date for the recommendation report is 9 
months after the FAA publishes the task in the Federal Register. After 
receiving the report, the FAA will consider the recommendations and 
determine subsequent development tasks. The FAA expects to publish 
additional ARAC taskings for follow on phases to develop 
recommendations for the selected standards and guidance.

ARAC Acceptance of Task

    ARAC accepted the task and assigned it to the FTHWG under the TAE 
Subcommittee. The working group serves as staff to ARAC and assists in 
the analysis of assigned tasks. ARAC must review and approve the 
working group's recommendations. If ARAC accepts the working group's 
recommendations, it will forward them to the FAA.

Working Group Activity

    The FTHWG must comply with the procedures adopted by ARAC. As part 
of the procedures, the working group must:
    1. Develop a prioritized list of subject areas (as provided in this 
notice or added by the FTHWG) to focus subsequent efforts and standards 
development in follow-on phases for consideration by ARAC.
    2. Based on the priorities from item 1 above, recommend a work plan 
and phasing for completion of each prioritized task for review and 
approval by ARAC.
    3. Provide a status report at each meeting of ARAC.
    4. Provide a final recommendation report to ARAC for review and 
approval.

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Participation in the Working Group

    The FTHWG is composed of technical experts having expertise in the 
subject matter and an interest in the assigned task. A working group 
member need not be a representative or a member of ARAC.
    If you have expertise in the subject matter and wish to become a 
member of the working group, write to the person listed under the 
caption FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT expressing that desire. 
Describe your interest in the task and state the expertise you would 
bring to the working group. We must receive all requests by April 5, 
2013. ARAC and the FAA will review the requests and advise you whether 
or not your request is approved.
    If you are chosen for membership on the working group, you must 
represent your aviation community segment and actively participate in 
the working group by attending all meetings and providing written 
comments when requested to do so. You must devote the resources 
necessary to support the working group in meeting any assigned 
deadlines. You must keep your management chain and those you may 
represent advised of working group activities and decisions to ensure 
that the proposed technical solutions do not conflict with your 
sponsoring organization's position when the subject being negotiated is 
presented to ARAC for approval. Once the working group has begun 
deliberations, members will not be added or substituted without the 
approval of the FAA and the Working Group Co-Chairs.
    The Secretary of Transportation determined that the formation and 
use of ARAC is necessary and in the public interest in connection with 
the performance of duties imposed on the FAA by law. ARAC and the TAE 
Subcommittee meetings are open to the public. Meetings of the Flight 
Test Harmonization Working Group will not be open to the public, except 
to the extent individuals with an interest and expertise are selected 
to participate. The FAA will make no public announcement of working 
group meetings.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on March 1, 2013.
Lirio Liu,
Designated Federal Officer, Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee.
[FR Doc. 2013-05230 Filed 3-7-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P