Federal Aviation Administration November 1, 2017 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

These special conditions are issued for The Boeing Company (Boeing) Model 777-8 and 777-9 airplanes. These airplanes 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 an electronic flight-control system (EFCS) that provides control of the airplane through pilot inputs to the flight computer. 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.

This action proposes special conditions for Boeing Model 777-8 and 777-9 airplanes. These airplanes 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 folding wingtips. The applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for this design feature. These proposed 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.

This action corrects a final rule, technical amendment published in Federal Register on September 21, 2017, that removes the Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) part-time status information contained in the legal description of Class E airspace designated as an extension at Lemoore NAS (Reeves Field), Lemoore, CA. The airspace description contained the following wording in error: ``. . . within a 5.2-mile radius of Lemoore NAS (Reeves Field), and . . . .'' This wording is removed. This action does not affect the charted boundaries or operating requirements of the airspace.

This action modifies Class E airspace extending upward From 700 feet above the surface at Bend Municipal Airport, Bend, OR to accommodate airspace redesign for the safety and management of instrument flight rules (IFR) operations within the National Airspace System.

The FAA proposes to amend the certification standards of normal and transport category helicopters. The proposed changes are necessary to address modern designs currently used in the rotorcraft industry and would reduce the burden on applicants for certification of new rotorcraft designs. The proposed changes would reduce or eliminate the need for certain special conditions currently required to obtain certification of modern rotorcraft. The proposed changes would also incorporate the requirements of equivalent level of safety findings that the FAA has imposed as conditions for approving certain design features.

This action amends Class E airspace designated as an extension to Class D airspace by removing the Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) part-time status at Godman Army Airfield (AAF) Fort Knox, KY; and Bowman Field Airport, Louisville, KY. This action also updates and corrects the geographic coordinates of these airports, and Louisville International Airport-Standiford Field (formerly Louisville Standiford Field) in the associated Class D and E airspace descriptions. This action enhances the safety and management of instrument flight rules (IFR) operations at the airport.

This action proposes to amend Class E airspace at Berlin, NH, due to the addition of a localizer performance with vertical guidance function (LPV) instrument procedure to runway 18 being created for Berlin Regional Airport (formerly Berlin Municipal Airport). This action also would update the geographic coordinates of the airport to coincide with the FAA's aeronautical database, and would enhance the safety and management of instrument flight rules operations (IFR) at the airport.

This action corrects a final rule published in the Federal Register of August 28, 2017 that modifies E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface at Oskaloosa Municipal Airport, Oskaloosa, IA, to accommodate new standard instrument approach procedures for instrument flight rules (IFR) operations at the airport. The FAA identified that the reference to the Ottumwa, IA Class E airspace was not removed from the legal description as it should have been.