This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains notices to the public of the proposed

issuance of rules and regulations. The

purpose of these notices is to give interested

persons an opportunity to participate in the

rule making prior to the adoption of the final

rules.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

68137 

Vol. 79, No. 220 

Friday, November 14, 2014 

FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION 

11 CFR Part 110 

[Notice 2014–13] 

Rulemaking Petition: Candidate 

Debates 

AGENCY: Federal Election Commission. 

ACTION: Rulemaking petition: Notice of 

availability. 

SUMMARY: On September 11, 2014, the 

Federal Election Commission received a 

Petition for Rulemaking from Level the 

Playing Field. The petition asks the 

Commission to amend its regulation on 

candidate debates to revise the criteria 

governing the inclusion of candidates in 

presidential and vice presidential 

candidate debates. The Commission 

seeks comments on this petition. 

DATES: Statements in support of or in 

opposition to the petition must be 

submitted on or before December 15, 

2014. 

ADDRESSES: All comments must be in 

writing. Comments may be submitted 

electronically via the Commission’s 

Web site at http://www.fec.gov/fosers. 

Commenters are encouraged to submit 

comments electronically to ensure 

timely receipt and consideration. 

Alternatively, comments may be 

submitted in paper form. Paper 

comments must be sent to the Federal 

Election Commission, Attn.: Robert M. 

Knop, Assistant General Counsel, 999 E 

Street NW., Washington, DC 20463. 

Each comment must include the full 

name and postal service address of the 

commenter, and of each commenter if 

filed jointly, or it will not be considered. 

The Commission will post comments on 

its Web site at the conclusion of the 

comment period. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Robert M. Knop, Assistant General 

Counsel, or Ms. Jessica Selinkoff, 

Attorney, 999 E Street NW., 

Washington, DC 20463, (202) 694–1650 

or (800) 424–9530. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

September 11, 2014, the Federal 

Election Commission received a Petition 

for Rulemaking from Level the Playing 

Field regarding the Commission’s 

regulation at 11 CFR 110.13(c). That 

regulation governs the criteria that 

debate staging organizations (which the 

petitioner refers to as ‘‘sponsors’’) use 

for inclusion in candidate debates. The 

regulation requires staging organizations 

to ‘‘use pre-established objective criteria 

to determine which candidates may 

participate in a debate’’ and further 

specifies that, for general election 

debates, staging organizations ‘‘shall not 

use nomination by a particular political 

party as the sole objective criterion to 

determine whether to include a 

candidate in a debate.’’ 11 CFR 

110.13(c). The petition asks the 

Commission to amend 11 CFR 110.13(c) 

in two respects: (1) To preclude 

sponsors of general election presidential 

and vice presidential debates from 

requiring that a candidate meet a polling 

threshold in order to be included in the 

debate; and (2) to require sponsors of 

general election presidential and vice 

presidential debates to have a set of 

objective, unbiased criteria for debate 

participation that do not require 

candidates to satisfy a polling threshold. 

The Commission seeks comments on the 

petition. 

Copies of the Petition for Rulemaking 

are available for public inspection on 

the Commission’s Web site at http://

www.fec.gov/fosers/ and in the 

Commission’s Public Records Office, 

999 E Street NW., Washington, DC 

20463, Monday through Friday between 

the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Interested 

persons may also obtain a copy of the 

petition by dialing the Commission’s 

Faxline service at (202) 501–3413 and 

following its instructions, at any time of 

the day and week. Request document 

#275. 

Consideration of the merits of the 

petition will be deferred until the close 

of the comment period. If the 

Commission decides that the petition 

has merit, it may begin a rulemaking 

proceeding. Any subsequent action 

taken by the Commission will be 

announced in the Federal Register. 

On behalf of the Commission. 

Lee E. Goodman, 

Chairman, Federal Election Commission. 

[FR Doc. 2014–26935 Filed 11–13–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6715–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 33 

[Docket No. FAA–2014–0637; Notice No. 33– 

14–02–SC] 

Special Conditions: CFM International, 

LEAP–1A and –1C Engine Models; 

Incorporation of Woven Composite 

Fan Blades 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed special 

conditions. 

SUMMARY: This action proposes special 

conditions for the CFM International 

(CFM), LEAP–1A and –1C engine 

models. These engines will have a novel 

or unusual design feature associated 

with the engine fan blades—new woven 

composite fan blades. The applicable 

airworthiness regulations do not contain 

adequate or appropriate safety standards 

for this design feature. These proposed 

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: Send your comments on or 

before December 29, 2014. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments identified 

by docket number [FAA–2014–0637] 

using any of the following methods: 

• Federal eRegulations Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov and follow 

the online instructions for sending your 

comments electronically. 

• 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. 

• 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. 

• Fax: Fax comments to Docket 

Operations at 202–493–2251. 

Privacy: Docket Operations will post 

all comments it receives, without 

change, to http://regulations.gov, 

including any personal information the 

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68138 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 220 / Friday, November 14, 2014 / Proposed Rules 

commenter provides. Using the search 

function of the docket Web site, anyone 

can find and read the electronic form of 

all comments received into any FAA 

docket, including the name of the 

individual sending the comment (or 

signing the comment for an association, 

business, labor union, etc.). DOT’s 

complete Privacy Act Statement can be 

found in the Federal Register published 

on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477–19478), 

as well as at http://DocketsInfo.dot.gov. 

Docket: You may read background 

documents or comments received at 

http://www.regulations.gov at any time. 

Follow the online instructions for 

accessing the docket or go to the 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: For 

technical questions concerning these 

proposed special conditions, contact 

Alan Strom, ANE–111, Engine and 

Propeller Directorate, Aircraft 

Certification Service, 12 New England 

Executive Park, Burlington, 

Massachusetts, 01803–5213; telephone 

(781) 238–7143; facsimile (781) 238– 

7199; email alan.strom@faa.gov. For 

legal questions concerning this 

proposed rule, contact Vincent Bennett, 

ANE–7, Engine and Propeller 

Directorate, Aircraft Certification 

Service, 12 New England Executive 

Park, Burlington, Massachusetts, 01803– 

5299; telephone (781) 238–7044; 

facsimile (781) 238–7055; email 

vincent.bennett@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Comments Invited 

We invite interested people to 

participate in this rulemaking by 

submitting written comments, data, or 

views. The agency also invites 

comments relating to the economic, 

environmental, energy, or federalism 

impacts that might result from adopting 

the proposals in this document. The 

most helpful comments reference a 

specific portion of the proposed special 

conditions, explain the reason for any 

recommended change, and include 

supporting data. To ensure the docket 

does not contain duplicate comments, 

commenters should send only one copy 

of written comments, or if comments are 

filed electronically, commenters should 

submit only one time. 

We will file in the docket all 

comments it receives, as well as a report 

summarizing each substantive public 

contact with FAA personnel concerning 

this proposed rulemaking. Before acting 

on this proposal, we will consider 

comments filed late if it is possible to 

do so without incurring expense or 

delay. We may change these special 

conditions based on the comments we 

receive. 

Background 

On June 27, 2012, the FAA received 

the type certificate application for 

CFM’s LEAP–1A and –1C turbofan 

engine models. The LEAP engine 

models are high-bypass-ratio engines 

that incorporate a novel and unusual 

design feature—new woven composite 

fan blades. The woven composite fan 

blades will have significant differences 

in material property characteristics 

when compared to conventionally 

designed fan blades using noncomposite metallic materials. 

Special conditions are required to 

ensure that the LEAP–1A and –1C 

woven composite design fan blades 

account for the differences in material 

properties and failure modes relative to 

conventional single-load path metallic 

blades. In addition, different 

containment requirements may be 

applied provided CFM shows that the 

blade design below the inner annulus 

flow path line provides multiple load 

paths and/or crack arresting features 

that prevent delamination or crack 

propagation to blade failure during the 

life of the blade. 

These special conditions are 

necessary because the applicable 

airworthiness regulations do not contain 

adequate or appropriate safety standards 

for the new woven composite design fan 

blades. 

Type Certification Basis 

Under the provisions of Title 14, Code 

of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) 21.17, 

CFM must show that the LEAP–1A and 

–1C engine models meet the applicable 

provisions of the applicable regulations 

in effect on the date of application, 

except as detailed in paragraphs 

21.101(b) and (c). The FAA has 

determined the following certification 

basis for the LEAP–1A and –1C engine 

models: 

1. 14 CFR part 33, ‘‘Airworthiness 

Standards: Aircraft Engines,’’ dated 

February 1, 1965, with Amendments 

33–1 through 33–32, dated September 

20, 2012. 

If the FAA finds that the regulations 

in effect on the date of the application 

for the change do not provide adequate 

or appropriate safety standards for the 

LEAP–1A and –1C engine models 

because of a novel or unusual design 

feature, special conditions are 

prescribed under the provisions of 

§ 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 or similar novel 

or unusual design feature, the special 

conditions would also apply to the other 

model under § 21.101. 

In addition to complying with the 

applicable product airworthiness 

regulations and the requirements of 

these special conditions, the LEAP–1A 

and –1C engine models must also 

comply with the fuel venting and 

exhaust emission requirements of 14 

CFR part 34. 

The FAA issues special conditions, as 

defined in 14 CFR 11.19, in accordance 

with § 11.38, and they become part of 

the type-certification basis under 

§ 21.17(a)(2). 

Novel or Unusual Design Features 

The LEAP–1A and –1C engine models 

will incorporate the following novel or 

unusual design feature: 

The LEAP–1A and –1C engine models 

will incorporate woven composite fan 

blades. The woven composite fan blades 

will have significant differences in 

material property characteristics when 

compared to conventionally designed 

fan blades using non-composite metallic 

materials. Composite material design 

provides the capability to incorporate 

multiple load paths and/or crack 

arresting features that prevent 

delamination or crack propagation to 

blade failure during the life of the blade. 

The woven composite fan blades are 

a novel and unusual design feature that 

requires additional airworthiness 

standards for type certification of the 

LEAP–1A and –1C engine models. 

Discussion 

The woven composite fan blades are 

a novel and unusual design feature that 

requires additional airworthiness 

standards for type certification of the 

LEAP–1A and –1C engine models. The 

current requirements of § 33.94 are 

based on single-load path metallic fan 

blade characteristics and service history, 

and are not appropriate for the unusual 

design features of the woven composite 

fan blade found on the CFM LEAP series 

turbofan engines. 

The properties of a composite blade 

are highly dependent of the composite 

ply configuration, matrix material, and 

manufacturing methods. The CFM LEAP 

engine incorporates 3–D woven resin 

transfer molding (RTM) technology in 

the design and manufacture of the 

blade. 

It is expected that CFM will conduct 

the required material testing per § 33.15 

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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 220 / Friday, November 14, 2014 / Proposed Rules 68139 

to determine material characteristics 

that include the effects of defects, 

manufacturing variations, 

contamination, environmental effect, 

and service damage on the material 

capability and blade life. 

Composite material design provides 

the capability to incorporate multiple 

load paths and/or crack arresting 

features that prevent delamination or 

crack propagation to blade failure 

during the life of the blade. The 

probability of failure that an 

appropriately designed composite fan 

blade will fail below the inner annulus 

flow path line may be highly 

improbable. The airworthiness 

regulations of 14 CFR part 33 do not 

contain adequate or appropriate safety 

standards for an aircraft engine 

incorporating these novel or unusual 

design features i.e., woven composite 

fan blades, including release of the fan 

blade under § 33.94(a)(1) at the inner 

annulus flow path line (only the airfoil) 

instead of the outermost retention 

feature. 

Instead of blade failure at the 

outermost retention groove currently 

required by § 33.94(a)(1), the FAA has 

determined that a more realistic bladeout test can be achieved with a fan blade 

failure at the inner annulus flow path 

line i.e., releasing only the airfoil. 

Additionally, the FAA considers any 

change to the design, manufacturing, 

materials, or service management to the 

blade below the inner annulus flow path 

to be a change that could affect the 

blade integrity. Therefore, the FAA has 

determined that the blade be marked 

with a part and serial number, and that 

additional integrity requirements be 

applied to the blade below the inner 

annulus flow path line. 

These requirements maintain a level 

of safety equivalent to the level 

intended by the applicable 

airworthiness standards in effect on the 

date of application. 

Applicability 

As discussed above, these special 

conditions are applicable to the LEAP– 

1A and –1C engine models. Should 

CFM 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. 

Conclusion 

This action affects only the woven 

composite fan blade feature on the 

LEAP–1A and –1C engine models. It is 

not a rule of general applicability and 

applies only to CFM, who requested 

FAA approval of this engine feature. 

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 33 

Aircraft, Engines, Aviation Safety, 

Reporting, and Recordkeeping. 

The authority citation for these 

special conditions is as follows: 

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 106(g), 40113, 44701, 

44702, 44704. 

The Proposed Special Conditions 

Accordingly, the FAA proposes the 

following special conditions as part of 

the type certification basis for CFM, 

LEAP–1A and –1C engine models. 

1. Part 33, Requirements 

In addition to the airworthiness 

standards in 14 CFR part 33, effective 

February 1, 1965, with Amendments 

33–1 through 33–32 applicable to the 

CFM, LEAP–1A and –1C engine models: 

(a) Conduct an engine fan blade 

containment test with the fan blade 

failing at the inner annulus flow path 

line instead of at the outermost 

retention groove. 

(b) Substantiate by test and analysis, 

or other methods acceptable to the FAA, 

that a fan disk and fan blade retention 

system with minimum material 

properties can withstand, without 

failure, a centrifugal load equal to two 

times the maximum load the retention 

system could experience within 

approved engine operating limitations. 

The fan blade retention system includes 

the portion of the fan blade from the 

inner annulus flow path line inward to 

the blade dovetail, the blade retention 

components, and the fan disk and fan 

blade attachment features. 

(c) Using a procedure approved by the 

FAA, establish an operating limitation 

that specifies the maximum allowable 

number of start-stop stress cycles for the 

fan blade retention system. The life 

evaluation must include the combined 

effects of high-cycle and low-cycle 

fatigue. If the operating limitation is less 

than 100,000 cycles, that limitation 

must be specified in Chapter 5 of the 

Engine Manual Airworthiness 

Limitation Section. The procedure used 

to establish the maximum allowable 

number of start-stop stress cycles for the 

fan blade retention system will 

incorporate the integrity requirements 

in paragraphs (c)(1), (2), and (3) of these 

special conditions for the fan blade 

retention system. 

(1) An engineering plan, which 

establishes and maintains that the 

combinations of loads, material 

properties, environmental influences, 

and operating conditions, including the 

effects of parts influencing these 

parameters, are well known or 

predictable through validated analysis, 

test, or service experience. 

(2) A manufacturing plan that 

identifies the specific manufacturing 

constraints necessary to consistently 

produce the fan blade retention system 

with the attributes required by the 

engineering plan. 

(3) A service management plan that 

defines in-service processes for 

maintenance and repair of the fan blade 

retention system, which will maintain 

attributes consistent with those required 

by the engineering plan. 

(d) Substantiate by test and analysis, 

or other methods acceptable to the FAA, 

that the blade design below the inner 

annulus flow path line provides 

multiple load paths and/or crack 

arresting features that prevent 

delamination or crack propagation to 

blade failure during the life of the blade. 

(e) Substantiate that during the 

service life of the engine, the total 

probability of an individual blade 

retention system failure resulting from 

all possible causes, as defined in 

§ 33.75, will be extremely improbable 

with a cumulative calculated probability 

of failure of less than 10¥9 per engine 

flight hour. 

(f) Substantiate by test or analysis that 

not only will the engine continue to 

meet the requirements of § 33.75 

following a lightning strike on the 

composite fan blade structure, but that 

the lightning strike will not cause 

damage to the fan blades that would 

prevent continued safe operation of the 

affected engine. 

(g) Account for the effects of inservice deterioration, manufacturing 

variations, minimum material 

properties, and environmental effects 

during the tests and analyses required 

by paragraphs (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), and 

(f) of these special conditions. 

(h) Propose fleet leader monitoring 

and field sampling programs that will 

monitor the effects of engine fan blade 

usage and fan blade retention system 

integrity. 

(i) Mark each fan blade legibly and 

permanently with a part number and a 

serial number. 

Issued in Burlington, Massachusetts, on 

November 6, 2014. 

Kimberly K. Smith, 

Acting Manager, Engine and Propeller 

Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2014–27019 Filed 11–13–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

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