This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains regulatory documents having general

applicability and legal effect, most of which

are keyed to and codified in the Code of

Federal Regulations, which is published under

50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.

The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by

the Superintendent of Documents. Prices of

new books are listed in the first FEDERAL

REGISTER issue of each week.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

64023 

Vol. 77, No. 202 

Thursday, October 18, 2012 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 25 

[Docket No. FAA–2012–1120; Special 

Conditions No. 25–471–SC] 

Special Conditions: Airbus Model 

A318, A319, A320, and A321 Series 

Airplanes; Design Roll Maneuver 

Conditions 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Final special conditions; request 

for comments. 

SUMMARY: These special conditions are 

issued for the Airbus Model A318, 

A319, and A320 series airplanes with 

modification 160500 and Model A321 

series airplanes with modification 

160023 (Sharklet). These airplanes will 

have novel or unusual design features 

when compared to the state of 

technology envisioned in the 

airworthiness standards for transport 

category airplanes. These design 

features include electronic flight 

controls that affect maneuvering. 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 October 11, 2012. 

We must receive your comments by 

December 3, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments identified 

by docket number FAA–2012–1120 

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 8 

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 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: 

Todd Martin, FAA, Airframe/Cabin 

Safety Branch, ANM–115, Transport 

Airplane Directorate, Aircraft 

Certification Service, 1601 Lind Avenue 

SW., Renton, Washington 98057–3356; 

telephone 425–227–1178; 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 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 

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 April 8, 2010, Airbus applied for 

a change to Type Certificate No. A28NM 

to include modification 160500 on 

Airbus Model A318, A319, and A320 

series airplanes and modification 

160023 on Model A321 series airplanes 

for the installation of a ‘‘Sharklet,’’ a 

large wingtip device. The Model A318, 

A319, A320, and A321 series airplanes 

are short to medium-range, twin 

turbofan, transport category airplanes 

with a maximum seating capacity of 136 

to 220 passengers, a maximum takeoff 

weight of 130,071 to 205,027 pounds, 

and a maximum operating altitude of 

39,800 feet. 

FAA issued special conditions 25– 

ANM–23, effective December 15, 1988, 

originally applicable to Airbus Model 

A320 series airplanes and later to the 

Model A318, A319, and A321 series 

airplanes. Those special conditions 

included requirements for design roll 

maneuver conditions. The FAA has 

determined that new special conditions 

are needed for the Airbus Model A318, 

A319, and A320 series airplanes with 

modification 160500 and Model A321 

series airplanes with modification 

160023 (Sharklet) and later derivatives 

because the existing special conditions 

have evolved over the years and need to 

be updated for this derivative program. 

Type Certification Basis 

Under the provisions of Title 14, Code 

of Federal Regulation (14 CFR) 21.101, 

Airbus must show that the Model A318, 

A319, A320, and A321 series airplanes, 

as changed, continue to meet the 

applicable provisions of the regulations 

incorporated by reference in Type 

Certificate No. A28NM or the applicable 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with RULES

64024 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 202 / Thursday, October 18, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

regulations in effect on the date of 

application for the change. The 

regulations incorporated by reference in 

the type certificate are commonly 

referred to as the ‘‘original type 

certification basis.’’ The regulations 

incorporated by reference in Type 

Certificate No. A28NM are 14 CFR part 

25, as amended by Amendments 25–1 

through 25–56, and special conditions 

25–ANM–23. In addition, 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 A318, A319, A320, and 

A321 series airplanes 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, the special conditions 

would also apply to the other model. 

In addition to the applicable 

airworthiness regulations and special 

conditions, the Model A318, A319, 

A320, and A321 series airplanes must 

comply with the fuel vent and exhaust 

emission requirements of 14 CFR part 

34 and the noise certification 

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 

the type-certification basis under 

§ 21.101. 

Novel or Unusual Design Features 

The Airbus Model A318, A319, and 

A320 series airplanes with modification 

160500 and Model A321 series airplanes 

with modification 160023 (Sharklet) 

will incorporate the following novel or 

unusual design feature: Electronic flight 

controls that affect maneuvering. 

The current design roll maneuver 

requirement in 14 CFR part 25 is 

inadequate for addressing an aircraft 

with electronic flight controls that affect 

maneuvering. Special conditions are 

needed to adjust the current roll 

maneuver requirement in § 25.349(a) to 

take into account the effects of an 

electronic flight control system. 

Discussion 

Current part 25 airworthiness 

regulations account for control laws for 

which aileron deflection is proportional 

to control stick deflection. They do not 

address any nonlinearities or other 

effects on aileron actuation that may be 

caused by electronic flight controls. 

Since this type of system may affect 

flight loads, and therefore the structural 

capability of the airplane, specific 

regulations are needed to address these 

effects. 

These proposed special conditions 

differ from current requirements in that 

they require that the roll maneuver be 

performed by actuation of the cockpit 

roll control as opposed to the aileron 

itself. Also, the proposed special 

conditions require an additional load 

condition at VA, in which the cockpit 

roll control is returned to neutral 

following the initial roll input. 

Applicability 

As discussed above, these special 

conditions are applicable to the Airbus 

Model A318, A319, A320 series 

airplanes with modification 160500 and 

Model A321 series airplanes with 

modification 160023 (Sharklet). Should 

Airbus 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 model 

series of airplanes listed above. 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 issuance. 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: 49 U.S.C. 106(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 type 

certification basis for Airbus Model 

A318, A319, and A320 series airplanes 

with modification 160500 and Model 

A321 with modification 160023 

(Sharklet) series airplanes. 

Design Roll Maneuver Conditions. 

The following conditions, speeds, and 

cockpit roll control motions (except as 

the motions may be limited by pilot 

effort) must be considered in 

combination with an airplane load 

factor of zero and of two-thirds of the 

positive maneuvering factor used in 

design. In determining the resulting 

control surface deflections, the torsional 

flexibility of the wing must be 

considered in accordance with 

§ 25.301(b): 

1. Conditions corresponding to steady 

rolling velocities must be investigated. 

In addition, conditions corresponding to 

maximum angular acceleration must be 

investigated for airplanes with engines 

or other weight concentrations outboard 

of the fuselage. For the angular 

acceleration conditions, zero rolling 

velocity may be assumed in the absence 

of a rational time history investigation 

of the maneuver. 

2. At VA, sudden movement of the 

cockpit roll control up to the limit is 

assumed. The position of the cockpit 

roll control must be maintained until a 

steady roll rate is achieved and then 

must be returned suddenly to the 

neutral position. 

3. At VC, the cockpit roll control must 

be moved suddenly and maintained so 

as to achieve a roll rate not less than 

that obtained in paragraph 2. 

4. At VD, the cockpit roll control must 

be moved suddenly and maintained so 

as to achieve a roll rate not less than one 

third of that obtained in paragraph 2. 

Issued in Renton, Washington, on October 

11, 2012. 

Ali Bahrami, 

Manager, Transport Airplane Directorate, 

Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–25606 Filed 10–17–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with RULES