Special Conditions:
Federal Register Volume 76, Number 104 (Tuesday, May 31, 2011)
Rules and Regulations
Pages 31223-31225
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
FR Doc No: 2011-13341
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration 14 CFR Part 25
Docket No. NM451; Special Conditions No. 25-426-SC
Special Conditions: Bombardier Model BD-700-1A10 and BD-700-1A11
Airplanes, Head-up Display (HUD) With Video Synthetic Vision System
(SVS)
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.
ACTION: Final special conditions.
SUMMARY: These special conditions are issued for Bombardier Model BD- 700-1A10 and BD-700-1A11 airplanes. These airplanes, as modified by
Bombardier Inc., will have a novel or unusual design feature associated with a SVS that displays video imagery on
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the HUD. 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: Effective Date: June 30, 2011.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dale Dunford, FAA, ANM-111, Transport
Airplane Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service, 1601 Lind Avenue,
SW., Renton, Washington, 98057-3356; telephone (425) 227-2239 facsimile
(425) 227-1100.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On January 26, 2007, Transport Canada Civil Aviation (TCCA), on behalf of Bombardier Inc., located in Montreal, Canada, applied to the
New York Aircraft Certification Office (NYACO) for FAA approval of a type-design change on the Bombardier Model BD-700-1A10 and BD-700-1A11 airplanes. Per Type Certificate Data Sheet (TCDS) T00003NY, those aircraft models are known under the marketing designation of Global
Express and Global 5000, respectively. The change is to introduce the
Rockwell-Collins avionics suite to replace the existing Honeywell
Primus 2000EP avionics suite. The change includes the installation of a
SVS that displays video imagery.
Video display on the HUD constitutes new and novel technology for which the FAA has no certification criteria. Title 14, Code of Federal
Regulations (14 CFR) 25.773 does not permit visual distortions and reflections that could interfere with the pilot's normal duties and was not written in anticipation of such technology. Other applications for certification of such technology are anticipated in the near future and magnify the need to establish FAA safety standards that can be applied consistently for all such approvals. Special conditions are therefore issued as prescribed under the provisions of Sec. 21.16.
Type Certification Basis
Under the provisions of 14 CFR 21.101, Bombardier Inc. must show that the Bombardier Model BD-700-1A10 and BD-700-1A11 airplanes, as changed, continue to meet the applicable provisions of the regulations incorporated by reference in T00003NY or the applicable 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 T00003NY are as follows:
Based on the application date, January 26, 2007, under the provisions of Sec. 21.101, the applicable type-certification standards for the modification to the Bombardier Model BD-700-1A10 and BD-700- 1A11 airplanes are as follows:
Airworthiness & Environmental Standards for Components and Areas Not
Affected by the Change
The original certification basis for the Bombardier Model BD-700- 1A10 and BD-700-1A11 airplanes shown on TCDS T00003NY, Revision 13.
Airworthiness and Environmental Standards for Components and Areas
Affected by the Change 14 CFR part 25, effective February 1, 1965, including the latest applicable requirements of Amendments 25-1 through 25-119.
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 Bombardier Model BD-700-1A10 and
BD-700-1A11 airplanes because of a novel or unusual design feature, special conditions are prescribed under the provisions of 14 CFR 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, or should any other model already included on the same type certificate be modified to incorporate the same or similar novel or unusual design feature, the special conditions would also apply to the other model under Sec. 21.101.
In addition to the applicable airworthiness regulations and special conditions, the Bombardier Model BD-700-1A10 and BD-700-1A11 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 Sec. 11.38, and they become part of the type- certification basis under 14 CFR 21.101.
Novel or Unusual Design Features
The Bombardier Model BD-700-1A10 and BD-700-1A11 airplanes will incorporate the following novel or unusual design features:
An SVS that displays video imagery on a HUD.
Discussion
For many years the FAA has approved, on transport category airplanes, the use of HUD that display flight symbology, without a significant visual obscuration of the outside view. When the FAA began to evaluate the display of enhanced vision system (EVS) imagery on the
HUD, significant potential to obscure the outside view became apparent, contrary to the requirements of 14 CFR 25.773. This rule does not permit distortions and reflections in the pilot-compartment view that can interfere with normal duties, and the rule was not written in anticipation of such technology. The video image potentially interferes with the pilot's ability to see the natural scene in the center of the forward field of view. Therefore, the FAA issued special conditions for such HUD/EVS installations to ensure that the level of safety required by Sec. 25.773 would be met even when the image might partially obscure the outside view. While many of the characteristics of EVS and
SVS video differ in some ways, they have one thing in common: The potential for interference with the outside view through the airplane windshield. The FAA issues special conditions for new and novel technologies to achieve equivalent levels of safety.
Although the pilot readily may be able to see around and through small, individual, stroke-written symbols on the HUD, the pilot may not be able to see around or through the image that fills the display without some interference of the outside view. Nevertheless, the SVS may be capable of meeting the required level of safety when considering the combined view of the image and the outside scene visible to the pilot through the image. It is essential that the pilot can use this combination of image and natural view of the outside scene as safely and effectively as the pilot-compartment view currently available without the SVS image.
Because Sec. 25.773 does not provide for any alternatives or considerations for such a new and novel system, the FAA establishes safety requirements that assure an equivalent level of safety and effectiveness of the pilot-compartment view as intended by that rule.
The purpose of this special condition is to provide the unique pilot- compartment-view requirements for the SVS installation.
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Discussion of Comments
Notice of Proposed Special Conditions no. 25-11-10-SC for the
Bombardier Model BD-700-1A10 and BD-700-1A11 airplanes was published in the Federal Register on March 28, 2011 (76 FR 17062). No comments were received, and the special conditions are adopted as proposed.
Applicability
As discussed above, these special conditions are applicable to the
Bombardier Model BD-700-1A10 and BD-700-1A11 airplanes. Should
Bombardier Inc. 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 Bombardier Model BD-700-1A10 and BD-700-1A11 airplanes. It is not a rule of general applicability.
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 Bombardier Model BD-700-1A10 and BD- 700-1A11 airplanes. 1. During any phase of flight in which it is to be used, the SVS imagery on the HUD must not degrade flight safety or interfere with the effective use of outside visual references for required pilot tasks. 2. To avoid unacceptable interference with the safe and effective use of the pilot-compartment view, the SVS must meet the following requirements: a. The SVS design must minimize unacceptable display characteristics or artifacts (e.g., terrain shadowing against a dark background) that obscure the desired image of the scene, impair the pilot's ability to detect and identify visual references, mask flight hazards, distract the pilot, or otherwise degrade task performance or safety. b. Control of SVS image display brightness must be sufficiently effective in dynamically changing background (ambient) lighting conditions to avoid pilot distraction, impairment of the pilot's ability to detect and identify visual references, masking of flight hazards, or to otherwise degrade task performance or safety. If automatic control for image brightness is not provided, it must be shown that a single, manual setting is satisfactory for the range of lighting conditions encountered during a time-critical, high-workload phase of flight (e.g., low-visibility instrument approach). c. A readily accessible control must be provided that permits the pilot to immediately deactivate and reactivate display of the SVS image on demand, without having to remove hands from the flight controls and throttles. d. The SVS image on the HUD must not impair the pilot's use of guidance information, or degrade the presentation and pilot awareness of essential flight information displayed on the HUD, such as alerts, airspeed, attitude, altitude and direction, approach guidance, windshear guidance, TCAS resolution advisories, or unusual-attitude recovery cues. e. The SVS image and the HUD symbols, which are spatially referenced to the pitch scale, outside view, and image, must be scaled and aligned (i.e., conformal) to the external scene. In addition, the
SVS image and the HUD symbols--when considered singly or in combination--must not be misleading, cause pilot confusion, or increase workload. Airplane attitudes or cross-wind conditions may cause certain symbols (e.g., the zero-pitch line or flight-path vector) to reach field-of-view limits, such that they cannot be positioned conformally with the image and external scene. In such cases, these symbols may be displayed but with an altered appearance that makes the pilot aware that they are no longer displayed conformally (for example,
``ghosting''). The combined use of symbology and runway image may not be used for path monitoring when path symbology is no longer conformal. f. A HUD system used to display SVS images must, if previously certified, continue to meet all of the requirements of the original approval. 3. The safety and performance of the pilot tasks associated with the use of the pilot-compartment view must be not be degraded by the display of the SVS image. These tasks include the following: a. Detection, accurate identification and maneuvering, as necessary, to avoid traffic, terrain, obstacles, and other flight hazards. b. Accurate identification and utilization of visual references required for every task relevant to the phase of flight. 4. Appropriate limitations must be stated in the Operating
Limitations section of the Airplane Flight Manual to prohibit the use of the SVS for functions that have not been found to be acceptable.
Issued in Renton, Washington, on May 20, 2011.
Ali Bahrami,
Manager, Transport Airplane Directorate, Aircraft Certification
Service.
FR Doc. 2011-13341 Filed 5-27-11; 8:45 am
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P
