Special Conditions; Cessna Aircraft Company Model 510 Airplane; Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC) System

AGENCY:

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION:

Final special conditions; request for comments.

SUMMARY:

These special conditions are issued for the Cessna Aircraft Company, Model 510 airplane. This airplane will have a novel or unusual design feature(s) associated with the use of an electronic engine control system instead of a traditional mechanical control 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 June 9, 2006. Comments must be received on or before July 17, 2006.

ADDRESSES:

Comments may be mailed in duplicate to: Federal Aviation Administration, Regional Counsel, ACE-7, Attention: Rules Docket Clerk, Docket No. CE252, Room 506, 901 Locust Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64106. All comments must be marked: Docket No. CE252. 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:

Peter L. Rouse, Aerospace Engineer, Standards Office (ACE-111), Small Airplane Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service, Federal Aviation Administration, Room 301, 901 Locust Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64106; telephone (816) 329-4135, 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 notice number and be submitted in duplicate to the address specified above. All communications received on or before the closing date for comments specified above 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 Docket No. CE252.” The postcard will be date stamped and returned to the commenter.

Background

On January 28, 2004, Cessna Aircraft Company; One Cessna Boulevard; Post Office Box 7704; Wichita, KS 67277, applied to the FAA for a new Type Certificate for the Cessna Model 510 Mustang. The Cessna 510 will be approved under TC No. A24CE. The Model 510 is an all new, high performance, low-wing, aft fuselage mounted twin turbofan engine powered aircraft in the Normal Category including flight into known icing conditions and single pilot operations. The Model 510 is to use existing Cessna Citation construction materials and methods. The design criteria includes: 8,480 pounds maximum ramp weight, 8,395 pounds maximum takeoff weight, 250 KCAS/0.63 Mach VMO/MMO, and a 41,000 foot maximum altitude. The Model 510 airplane design includes digital electronic engine control systems, which were not envisaged and are not adequately addressed in 14 CFR part 23. The applicable existing regulations do not address electronic control systems since those were not envisioned at the time. Even though the engine 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 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. 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 not feasible 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.

Type Certification Basis

Under the provisions of 14 CFR part 21, § 21.17, Cessna Aircraft Company must show that the applicant meets the applicable provisions of 14 CFR part 23, effective February 1, 1965, as amended by Amendment 23-1 through Amendment 23-54, effective September 14, 2000; 14 CFR part 36, effective December 1, 1969, through the amendment effective on the date of type certification; 14 CFR part 34; exemptions, if any; and the special conditions adopted by this rulemaking action.

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 Cessna Aircraft Company Model 510 because of a novel or unusual design feature, special conditions are prescribed under the provisions of § 21.16.

Discussion

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 § 21.17.

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 Model 510 will incorporate the following novel or unusual design features:

Digital electronic engine control systems. This special condition covers a digital electronic engine control system on the Cessna Aircraft Company Model 510 airplane.

Applicability

As discussed above, these special conditions are applicable to the Cessna Aircraft Company Model 510 airplane. Should Cessna Aircraft Company 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 model of airplane. It is not a rule of general applicability and affects only the applicant who applied to the FAA for approval of these features on the airplane.

Under standard practice, the effective date of final special conditions would be 30 days after the date of publication in the Federal Register; however, as the certification date for the Cessna Aircraft Company Model 510 is imminent, the FAA finds that good cause exists to make these special conditions effective upon issuance.

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 21.17; 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 Cessna Aircraft Company Model 510 airplane.

1. 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 23-49. 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.