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49 U.S.C. 106(f), 106(g), 40113, 44701-44702, 44704, Pub. L. 113-53, 127 Stat. 584 (49 U.S.C. 44704) note.
Doc. No. FAA-2015-1621, Amdt. 23-64, 81 FR 96689, Dec. 30, 2016, unless otherwise noted.
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(a) The airplane must be controllable and maneuverable, without requiring exceptional piloting skill, alertness, or strength, within the operating envelope—
(1) At all loading conditions for which certification is requested;
(2) During all phases of flight;
(3) With likely reversible flight control or propulsion system failure; and
(4) During configuration changes.
(b) The airplane must be able to complete a landing without causing substantial damage or serious injury using the steepest approved approach gradient procedures and providing a reasonable margin below Vref or above approach angle of attack.
(c) VMC is the calibrated airspeed at which, following the sudden critical loss of thrust, it is possible to maintain control of the airplane. For multiengine airplanes, the applicant must determine VMC, if applicable, for the most critical configurations used in takeoff and landing operations.
(d) If the applicant requests certification of an airplane for aerobatics, the applicant must demonstrate those aerobatic maneuvers for which certification is requested and determine entry speeds.
(a) The airplane must maintain lateral and directional trim without further force upon, or movement of, the primary flight controls or corresponding trim controls by the pilot, or the flight control system, under the following conditions:
(1) For levels 1, 2, and 3 airplanes in cruise.
(2) For level 4 airplanes in normal operations.
(b) The airplane must maintain longitudinal trim without further force upon, or movement of, the primary flight controls or corresponding trim controls by the pilot, or the flight control system, under the following conditions:
(1) Climb.
(2) Level flight.
(3) Descent.
(4) Approach.
(c) Residual control forces must not fatigue or distract the pilot during normal operations of the airplane and likely abnormal or emergency operations, including a critical loss of thrust on multiengine airplanes.
(a) Airplanes not certified for aerobatics must—
(1) Have static longitudinal, lateral, and directional stability in normal operations;
(2) Have dynamic short period and Dutch roll stability in normal operations; and
(3) Provide stable control force feedback throughout the operating envelope.
(b) No airplane may exhibit any divergent longitudinal stability characteristic so unstable as to increase the pilot's workload or otherwise endanger the airplane and its occupants.
(a) The airplane must have controllable stall characteristics in straight flight, turning flight, and accelerated turning flight with a clear and distinctive stall warning that provides sufficient margin to prevent inadvertent stalling.
(b) Single-engine airplanes, not certified for aerobatics, must not have a tendency to inadvertently depart controlled flight.
(c) Levels 1 and 2 multiengine airplanes, not certified for aerobatics, must not have a tendency to inadvertently depart controlled flight from thrust asymmetry after a critical loss of thrust.
(d) Airplanes certified for aerobatics that include spins must have controllable stall characteristics and the ability to recover within one and one-half additional turns after initiation of the first control action from any point in a spin, not exceeding six turns or any greater number of turns for which certification is requested, while remaining within the operating limitations of the airplane.
(e) Spin characteristics in airplanes certified for aerobatics that includes spins must recover without exceeding limitations and may not result in unrecoverable spins—
(1) With any typical use of the flight or engine power controls; or
(2) Due to pilot disorientation or incapacitation.
For airplanes intended for operation on land or water, the airplane must have controllable longitudinal and directional handling characteristics during taxi, takeoff, and landing operations.
(a) Vibration and buffeting, for operations up to VD/MD, must not interfere with the control of the airplane or cause excessive fatigue to the flightcrew. Stall warning buffet within these limits is allowable.
(b) For high-speed airplanes and all airplanes with a maximum operating altitude greater than 25,000 feet (7,620 meters) pressure altitude, there must be no perceptible buffeting in cruise configuration at 1g and at any speed up to VMO/MMO, except stall buffeting.
(c) For high-speed airplanes, the applicant must determine the positive maneuvering load factors at which the onset of perceptible buffet occurs in the cruise configuration within the operational envelope. Likely inadvertent excursions beyond this boundary must not result in structural damage.
(d) High-speed airplanes must have recovery characteristics that do not result in structural damage or loss of control, beginning at any likely speed up to VMO/MMO, following—
(1) An inadvertent speed increase; and
(2) A high-speed trim upset for airplanes where dynamic pressure can impair the longitudinal trim system operation.
(a) An applicant who requests certification for flight in icing conditions defined in part 1 of appendix C to part 25 of this chapter, or an applicant who requests certification for flight in these icing conditions and any additional atmospheric icing conditions, must show the following in the icing conditions for which certification is requested under normal operation of the ice protection system(s):
(1) Compliance with each requirement of this subpart, except those applicable to spins and any that must be demonstrated at speeds in excess of—
(i) 250 KCAS;
(ii) VMO/MMO or VNE; or
(iii) A speed at which the applicant demonstrates the airframe will be free of ice accretion.
(2) The means by which stall warning is provided to the pilot for flight in icing conditions and non-icing conditions is the same.
(b) If an applicant requests certification for flight in icing conditions, the applicant must provide a means to detect any icing conditions for which certification is not requested and show the airplane's ability to avoid or exit those conditions.
(c) The applicant must develop an operating limitation to prohibit intentional flight, including takeoff and landing, into icing conditions for which the airplane is not certified to operate.
[Doc. No. FAA-2015-1621, Amdt. 23-64, 81 FR 96689, Dec. 30, 2016, as amended by Doc. No. FAA-2022-1355, Amdt. 23-65, 87 FR 75710, Dec. 9, 2022]