Rule2025-06440
Special Conditions: Airbus Helicopters Model EC175B Helicopter; Use of 30-Minute All Engines Operating Power Rating
Primary source
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Published
April 16, 2025
Effective
April 16, 2025
Issuing agencies
Transportation DepartmentFederal Aviation Administration
Abstract
These special conditions are issued for the Airbus Helicopters (Airbus) Model EC175B helicopter. This model helicopter will have a novel or unusual design feature when compared to the state of technology envisioned in the airworthiness standards for transport category helicopters. This design feature is a 30-minute all engines operating (AEO) power rating. This rating will be used for hovering at increased power for search and rescue missions. 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 90 Issue 72 (Wednesday, April 16, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 72 (Wednesday, April 16, 2025)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 15924-15926]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-06440]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Part 29
[Docket No. FAA-2025-0080; Special Conditions No. 29-058-SC]
Special Conditions: Airbus Helicopters Model EC175B Helicopter;
Use of 30-Minute All Engines Operating Power Rating
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 Airbus Helicopters
(Airbus) Model EC175B helicopter. This model helicopter will have a
novel or unusual design feature when compared to the state of
technology envisioned in the airworthiness standards for transport
category helicopters. This design feature is a 30-minute all engines
operating (AEO) power rating. This rating will be used for hovering at
increased power for search and rescue missions. 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 Airbus on April 16, 2025. Send
comments on or before June 2, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Send comments identified by Docket No. FAA-2025-0080 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.
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: Andrew Birkenheuer, Engine and
Propulsion Section, AIR-625, Technical Policy Branch, Policy and
Standards Division, Aircraft Certification Service, Federal Aviation
Administration, 10101 Hillwood Parkway, Fort Worth, TX 76177; telephone
(817) 222-5246; email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#6a2b040e180f1d442044280318010f04020f1f0f182a0c0b0b440d051c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="fbba959f899e8cd5b1d5b99289909e95939e8e9e89bb9d9a9ad59c948d">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Substantially identical proposed special
conditions have been published in the Federal Register for public
comment in several prior instances with no substantive comments
received. Therefore, the FAA finds, pursuant to title 14, Code of
Federal Regulations (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 Sec.
11.35, the FAA will post all comments received without change to
<a href="http://www.regulations.gov">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. The FAA may change these special conditions based on the
comments received.
Background
On September 14, 2022, Airbus requested FAA type certificate
validation for the Airbus Model EC175B helicopter. The Model EC175B
helicopter is a Transport Category, 14 CFR part 29, twin-engine
conventional helicopter designed for civil operations. This model will
be certificated with Category A performance and under dual pilot
instrument flight rules, powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6C-67E
engines with a dual channel Full Authority Digital Engine Control
system, has five main rotor blades, a maximum gross weight of 17,196
pounds, and a velocity not exceeding 175 knots. The Model EC175B
helicopter features an integrated modular avionics suite with four 6x8-
inch multi-function displays called Common Integrated Global Avionics
for Light Helicopters. This rotorcraft is capable of carrying 18
passengers and two crew members. Its initial customer base includes
offshore oil and search and rescue operations.
Type Certification Basis
Under the provisions of 14 CFR 21.17, Airbus must show that the
Model EC175B helicopter meets the applicable provisions of part 29, as
amended by amendments 29-1 through 29-52.
If the Administrator finds that the applicable airworthiness
regulations (e.g., 14 CFR part 29) do not contain adequate or
appropriate safety standards for the Airbus Model EC175B helicopter
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, these special conditions
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would also apply to the other model under Sec. 21.101.
In addition to the applicable airworthiness regulations and special
conditions, the Airbus Model EC175B helicopter must comply with the
exhaust-emission requirements of part 34 and the noise-certification
requirements of part 36.
The FAA issues special conditions, as defined in Sec. 11.19, in
accordance with Sec. 11.38, and they become part of the type
certification basis under Sec. 21.17(a)(2).
Novel or Unusual Design Feature
The Airbus Model EC175B helicopter will incorporate the following
novel or unusual design feature:
A 30-minute AEO power rating.
Discussion
Airbus proposes a novel and unusual design feature for the Model
EC175B helicopter: a 30-minute power rating identified in the Pratt &
Whitney Canada PT6C-67E engine type certificate data sheet (TCDS) No.
E00068EN. Under 14 CFR 1.1, ``rated takeoff power'' is limited to no
more than 5 minutes for takeoff operations. As such, regulations in 14
CFR 29 that reference takeoff power are not adequate to address the use
of takeoff power for 30 minutes. Therefore, takeoff power for 30
minutes requires special airworthiness standards, known as special
conditions, to address the use of this 30-minute power rating and its
effects on the rotorcraft. This power will be limited to 50 minutes per
flight due to engine durability considerations. These special
conditions will add requirements to evaluate the use of 30-minute
takeoff power to the existing airworthiness requirements in Sec.
29.1049, ``Hovering cooling test procedures,'' requirements to track
30-minute takeoff power usage to the requirements in Sec. 29.1305,
``Powerplant instruments,'' and limitations on the use of 30-minute
takeoff power to the requirements in Sec. 29.1521, ``Powerplant
limitations.'' A summary of the final special conditions is as follows:
1. Cooling Effects (Sec. 29.1049)
In addition to the hovering cooling test procedures requirements in
Sec. 29.1049, because Sec. 29.1049 does not address the evaluation of
cooling effects resulting from using a 30-minute power rating, these
special conditions require evaluation through testing of aircraft
cooling effects resulting from using the 30-minute power rating.
2. Powerplant Instruments (Sec. 29.1305)
In addition to the powerplant instruments requirements in Sec.
29.1305, because Sec. 29.1305 does not address 30-minute takeoff
power, these special conditions require the pilot be provided with
means to identify the following with respect to 30-minute takeoff
power:
<bullet> When the rated engine power level is achieved,
<bullet> When the event begins,
<bullet> When the time interval expires, and
<bullet> When the cumulative time in one flight is reached.
3. Powerplant Limitations (Sec. 29.1521)
In addition to the powerplant limitations in Sec. 29.1521, because
Sec. 29.1521 does not address 30-minute takeoff power, these special
conditions limit the use of takeoff power for 30 minutes to:
<bullet> No more than 30 minutes per use, and
<bullet> No more than 50 minutes per flight.
Additionally, the Model EC175B helicopter flight manual must
include the following limitations on the use of the 30-minute power
rating per 14 CFR 29.1583(b)(1) (which requires furnishing the
limitations required by Sec. 29.1521):
<bullet> Continuous use above maximum continuous power (MCP) is
limited to 30 minutes, and
<bullet> Cumulative use above MCP is limited to 50 minutes per
flight.
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 apply to the Airbus
Model EC175B helicopter. Should Airbus later apply for a change to the
type certificate to include another model incorporating the same novel
or unusual design feature, these special conditions would also apply to
that model.
Conclusion
This action affects only a certain novel or unusual design feature
on the Airbus Model EC175B helicopter. It is not a rule of general
applicability.
List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 29
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 the Airbus Helicopters Model EC175B
helicopter. Unless stated otherwise, all requirements in 14 CFR
29.1049, 29.1305, and 29.1521 remain unchanged.
1. Section 29.1049, Hovering cooling test procedures. In addition
to the requirements of this section, for this rotorcraft with a 30-
minute all engines operating (AEO) power rating, the hovering cooling
provisions at the 30-minute AEO power rating must be shown--
a. At maximum weight or at the greatest weight at which the
rotorcraft can hover (if less), at sea level, with the power required
to hover but not more than the 30-minute power, in the ground effect in
still air, until at least five minutes after the occurrence of the
highest temperature recorded, or until the continuous time limit of the
30-minute AEO power rating if the highest temperature recorded is not
stabilized before.
b. At maximum weight and at the altitude resulting in zero rate of
climb for this configuration until at least five minutes after the
occurrence of the highest temperature recorded, or until the continuous
time limit of the 30-minute AEO power rating if the highest temperature
recorded is not stabilized before.
2. Section 29.1305 Powerplant instruments, at Amendment 29-40. In
addition to the requirements of this section, for this rotorcraft with
a 30-minute AEO power rating, a means must be provided to alert the
pilot when the engine is at the 30-minute power level, when the event
begins, when the time interval expires, and when the cumulative time in
one flight is reached.
3. Section 29.1521 Powerplant limitations, at Amendment 29-41. In
addition to the requirements of this section, the use of the 30-minute
AEO power rating must be limited to not more than 30 minutes per use
and not more than a 50-minute cumulative time per flight. The use of
the 30-minute power must also be limited by:
a. The maximum rotational speed, which may not be greater than--
(1) The maximum value determined by the rotor design; or
(2) The maximum value shown during the type tests;
b. The maximum allowable turbine inlet or turbine outlet gas
temperature.
c. The maximum allowable power or torque for each engine,
considering the
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power input limitations of the transmission with all engines operating;
d. The time limit for the use of the power corresponding to the
limitations established in this section, sub-paragraphs a. through c.
of this section, and
e. The maximum allowable engine and transmission oil temperatures.
Issued in Kansas City, Missouri, on April 11, 2025.
Patrick R. Mullen,
Manager, Technical Policy Branch, Policy and Standards Division,
Aircraft Certification Service.
[FR Doc. 2025-06440 Filed 4-15-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on April 16, 2025.
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