Rule2024-02943
Special Conditions: Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation Model GVIII-G700 and GVIII-G800 Series Airplanes; Electronic Flight Control System: Control Surface Position Awareness
Primary source
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Published
February 13, 2024
Effective
February 13, 2024
Issuing agencies
Transportation DepartmentFederal Aviation Administration
Abstract
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.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 30 (Tuesday, February 13, 2024)</title>
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[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 [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-02943]
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Rules and Regulations
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains regulatory documents
having general applicability and legal effect, most of which are keyed
to and codified in the Code of Federal Regulations, which is published
under 50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.
The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by the Superintendent of Documents.
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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:
<bullet> Federal eRegulations Portal: Go to <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> and
follow the online instructions for sending your comments
electronically.
<bullet> 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.
<bullet> 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.
<bullet> Fax: Fax comments to Docket Operations at 202-493-2251.
<bullet> Docket: Background documents or comments received may be
read at <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> 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 <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#176365786e39763975657860795771767639707861"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="e195938e98cf80cf83938e968fa1878080cf868e97">[email protected]</span></a>.
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 <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/">https://www.regulations.gov/</a>,
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
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