Special Conditions: CenTex Aerospace, Inc.; Beech Model A36 airplane, Installation of Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC) System and the Protection of the System from the Effects of High Intensity Radiated Fields (HIRF)

AGENCY:

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION:

Final special conditions; request for comments.

SUMMARY:

These special conditions are issued to CenTex Aerospace, Inc.; 7805 Karl May Drive; Waco, Texas 76708 for the Beech Model A36 airplane. This airplane will have a novel or unusual design feature(s) associated with the installation of an engine that uses an electronic engine control system in place of the engine's mechanical system. 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:

The effective date of these special conditions is September 18, 2002. Comments must be received on or before October 28, 2002.

ADDRESSES:

Comments may be mailed in duplicate to: Federal Aviation Administration, Regional Counsel, ACE-7, Attention: Rules Docket Clerk, Docket No. CE190, Room 506, 901 Locust, Kansas City, Missouri 64106. All comments must be marked: Docket No. CE190. Comments may be inspected in the Rules Docket weekdays, except Federal holidays, between 7:30 a.m. and 4 p.m.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Wes Ryan, Federal Aviation Administration, Aircraft Certification Service, Small Airplane Directorate, ACE-111, 901 Locust, Room 301, Kansas City, Missouri 64106; 816-329-4127 fax 816-329-4090.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The FAA has determined that notice and opportunity for prior public comment hereon are impracticable because these procedures would significantly delay issuance of the approval design and thus delivery of the affected aircraft. In addition, the substance of these special conditions has been subject to the public comment process in several prior instances with no substantive comments received. The FAA therefore finds that good cause exists for making these special conditions effective upon issuance.

Comments Invited

Interested persons are invited to submit such written data, views, or arguments as they may desire. Communications should identify the regulatory docket or special condition number and be submitted in duplicate to the address specified above. All communications received on or before the closing date for comments will be considered by the Administrator. The special conditions may be changed in light of the comments received. All comments received will be available in the Rules Docket for examination by interested persons, both before and after the closing date for comments. A report summarizing each substantive public contact with FAA personnel concerning this rulemaking will be filed in the docket. Commenters wishing the FAA to acknowledge receipt of their comments submitted in response to this notice must include a self-addressed, stamped postcard on which the following statement is made: “Comments to CE190.” The postcard will be date stamped and returned to the commenter.

Background

On February 11, 2002, CenTex Aerospace, Inc. applied for a supplemental type certificate for their Beech Model A36 airplane. The Beech Model A36 is powered by a Teledyne Continental Motors model IOF-550-B engine. This engine incorporates Full Authority Digital Electronic Controls.

Type Certification Basis

Under the provisions of 14 CFR § 21.101, CenTex Aerospace, Inc. must show that the Beech Model A36 meets the applicable provisions of 14 CFR part 23, as amended by Amendments 23-1 through 23-53 thereto.

If the Administrator finds that the applicable airworthiness regulations (i.e., 14 CFR part 23) do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for the Beech Model A36 because of a novel or unusual design feature, special conditions are prescribed under the provisions of § 21.16.

In addition to the applicable airworthiness regulations and special conditions, the Beech Model A36 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 section 611 of Public Law 92-574, the “Noise Control Act of 1972.”

Special conditions, as appropriate, as defined in § 11.19, are issued in accordance with § 11.38, and become part of the type certification basis in accordance with § 21.101.

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 § 21.101.

Novel or Unusual Design Features

The Beech Model A36 will incorporate the following novel or unusual design features:

The CenTex Aerospace, Inc. Beech Model A36 airplane will use an engine that includes an electronic control system with full engine authority capability.

Many advanced electronic systems are prone to either upsets or damage, or both, at energy levels lower than analog systems. The increasing use of high power radio frequency emitters mandates requirements for improved high intensity radiated fields (HIRF) protection for electrical and electronic equipment. Since the electronic engine control system used on the CenTex Aerospace, Inc. Beech Model A36 will perform critical functions, provisions for protection from the effects of HIRF fields should be considered and, if necessary, incorporated into the airplane design data. The FAA policy contained in Notice 8110.71, dated April 2, 1998, establishes the HIRF energy levels that airplanes will be exposed to in service. The guidelines set forth in this Notice are the result of an Aircraft Certification Service review of existing policy on HIRF, in light of the ongoing work of the ARAC Electromagnetic Effects Harmonization Working Group (EEHWG). The EEHWG adopted a set of HIRF environment levels in November 1997 that were agreed upon by the FAA, JAA, and industry participants. As a result, the HIRF environments in this notice reflect the environment levels recommended by this working group. This notice states that a full authority digital engine control is an example of a system that should address the HIRF environments.

Even though the control system will be certificated as part of the engine, the installation of an engine with an electronic control system requires evaluation due to the possible effects on or by other airplane systems (e.g., radio interference with other airplane electronic systems, shared engine and airplane power sources). The regulatory requirements in 14 CFR part 23 for evaluating the installation of complex systems, including electronic systems, are contained in § 23.1309. However, when § 23.1309 was developed, the use of electronic control systems for engines was not envisioned; therefore, the § 23.1309 requirements were not applicable to systems certificated as part of the engine (reference § 23.1309(f)(1)). Also, electronic control systems often require inputs from airplane data and power sources and outputs to other airplane systems (e.g., automated cockpit powerplant controls such as mixture setting). Although the parts of the system that are not certificated with the engine could be evaluated using the criteria of § 23.1309, the integral nature of systems such as these makes it unfeasible to evaluate the airplane portion of the system without including the engine portion of the system. However, § 23.1309(f)(1) again prevents complete evaluation of the installed airplane system since evaluation of the engine system's effects is not required.

Therefore, special conditions are proposed for the CenTex Aerospace, Inc., Beech Model A36 to provide HIRF protection and to evaluate the installation of the electronic engine control system for compliance with the requirements of § 23.1309(a) through (e) at Amendment 23-46.

Applicability

As discussed above, these special conditions are applicable to the Beech Model A36. Should CenTex Aerospace, Inc. 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 § 21.101.

Conclusion

This action affects only certain novel or unusual design features on one Beech model A36 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.

The substance of these special conditions has been subjected to the notice and comment period in several prior instances and has been derived without substantive change from those previously issued. It is unlikely that prior public comment would result in a significant change from the substance contained herein. For this reason, and because a delay would significantly affect the certification of the airplane, which is imminent, the FAA has determined that prior public notice and comment are unnecessary and impracticable, and good cause exists for adopting these special conditions upon issuance. The FAA is requesting comments to allow interested persons to submit views that may not have been submitted in response to the prior opportunities for comment described above.

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 21.16 and 21.101; and 14 CFR 11.38 and 11.19.

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 CenTex Aerospace, Inc., Beech Model A36 airplane.

1. High Intensity Radiated Fields (HIRF) Protection. In showing compliance with 14 CFR part 21 and the airworthiness requirements of 14 CFR part 23, protection against hazards caused by exposure to HIRF fields for the full authority digital engine control system, which performs critical functions, must be considered. To prevent this occurrence, the electronic engine control system must be designed and installed to ensure that the operation and operational capabilities of this critical system are not adversely affected when the airplane is exposed to high energy radio fields.

At this time, the FAA and other airworthiness authorities are unable to precisely define or control the HIRF energy level to which the airplane will be exposed in service; therefore, the FAA hereby defines two acceptable interim methods for complying with the requirement for protection of systems that perform critical functions.

(1) The applicant may demonstrate that the operation and operational capability of the installed electrical and electronic systems that perform critical functions are not adversely affected when the aircraft is exposed to the external HIRF threat environment defined in the following table:

or,

(2) The applicant may demonstrate by a system test and analysis that the electrical and electronic systems that perform critical functions can withstand a minimum threat of 100 volts per meter peak electrical strength, without the benefit of airplane structural shielding, in the frequency range of 10 KHz to 18 GHz. When using this test to show compliance with the HIRF requirements, no credit is given for signal attenuation due to installation. Data used for engine certification may be used, when appropriate, for airplane certification.

2. Electronic Engine Control System. The installation of the electronic engine control system must comply with the requirements of § 23.1309(a) through (e) at Amendment 23-46. The intent of this requirement is not to re-evaluate the inherent hardware reliability of the control itself, but rather determine the effects, including environmental effects addressed in § 23.1309(e), on the airplane systems and engine control system when installing the control on the airplane. When appropriate, engine certification data may be used when showing compliance with this requirement.