[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 30 (Tuesday, February 13, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 10005-10006]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-02943]



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 Rules and Regulations
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  Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 30 / Tuesday, February 13, 2024 / 
Rules and Regulations  

[[Page 10005]]



DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 25

[Docket No. FAA-2023-2443; Special Conditions No. 25-855-SC]


Special Conditions: Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation Model GVIII-
G700 and GVIII-G800 Series Airplanes; Electronic Flight Control System: 
Control Surface Position Awareness

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Final special conditions; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: These special conditions are issued for the Gulfstream 
Aerospace Corporation (Gulfstream) Model GVIII-G700 and GVIII-G800 
series airplanes. These airplanes will have a novel or unusual design 
feature when compared to the state of technology envisioned in the 
airworthiness standards for transport-category airplanes. This design 
feature is an electronic flight-control system providing control-
surface awareness to the flightcrew. 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: This action is effective on Gulfstream on February 13, 2024. 
Send comments on or before March 29, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Send comments identified by Docket No. FAA-2023-2443 using 
any of the following methods:
     Federal eRegulations Portal: Go to www.regulations.gov and 
follow the online instructions for sending your comments 
electronically.
     Mail: Send comments to Docket Operations, M-30, U.S. 
Department of Transportation (DOT), 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Room 
W12-140, West Building Ground Floor, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
     Hand Delivery or Courier: Take comments to Docket 
Operations in Room W12-140 of the West Building Ground Floor at 1200 
New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday 
through Friday, except Federal holidays.
     Fax: Fax comments to Docket Operations at 202-493-2251.
     Docket: Background documents or comments received may be 
read at www.regulations.gov at any time. Follow the online instructions 
for accessing the docket or go to Docket Operations in Room W12-140 of 
the West Building Ground Floor at 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, 
Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
except Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Troy Brown, Performance and 
Environment Unit, AIR-621A, Technical Policy Branch, Policy and 
Standards Division, Aircraft Certification Service, Federal Aviation 
Administration, 1801 S Airport Rd., Wichita, KS 67209-2190; telephone 
and fax 405-666-1050; email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The substance of these special conditions 
has been published in the Federal Register for public comment in 
several prior instances with no substantive comments received. 
Therefore, the FAA finds, pursuant to 14 CFR 11.38(b), that new 
comments are unlikely, and notice and comment prior to this publication 
are unnecessary.

Privacy

    Except for Confidential Business Information (CBI) as described in 
the following paragraph, and other information as described in title 
14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) 11.35, the FAA will post all 
comments received without change to https://www.regulations.gov/, 
including any personal information you provide. The FAA will also post 
a report summarizing each substantive verbal contact received about 
these special conditions.

Confidential Business Information

    Confidential Business Information (CBI) is commercial or financial 
information that is both customarily and actually treated as private by 
its owner. Under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 U.S.C. 552), 
CBI is exempt from public disclosure. If your comments responsive to 
these special conditions contain commercial or financial information 
that is customarily treated as private, that you actually treat as 
private, and that is relevant or responsive to these special 
conditions, it is important that you clearly designate the submitted 
comments as CBI. Please mark each page of your submission containing 
CBI as ``PROPIN.'' The FAA will treat such marked submissions as 
confidential under the FOIA, and the indicated comments will not be 
placed in the public docket of these special conditions. Send 
submissions containing CBI to the individual listed in the For Further 
Information Contact section above. Comments the FAA receives, which are 
not specifically designated as CBI, will be placed in the public docket 
for these special conditions.

Comments Invited

    The FAA invites 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.
    The FAA will consider all comments received by the closing date for 
comments and will consider comments filed late if it is possible to do 
so without incurring delay. The FAA may change these special conditions 
based on the comments received.

Background

    On December 31, 2019, Gulfstream applied for an amendment to Type 
Certificate No. T00015AT to include the new Model GVIII-G700 and GVIII-
G800 series airplanes. These airplanes, which are derivatives of the 
Model GVI currently approved under Type Certificate No. T00015AT, are 
twin-engine, transport-category airplanes, with a maximum seating for 
19 passengers, and a maximum take-off weight of 107,600 pounds (GVIII-
G700) and 105,600 pounds (GVIII-G800).

Type Certification Basis

    Under the provisions of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 
CFR) 21.101, Gulfstream must show that the Model GVIII-G700 and GVIII-
G800 series

[[Page 10006]]

airplanes meet the applicable provisions of the regulations listed in 
Type Certificate No. T00015AT, or the applicable regulations in effect 
on the date of application for the change, except for earlier 
amendments as agreed upon by the FAA.
    If the Administrator finds that the applicable airworthiness 
regulations (i.e., 14 CFR part 25) do not contain adequate or 
appropriate safety standards for the Gulfstream Model GVIII-G700 and 
GVIII-G800 series airplanes because of a novel or unusual design 
feature, special conditions are prescribed under the provisions of 
Sec.  21.16.
    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, or should any other model already included on 
the same type certificate be modified to incorporate the same novel or 
unusual design feature, these special conditions would also apply to 
the other model under Sec.  21.101.
    In addition to the applicable airworthiness regulations and special 
conditions, the Gulfstream Model GVIII-G700 and GVIII-G800 series 
airplanes must comply with the exhaust-emission requirements of 14 CFR 
part 34, and the noise-certification requirements of 14 CFR part 36.
    The FAA issues special conditions, as defined in 14 CFR 11.19, in 
accordance with 14 CFR 11.38, and they become part of the type 
certification basis under Sec.  21.101.

Novel or Unusual Design Features

    The Gulfstream Model GVIII-G700 and GVIII-G800 airplanes will 
incorporate the following novel or unusual design feature:
    Electronic flight-control system providing control-surface 
awareness to the flightcrew.

Discussion

    Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation is intending to utilize an 
electronic flight-control system (including side-stick controllers for 
pitch and roll control) (EFCS) in its new Model GVIII-G700 and GVIII-
G800 series airplanes. With an EFCS and no direct coupling from the 
flightdeck controller to the control surface, the pilot may not be 
aware of the actual surface position. Some unusual flight conditions, 
arising from atmospheric conditions, airplane malfunctions, or engine 
failures, may result in full or nearly full control surface deflection. 
Unless the flightcrew is made aware of excessive deflection or 
impending control surface limiting, piloted or auto-flight system 
control of the airplane might be inadvertently continued in such a 
manner as to cause loss of airplane control, or other unsafe stability 
or performance characteristics. The airworthiness standards do not 
contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for the conditions 
that result from the EFCS and lack of direct coupling from the flight 
deck controller to the control surface.
    To establish a level of safety equivalent to that established in 
the regulations, these special conditions are established. These 
special conditions require that the flightcrew receive suitable flight-
control position annunciation when a condition exists in which nearly 
full surface authority (not crew commanded) is being utilized. 
Suitability of such an alerting must take into account that some pilot-
demanded maneuvers (e.g., rapid roll) are necessarily associated with 
intended full performance, which may saturate the surface. Therefore, 
simple alerting systems, which would function in either intended or 
unexpected control-limiting situations, must be properly balanced 
between necessary crew awareness and unwanted nuisance factors. A 
monitoring system that might compare airplane motion, surface 
deflection, and pilot demand could be helpful in reducing nuisance 
alerting.
    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.

Applicability

    As discussed above, these special conditions are applicable to the 
Gulfstream Model GVIII-G700 and GVIII-G800 series airplanes. Should 
Gulfstream apply at a later date for a change to the type certificate 
to include another model that incorporates the same novel or unusual 
design feature, or should any other model already included on the same 
type certificate be modified to incorporate the same novel or unusual 
design feature, these special conditions would apply to that model as 
well.

Conclusion

    This action affects only a certain novel or unusual design feature 
on Gulfstream Model GVIII-G700 and GVIII-G800 series of airplanes. It 
is not a rule of general applicability.

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 25

    Aircraft, Aviation safety, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

Authority Citation

    The authority citation for these special conditions is as follows:

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 106(f), 106(g), 40113, 44701, 44702, and 
44704.

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 Gulfstream Model GVIII-G700 and GVIII-
G800 airplanes.
    In addition to compliance with Sec. Sec.  25.143, 25.671, 25.672, 
and 25.1322, the following special condition applies:
    The system design must ensure that the flightcrew is made suitably 
aware whenever the primary control means nears the limit of control 
authority.

    Note: The term ``suitably aware'' indicates annunciations 
provided to the flightcrew are appropriately balanced between 
nuisance and that necessary for crew awareness.


    Issued in Kansas City, Missouri, on February 7, 2024.
Patrick R. Mullen,
Manager, Technical Innovation Policy Branch, Policy and Innovation 
Division, Aircraft Certification Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-02943 Filed 2-12-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P