Federal Aviation Administration February 13, 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The FAA is considering a proposal to change a portion of airport land from aeronautical use to non-aeronautical use and to authorize the sale of the airport property. The Will County Department of Highways has offered fair market value to purchase the land for the Weber Road improvement project. The parcel is not needed for aeronautical purposes and the proceeds from the sale of the land will be used for future airport improvement projects. This notice announces that the FAA is considering the release of the subject airport property at the Lewis University Airport, Romeoville, IL, from all federal land covenants. Approval does not constitute a commitment by the FAA to financially assist in disposal of the subject airport property nor a determination that all measures covered by the program are eligible for grant-in-aid funding from the FAA.

This action amends special conditions No. 23-258-SC, issued on July 13, 2012, for the Tamarack Aerospace Group's modification to the Cirrus Model SR22 airplane. This amendment clarifies the intent of two requirements: The requirement for reporting of load alleviation system failures (see paragraph (c) under Loads, Probability of Failure of Load Alleviation System) and the requirement for consideration of limit loads with an unannunciated load alleviation system failure (see paragraph (b) under Factor of Safety, Load Alleviation Systems). This airplane as modified by Tamarack will have a novel or unusual design feature(s) associated with Tamarack Aerospace Group's modification. The design change will install winglets and an Active Technology Load Alleviation System (ATLAS). The addition of the ATLAS mitigates the negative effects of the winglets by effectively aerodynamically turning off the winglet under limit gust and maneuver loads. This is accomplished by measuring the aircraft loading and moving a small aileron-like device called a Tamarack Active Control Surface (TACS). The TACS movement reduces lift at the tip of the wing, resulting in the wing center of pressure moving inboard, thus reducing bending stresses along the wing span. The applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for this design feature. These final 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. Additionally, this amendment corrects the issue date of special condition No. 23-258-SC to July 13, 2012.

This rule establishes, amends, suspends, or revokes Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAPs) and associated Takeoff Minimums and Obstacle Departure Procedures for operations at certain airports. These regulatory actions are needed because of the adoption of new or revised criteria, or because of changes occurring in the National Airspace System, such as the commissioning of new navigational facilities, adding new obstacles, or changing air traffic requirements. These changes are designed to provide safe and efficient use of the navigable airspace and to promote safe flight operations under instrument flight rules at the affected airports.