55226 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 178 / Tuesday, September 15, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 25 

[Docket No. FAA–2014–1075; Special 

Conditions No. 25–599–SC] 

Special Conditions: Dassault Aviation 

Model Falcon 5X Airplane, PilotCompartment View Through 

Hydrophobic Windshield Coatings in 

Lieu of Windshield Wipers 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Final special conditions; request 

for comment. 

SUMMARY: These special conditions are 

issued for the Dassault Model Falcon 5X 

airplane. This airplane will have a novel 

or unusual design feature when 

compared to the state of technology 

envisioned in the airworthiness 

standards for transport-category 

airplanes. This design feature is 

hydrophobic windshield coatings in 

lieu of windshield wipers. 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 

Dassault Aviation on September 15, 

2015. We must receive your comments 

by October 30, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments identified 

by docket number FAA–2014–1075 

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: The FAA will post all 

comments it receives, without change, 

to http://www.regulations.gov/, 

including any personal information the 

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: Background documents or 

comments received may be read at 

http://www.regulations.gov/ 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: Bob 

Hettman, ANM–112, Transport Airplane 

Directorate, Aircraft Certification 

Service, 1601 Lind Avenue SW., 

Renton, Washington 98057–3356; 

telephone (425) 227–2683; facsimile 

(425) 227–1149. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FAA 

has determined that notice of, and 

opportunity for prior public comment 

on, these special conditions is 

impracticable because these procedures 

would significantly delay issuance of 

the design approval and thus delivery of 

the affected airplane(s). 

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 

publication in the Federal Register. 

Comments Invited 

We invite 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. 

We will consider all comments we 

receive by the closing date for 

comments. We may change these special 

conditions based on the comments we 

receive. 

Background 

On July 1, 2012, Dassault Aviation 

applied for a type certificate for their 

new Model Falcon 5X airplane. 

The Model Falcon 5X airplane is a 

large, transport-category airplane to be 

operated in private/corporate 

transportation with a maximum of 19 

passengers. The airplane incorporates a 

low, swept-wing design with winglets; 

twin rear-fuselage-mounted engines; 

and the newest generation of Dassault 

Aviation’s EASy flightdeck. 

Type Certification Basis 

Under the provisions of Title 14, Code 

of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) 21.17, 

Dassault Aviation must show that the 

Model Falcon 5X airplane meets the 

applicable provisions of part 25, as 

amended by Amendments 25–1 through 

25–136. 

The certification basis includes 

certain special conditions, exemptions, 

or later amended sections of the 

applicable part that are not relevant to 

these special conditions. 

If the Administrator finds that the 

applicable airworthiness regulations 

(i.e., 14 CFR part 25) do not contain 

adequate or appropriate safety standards 

for the Model Falcon 5X airplane 

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 novel or unusual 

design feature, or should any other 

model already included on the same 

type certificate be modified to 

incorporate the same novel or unusual 

design feature, these special conditions 

would also apply to the other model 

under § 21.101. 

In addition to the applicable 

airworthiness regulations and special 

conditions, the Model Falcon 5X 

airplane must comply with the fuel-vent 

and exhaust-emission requirements of 

part 34, and the noise-certification 

requirements of part 36. 

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 

§ 21.101. 

Novel or Unusual Design Features 

The Dassault Model Falcon 5X 

airplane will incorporate the following 

novel or unusual design feature: 

The airplane flightdeck design 

incorporates a hydrophobic windshield 

coating that, during precipitation, 

provides an adequate outside view from 

the pilot compartment. Sole reliance on 

such a coating, without windshield 

wipers, constitutes a novel or unusual 

design feature for which the applicable 

airworthiness regulations do not contain 

adequate or appropriate safety 

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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 178 / Tuesday, September 15, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 55227 

standards. Therefore, special conditions 

are required to provide a level of safety 

equivalent to that established by the 

regulations. 

Discussion 

Section 25.773(b)(1) requires a means 

to maintain a clear portion of the 

windshield for both pilots operating a 

transport-category airplane to have a 

sufficiently extensive view along the 

flight path during precipitation 

conditions. The regulations require this 

means to maintain such an area of clear 

vision during heavy-rain precipitation at 

airplane speeds up to 1.5 VSR1. 

This requirement has existed in 

principle since 1953 in part 4b of the 

‘‘Civil Air Regulations’’ (CAR). Section 

4b.351(b)(1) required that ‘‘Means shall 

be provided for maintaining a sufficient 

portion of the windshield clear so that 

both pilots are afforded a sufficiently 

extensive view along the flight path in 

all normal flight attitudes of the 

airplane. Such means shall be designed 

to function under the following 

conditions without continuous attention 

on the part of the crew: (i) In heavy rain 

at speeds up to 1.6 VS1, flaps retracted.’’ 

Effective December 26, 2002, 

Amendment 25–108 changed the speed 

for effectiveness of the means to 

maintain an area of clear vision from up 

to 1.6 VS1 to 1.5 VSR1 to accommodate 

the redefinition of the reference stall 

speed from the minimum speed in the 

stall, VS1, to greater than or equal to the 

1g stall speed, VSR1. As noted in the 

preamble to the final rule for that 

amendment, the reduced factor of 1.5 on 

VSR1 is to maintain approximately the 

same speed as the 1.6 factor on VS1. 

The requirement that the means to 

maintain a clear area of forward vision 

must function at high speeds and high 

precipitation rates is based on the use of 

windshield wipers as the means to 

maintain an adequate area of clear 

vision in precipitation conditions. The 

requirement in 14 CFR 121.313(b) and 

125.213(b) to provide ‘‘. . . a 

windshield wiper or equivalent for each 

pilot station . . .’’ has remained 

unchanged since at least 1953. 

The effectiveness of windshield 

wipers to maintain an area of clear 

vision normally degrades as airspeed 

and precipitation rates increase. It is 

assumed that because high speeds and 

high precipitation rates represent 

limiting conditions for windshield 

wipers, they will also be effective at 

lower speeds and precipitation levels. 

Accordingly, § 25.773(b)(1)(i) does not 

require maintenance of a clear area of 

forward vision at lower speeds or lower 

precipitation rates. 

A forced airflow blown directly over 

the windshield has also been used to 

maintain an area of clear vision in 

precipitation. The limiting conditions 

for this technology are comparable to 

those for windshield wipers. 

Accordingly, introduction of this 

technology did not present a need for 

special conditions to maintain the level 

of safety embodied in the existing 

regulations. 

Hydrophobic windshield coatings 

may depend to some degree on airflow 

to maintain a clear-vision area. The 

heavy rain and high speed conditions 

specified in the current rule do not 

necessarily represent the limiting 

condition for this new technology. For 

example, airflow over the windshield, 

which may be necessary to remove 

moisture from the windshield, may not 

be adequate to maintain a sufficiently 

clear-vision area of the windshield in 

low-speed flight or during surface 

operations. Alternatively, airflow over 

the windshield may be disturbed during 

such critical times as the approach to 

land, where the airplane is at a higherthan-normal pitch attitude. In these 

cases, areas of airflow disturbance or 

separation on the windshield could 

cause failure to maintain a clear-vision 

area on the windshield. 

In addition to potentially depending 

on airflow to function effectively, 

hydrophobic coatings may also be 

dependent on water-droplet size for 

effective precipitation removal. For 

example, precipitation in the form of a 

light mist may not be sufficient for the 

coating’s properties to result in 

maintaining a clear area of vision. 

The current regulations identify speed 

and precipitation rate requirements that 

represent limiting conditions for 

windshield wipers and blowers, but not 

for hydrophobic coatings. Likewise, it is 

necessary to issue special conditions to 

maintain the level of safety represented 

by the current regulations. 

These special conditions provide an 

appropriate safety standard for the 

hydrophobic-coating technology as the 

means to maintain a clear area of vision 

by requiring the coating to be effective 

at low speeds and low precipitation 

rates, as well as at the higher speeds and 

precipitation rates identified in the 

current regulation. These special 

conditions are the only new or changed 

requirements relative to those in 

§ 25.773(b)(1) at Amendment 25–108. 

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 are applicable to the Dassault 

Falcon 5X airplane. Should Dassault 

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 certain novel 

or unusual design features on the 

Dassault Falcon 5X airplane. It is not a 

rule of general applicability. 

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. Therefore, 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 publication in 

the Federal Register. 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 25 

Aircraft, Aviation safety, Reporting 

and recordkeeping requirements. 

The authority citation for these 

special conditions is as follows: 

Authority: 49106(g), 40113, 44701, 44702, 

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 typecertification basis for Dassault Falcon 

5X airplanes. 

The airplane must have a means to 

maintain a clear portion of the 

windshield, during precipitation 

conditions, enough for both pilots to 

have a sufficiently extensive view along 

the ground or flight path in normal taxi 

and flight attitudes of the airplane. This 

means must be designed to function, 

without continuous attention on the 

part of the flightcrew, in conditions 

from light misting precipitation to heavy 

rain, at speeds from fully stopped in 

still air, to 1.5 VSR1 with lift and drag 

devices retracted. 

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55228 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 178 / Tuesday, September 15, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 

Issued in Renton, Washington, on 

September 9, 2015. 

Michael Kaszycki, 

Acting Manager, Transport Airplane 

Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2015–23099 Filed 9–14–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 25 

[Docket No. FAA–2015–1483; Special 

Conditions No. 25–598–SC] 

Special Conditions: Gulfstream 

Aerospace Corporation Model GVII– 

G500 Airplanes; Limit Engine Torque 

Loads 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Final special conditions; request 

for comments. 

SUMMARY: These special conditions are 

issued for the Gulfstream Model GVII– 

G500 airplane. These airplanes have a 

novel or unusual design feature as 

compared to the state of technology 

envisioned in the airworthiness 

standards for transport category 

airplanes. This design feature includes 

engine size and the potential torque 

loads imposed by sudden engine 

stoppage. 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 15, 

2015. We must receive your comments 

by October 30, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments identified 

by docket number FAA–2015–1483 

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: The FAA will post all 

comments it receives, without change, 

to http://www.regulations.gov/, 

including any personal information the 

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: Background documents or 

comments received may be read at 

http://www.regulations.gov/ 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: Walt 

Sippel, FAA, Airframe and Cabin Safety 

Branch, ANM–115, Transport Airplane 

Directorate, Aircraft Certification 

Service, 1601 Lind Avenue SW., 

Renton, Washington 98057–3356; 

telephone 425–227–2774; facsimile 

425–227–1232. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FAA 

has determined that notice of, and 

opportunity for, prior public comment 

on these special conditions are 

impracticable because these procedures 

would significantly delay issuance of 

the design approval and thus delivery of 

the affected airplane. 

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 

We invite 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. 

We will consider all comments we 

receive on or before the closing date for 

comments. We may change these special 

conditions based on the comments we 

receive. 

Background 

On March 29, 2012, Gulfstream 

Aerospace Corporation applied for a 

type certificate for their new Model 

GVII–G500 airplane. 

The GVII airplane is a large-cabin 

business jet with seating for 19 

passengers. It incorporates a low, sweptwing design with winglets and a T-tail. 

The Model GVII–G500 airplane is 

powered by two aft-fuselage-mounted 

Pratt & Whitney turbofan engines. 

Avionics will include four primary 

display units and multiple touchscreen 

controllers. The flight-control system is 

a three-axis fly-by-wire system 

controlled by active control/coupled 

side sticks. 

The Model GVII–G500 airplane 

wingspan is approximately 87 ft with a 

length of just over 91 ft. Maximum 

takeoff weight will be approximately 

76,850 lbs and maximum takeoff thrust 

will be approximately 15,135 lbs. 

Maximum range will be approximately 

5,000 nm and maximum operating 

altitude will be 51,000 ft. 

Type Certification Basis 

Under the provisions of Title 14, Code 

of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) 21.17, 

Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation must 

show that the Model GVII–500 airplane 

meets the applicable provisions of part 

25, as amended by Amendments 25–1 

through 25–137 thereto. 

If the Administrator finds that the 

applicable airworthiness regulations 

(i.e., 14 CFR part 25) do not contain 

adequate or appropriate safety standards 

for the Model GVII–G500 airplane 

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 the applicable 

airworthiness regulations and special 

conditions, the Model GVII–G500 

airplane must comply with the fuel-vent 

and exhaust-emission requirements of 

14 CFR part 34 and the noisecertification requirements of 14 CFR 

part 36. 

The FAA issues special conditions, as 

defined in 14 CFR 11.19, in accordance 

with § 11.38, and they become part of 

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