Ryan International Airlines 4949 Harrison Ave. Rockford, IL 61108 October 21, 2011

Docket Operation U.S. Department of Transportation West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590

Subject: Petition for exemption to 14 CFR§121.359( j)(4), Amendment 121-349 for a portion of Federal Aviation Regulation Part 121-359 – Co ckpit Voice Recorders for Airbus A330-343 Aircraft MSN 1231 operated by Ryan International Airlines.

Reference:

Attachment ‘A’ - Current FAR rules 121-359 (j)(4) –Cockpit Voice Recorder Regulations (CVR), final Rule. Attachment ‘B’ – Airbus Comments to docket No. FAA-2005-20245. Notice No. 10-01, extension of the compliance date for cockpit voi ce recorder and digital flight data recorder regulations.

Ryan International Airlines, a FAR 121 Oper ator is requesting this exemption to part 121-359 (j)(4) amendment 121-349 – Cockpit Voice Reco rders. Please reference the regulation in attachment “A” to this document.

This regulation is applicable to all ai rcraft operated under FAA operational regulation (Nregistered aircraft or under Airworthiness Authorities following FAA operational rules), through FAA Part 121. Ryan International Airlines is pla nning to receive its first A330-343 aircraft MSN 1231, and has been informed by the aircraft manuf acturer (Airbus) that the current configuration of the aircraft will not comply with the requireme nts of the datalink messaging specified as it was originally configured to EASA requirement s for FANS-A+ datalink functions. Airbus has previously commented on the time period to im plement datalink messaging and has previously submitted information to explain the complex retrof it to the airframe in order to comply with the ruling by the deadline specified (Attachment B).

The retrofit options to make the aircraft capab le of meeting the regulation are not currently available, but are being worked by the manufact urer and will be installed once released. Those options will include replacing the ATSU and soft ware, installing a new CVR LRU, and activating the datalink recording functions which could possibl y include a wiring retrofit or data bus change on the aircraft. There are currently no available a pproved options at this time, to meet the datalink message recording requirements sp ecified in the FAR as listed.

Therefore, Ryan International Airlines respectfu lly requests an exemption to these rulings until such time as the retrofits and components are ava ilable from the aircraft manufacturer, which we expect to be available prior to December, 2012. Once these are available, the aircraft can be retrofitted to the approved configuration to meet datalink message recording, required by the regulation. We have queried the manufacturer for the exact date of the release of these service

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bulletins and expect to have that information available soon, but are under the impression it will not be prior to our technical acceptance of the aircraft.

This exemption, if granted, would allow Ry an International Airlines to benefit from the use of CPDLC capability on the aircraft for approximately 13 months or less, within the FAA’s oceanic and remote airspace and outside U.S. allocated airspace with datalink services are provided, and Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSP’s) would be able to sustain current levels of safety. It would allow Ryan International to compete as a small business organization, provide more environmentally friendly routes, allow the aircraft to minimize fuel consumption, emissions, and compete with other airlines outside the country.

This exemption request is in interest of the United States public, as Ryan International airlines is a operator which provides support of governme nt contracts and scheduled DOD flights, in addition to transporting US passengers to thei r destinations for business and tourism. Not allowing the use of CPDLC applications will no doub t have an adverse effect, causing distress to the airline through additional fuel consumption, environmental impact, operational routes, and require additional flight crew burden to operate radios on long range flights.

Please contact Ryan International Airlines if you any questions or need additional information to provide this exemption.

Sincerely,



### Gerald (Jim) Miller Avionics Systems Engineer Ryan International Airlines

JimMiller@flyryan.com Tel: 520-940-2179 Fax: 520-844-1188

CC: Mr. John Medeiros Director Of Quality Ryan In ternational Airlines

Edy Mentor Principal Avionics Inspector Federal Aviation Administration Chicago Flight Standards District Office