AFS

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December 27, 2016

Exemption No. 11030B Regulatory Docket No. FAA

- 20 14

- 0040

Mr. Jose G. Nieves Chief Pilot, Standardization and Training Sikorsky Aircraft Corpor ation 6900 Main Street, Mail Stop S212A4 Stratford, CT 06615

Dear Mr. Nieves :

This letter is to inform you that we have granted your petition to extend and amend Exemption

No. 11030 , as amended. It transmits our decision, explains its basis, and gives y ou the conditions and limitations of the exemption, including the date it ends.

The Basis for Our Decision

By letter dated June 7, 2016 , you petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on

behalf of Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation ( SAC ) for an exten sion of

, and amendment to

, Exemption No. 11030 , as amended. That exemption

, from § § 61.3(a)(1) and 91.9(a) of

Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR)

, allows Sikorsky to conduct sales demonstration flights, customer crew training flights, and custo mer acceptance flights in the

S

- 70i aircraft and sales demonstration flights in the S

- 92 aircraft.

In your letter dated June 7, 2016, you reques ted two amendment s to Exemption 11030, as

amended

. You requested an amendment that w ould extend the current e xemption privilege s granted to the S

- 70i to all S

- 70 models manufactured and currently sold by SAC

. These models are listed in your email of August 5, 2016 to the FAA

. Your second amendment
request would remove the condition pertaining to flights under a special airworthiness

certificate in the experimental category that limits these flights to sales demonstration s. In your petition, you stated that certain aircraft manufactured by SAC for foreign sale s are operated under a special airworthiness certific ate , and t his prevents certain customer pilots

from participat ing in training flights and aircraft acceptance flights in these aircraft

.2

I n your email of August 5, 2016, you indicated that the only persons carried on demonstration and acceptance flights are the SAC pilot

- in

- c ommand (P IC ) , the customer pilots as s econd

- in

c ommand ( SIC )

, and a crew chief

, as necessary. You indicated that t raining flights are

conducted with the SAC PIC, two student pilots, and a crew chief as required.

Y our email of Augu st 8, 2016

, stated that your usual training flight allows two student pilots

to alternate as SIC , and that each pilot serv es exclusively as the SIC during one of two flight legs . D uring the leg when not acting as SIC, the student SIC help s with the checkl ist during

start

- up and shutdown, observe s the flight

, and help s with airspace surveillance and obstacle

avoidance.

In your petition, you indicate that there has been no change in the conditions and reasons relative to public interest and safety that wer e the basis for granting the original exemption.

Our Decision

The FAA has determined that good cause exists for not publishing a summary of the petition

in the Federal Register because the requested extension of amendment to the exemption would

not set a precedent, and any delay in acting on this petition would be detrimental to SAC.

The FAA has determined that the justification for the issuance of Exemption No. 11030 , as amended and with two a mendments as requested in your letter of June 7, 2016 , rema ins valid with respect to this exemption

, is in the public interest

, and presents no significant impact upon the of safety of flight

.

The FAA has amended several of the conditions and limitations of Exemption No.11030 , as amended, to clarify our origina l intent. While the relief does not change substantially, all users of the exemption should thoroughly review the revised conditions and limitations.

C onditions and L imitations No s

. 1 , 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 w ere expanded to include all models of S

- 70

aircraft cur

rently manufactured and sold by SAC. All S

- 70 models of aircraft have similar operating characteristics, and the FAA is of the opinion that there is no impact upon the safety of flight when extending the exemption priviledges to all S

- 70 models

.

C ondit ion and L imitation No. 1 originally restricted S

- 92 flight operations using the privileges of Exemption 11030, as amended, to sales demonstration flights . With this amendment, flight operations using the privileges of this exemption are now expanded in Con dition and

Limitation No. 1 ( b ) and 1 ( c ) to allow customer crew training and customer acceptance flights.

The FAA believes that there is similar risk among these types of flight missions and that SAC training and customer acceptance flights would be in the public interest , because they promote competition in the industry. Allowing Sikorsky to demonstrate the capabilities of the S

- 70

and S

- 92 aircraft on training and customer acceptance flights will constitute favorable marketing for the company and therefo re benefit the economy

.3

Condition and Limitation No. 5 was added to allow a second customer pilot to be on board a training flight in an S

- 92 aircraft with a special airworthiness certificate in the experimental category provided that customer pilot has t he opportunity to act as SIC during one of two planned flight legs. The FAA understands that the crew would change pos i tion between flight legs while the aircraft is on the ground.

The previous Condition and Limitation No. 5, now No. 6, was amended to ensure that a ll flight operations under this exemption , that are between 1 hour after sunset to 1 hour before sunrise, must be operated with at least one qualified additional crewmember on board and the flight i s conducted in accordance with 14 CFR § § 61 .3 1(k) and 61.195(k) for night vision goggle ( NVG ) operations.

Condition and L imitation No. 8 ( c ) was added to accommodate new Condition and Limitation

No. 5 and to limit the number of potential SICs to those individuals who could contribute to safe operatio n and who would receive flight training. The FAA notes that the non

- flying observer who intends to act as SIC on a training flight adds to the situational awareness of the flight crew. It is the opinion of the FAA that this enhancement to safety offsets any risk associated having one additional person on board the aircraft

, and that allowing a second SIC promotes the objectives that are relevant to the safety of the flight training mission

.

Exemption 11030A, issued February 9, 2016, included the term “ flight engineer” in various places. A person who is a flight engineer, however, is a crewmember who holds a certification under 14 C.F.R. part 63, subpart B that is not required for helicopter operations. The FAA corrects this oversight in the exemption at hand by amending the previous Condition and Limitation No. 7(d), now No. 8(d), to remove flight engineers.

The FAA would like to clarify and expand on the use of the term “student pilot” in your

follow

- up clarification email on August 8 , 2016. The ter m student pilot has a specific meaning in the flight training environment, therefore it is important to point out, although you use this term, you in fact are referring to pilots who are qualified to act as a c u st o mer pilot (SIC) in a SAC aircraft.

The FAA has determined that the justification for the issuance of Exemption No. 110 30 , as amended, remains valid with respect to this exemption and is in the public interest. Therefore, under the authority provided by 49 U.S.C. §§ 106(f), 40113 and 44701, whic h the FAA Administrator has delegated to me, I grant Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation ( SAC ) an exemption

from 14 CFR §§ 61.3(a)(1) and 91.9(a) to conduct sales demonstration flights, customer crew training flights, and customer acceptance flights in S

- 70 and S

- 92 aircraft, subject to the

conditions and limitations listed below

.4

Conditions and Limitations

1. All flight operations for S

- 92 and S

- 70 aircraft using the privileges of this exemption

are limited to:

a. Flights for sales demonstration purposes;

b. Customer crew training;

c. Customer acceptance purposes;

d. Operations conducted in:

i. Visual meteorological conditions (VMC) day; or,

ii. VMC night (including under night vision goggles (NVG)); and

e. Operations that do not involve:

i. Delivery of an aircraft; or, ii. Maintenanc e or manufacturing flight testing

.

2. SAC must be in full operational control of any aircraft operated using the privileges of this exemption.

3. The pilot

- in

- command (PIC) of any flights operated using the privileges of this exemption must:

a. Hold a valid U.S . commercial pilot certificate or airline transport pilot (ATP) certificate, with rotorcraft category, helicopter class, and either an S

- 70 or S

- 92 type rating corresponding to the aircraft to be flown under the privileges of this exemption;

b. Hold a curren t FAA flight instructor certificate with a rotorcraft category and helicopter class rating;

c. Be designated in writing by SAC as an instructor pilot in either the S

- 70 or S

92 corresponding to the aircraft to be flown under the privileges of this exemption;

d. Hold a valid U.S. first or second class medical certificate;

e. Have logged at least 50 flight hours as PIC of an S

- 92 or S

- 70 aircraft corresponding to the aircraft to be flown under the privileges of this exemption;5

f. Be directly employed by SAC;

g. Remain the PIC for the duration of the flight; and,

h. For flights conducted between 1 hour after sunset to 1 hour before sunrise,

have the NVG endorsement s described by § § 61.31(k) and 61.195(k) with rotorcraft category and helicopter class.

4. The person acting as second

- in

- command (SIC) of any flight operated using the privileges of this exemption must:

a. Be able to speak and understand the English language;

b. Be an authorized representative of a branch of the U.S. or foreign military service, or be an authorized re presentative of a legitimate potential purchaser of

an S

- 92 or S

- 70 aircraft, as applicable, from SAC; and,

c. Meet one of the following:

i. Hold a valid U.S. commercial pilot certificate or airline transport pilot certificate with rotorcraft category and hel icopter class rating; or, a pilot certificate with rotorcraft category and helicopter privileges issued by

an ICAO

- member state; or,

ii. Hold military orders or other documentation identifying the person as being rated as a current helicopter pilot and a cur rent member of a branch of the U.S. or foreign military service.

5. Training flights using the privileges of this exemption may carry one additional customer pilot provided that customer pilot is designated to be SIC on at least one leg of the training fligh t.

6. All flight operations using the privilege of this exemption must be operated with at least one qualified additional crewmember on board (other than the person identified

in Condition and Limitation Nos. 3

, 4 , and 5 ) who:

a. Is employed by SAC;

b. SAC ha s found to be qualified to act as a crew chief in the S

- 92 or S

- 70

aircraft , as applicable; and6

c. For flights conducted between 1 hour after sunset to 1 hour before sunrise, is qualified and current in accordance with 14 CFR § § 61 .31(k) and 61.195(k) for

NV G operations.

7. For all flight operations using the privileges of this exemption, the PIC must conduct a preflight briefing with each pilot and additional crewmember, to include:

a. A review of the conditions and limitations of this exemption;

b. A review of th e intended flight including all maneuvers to be performed; and,

c. A review of all normal and emergency procedures for the S

- 92 or S

- 70 aircraft

, as applicable.

8. No individual other than those listed below in this C ondition and L imitation may be on

board th e aircraft during a flight conducted using the privileges of this exemption:

a. The PIC identified by Condition and Limitation No. 3 ;

b. The SIC identified by Condition and Limitation No. 4;

c. The additional customer pilot identified by Condition and Limitation No. 5;

d. The crew chiefs identified by Condition and Limitation No. 6 ; and,

e. If determined necessary for the conduct of the flight by the PIC, a person that

meets all of the following requirements;

i. Is employed by SAC ; ii. Is not acting as PIC of the aircraft ; iii. Holds the appropriate U.S. airman and medical certificates to act as SIC

in either the S

- 92 or S

- 70 aircraft , as applicable; and,

iv. SAC has found to be qualified to serve as SIC in the S

- 92 or S

- 70

aircraft , as applicable

.

9. T his exemption is not valid for operations outside of the United States.7

The Effect of Our Decision

This exemption terminates on December 31, 2018 , unless sooner superseded or rescinded.

Sincerely,

/s/

John Barbagallo Deputy Director, Flight Standards Service