FAR/AIM: Subpart B—Flight

• § 23.2100 Weight and center of gravity.
• § 23.2105 Performance data.
• § 23.2110 Stall speed.
• § 23.2115 Takeoff performance.
• § 23.2120 Climb requirements.
• § 23.2125 Climb information.
• § 23.2130 Landing.
• § 23.2135 Controllability.
• § 23.2140 Trim.
• § 23.2145 Stability.
• § 23.2150 Stall characteristics, stall warning, and spins.
• § 23.2155 Ground and water handling characteristics.
• § 23.2160 Vibration, buffeting, and high-speed characteristics.
• § 23.2165 Performance and flight characteristics requirements for flight in icing conditions.

 

(a) The applicant must determine limits for weights and centers of gravity that provide for the safe operation of the airplane.

(b) The applicant must comply with each requirement of this subpart at critical combinations of weight and center of gravity within the airplane's range of loading conditions using tolerances acceptable to the Administrator.

(c) The condition of the airplane at the time of determining its empty weight and center of gravity must be well defined and easily repeatable.

 

(a) Unless otherwise prescribed, an airplane must meet the performance requirements of this subpart in—

(1) Still air and standard atmospheric conditions at sea level for all airplanes; and

(2) Ambient atmospheric conditions within the operating envelope for levels 1 and 2 high-speed and levels 3 and 4 airplanes.

(b) Unless otherwise prescribed, the applicant must develop the performance data required by this subpart for the following conditions:

(1) Airport altitudes from sea level to 10,000 feet (3,048 meters); and

(2) Temperatures above and below standard day temperature that are within the range of operating limitations, if those temperatures could have a negative effect on performance.

(c) The procedures used for determining takeoff and landing distances must be executable consistently by pilots of average skill in atmospheric conditions expected to be encountered in service.

(d) Performance data determined in accordance with paragraph (b) of this section must account for losses due to atmospheric conditions, cooling needs, and other demands on power sources.

 

The applicant must determine the airplane stall speed or the minimum steady flight speed for each flight configuration used in normal operations, including takeoff, climb, cruise, descent, approach, and landing. The stall speed or minimum steady flight speed determination must account for the most adverse conditions for each flight configuration with power set at—

(a) Idle or zero thrust for propulsion systems that are used primarily for thrust; and

(b) A nominal thrust for propulsion systems that are used for thrust, flight control, and/or high-lift systems.

 

(a) The applicant must determine airplane takeoff performance accounting for—

(1) Stall speed safety margins;

(2) Minimum control speeds; and

(3) Climb gradients.

(b) For single engine airplanes and levels 1, 2, and 3 low-speed multiengine airplanes, takeoff performance includes the determination of ground roll and initial climb distance to 50 feet (15 meters) above the takeoff surface.

(c) For levels 1, 2, and 3 high-speed multiengine airplanes, and level 4 multiengine airplanes, takeoff performance includes a determination of the following distances after a sudden critical loss of thrust—

(1) An aborted takeoff at critical speed;

(2) Ground roll and initial climb to 35 feet (11 meters) above the takeoff surface; and

(3) Net takeoff flight path.

 

The design must comply with the following minimum climb performance out of ground effect:

(a) With all engines operating and in the initial climb configuration(s)—

(1) For levels 1 and 2 low-speed airplanes, a climb gradient of 8.3 percent for landplanes and 6.7 percent for seaplanes and amphibians; and

(2) For levels 1 and 2 high-speed airplanes, all level 3 airplanes, and level 4 single-engines a climb gradient after takeoff of 4 percent.

(b) After a critical loss of thrust on multiengine airplanes—

(1) For levels 1 and 2 low-speed airplanes that do not meet single-engine crashworthiness requirements, a climb gradient of 1.5 percent at a pressure altitude of 5,000 feet (1,524 meters) in the cruise configuration(s);

(2) For levels 1 and 2 high-speed airplanes, and level 3 low-speed airplanes, a 1 percent climb gradient at 400 feet (122 meters) above the takeoff surface with the landing gear retracted and flaps in the takeoff configuration(s); and

(3) For level 3 high-speed airplanes and all level 4 airplanes, a 2 percent climb gradient at 400 feet (122 meters) above the takeoff surface with the landing gear retracted and flaps in the approach configuration(s).

(c) For a balked landing, a climb gradient of 3 percent without creating undue pilot workload with the landing gear extended and flaps in the landing configuration(s).

 

(a) The applicant must determine climb performance at each weight, altitude, and ambient temperature within the operating limitations—

(1) For all single-engine airplanes;

(2) For levels 1 and 2 high-speed multiengine airplanes and level 3 multiengine airplanes, following a critical loss of thrust on takeoff in the initial climb configuration; and

(3) For all multiengine airplanes, during the enroute phase of flight with all engines operating and after a critical loss of thrust in the cruise configuration.

(b) The applicant must determine the glide performance for single-engine airplanes after a complete loss of thrust.

 

The applicant must determine the following, for standard temperatures at critical combinations of weight and altitude within the operational limits:

(a) The distance, starting from a height of 50 feet (15 meters) above the landing surface, required to land and come to a stop.

(b) The approach and landing speeds, configurations, and procedures, which allow a pilot of average skill to land within the published landing distance consistently and without causing damage or injury, and which allow for a safe transition to the balked landing conditions of this part accounting for:

(1) Stall speed safety margin; and

(2) Minimum control speeds.

 

(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 V _ref or above approach angle of attack.

(c) V _MC 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 V _MC, 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 V _D/M _D, 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 V _MO/M _MO, 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 V _MO/M _MO, 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) V _MO/M _MO or V _NE; 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.