History
17 Sep 2007
Draft AC 21-09(2) – Special flight permits
This Draft AC is now available for public comment. Comments close 1 October 2007.
31 Aug 2007
Project CS 07/08 - Amendment to AC 21-09 - Special Flight Permits
Project CS 07/08 approved by the General Manager, Airworthiness Engineering Branch on 31 August 2007.
Project CS 07/08
Amendment to AC 21-09 - Special Flight Permits
Background
The current legislation for special flight permits (SFP), CASR 21.197, allows CASA or an authorised person to issue a special flight permit to a person for an aircraft, which cannot meet applicable airworthiness requirements and hence would otherwise be grounded.
According to CASR 21.197(2), a SFP may authorise the operation of an aircraft at a weight in excess of its maximum certificated take-off weight for flight beyond the normal range over water, or over land area where adequate landing facilities or appropriate fuel is not available. To operate flights beyond the normal range of an aircraft requires temporary installation of extra fuel-carrying facilities. The installation of a ferry fuel system, however temporary, is a change to the aircraft’s type design and must be approved as a modification. Also, regulation 42U of CAR requires that modification of an Australian aircraft to be carried out in accordance with an approved design of the modification.
Modifications are approved in accordance with regulation 35 of CAR. A CAR 35 authorised person cannot approve a modification if it cannot be demonstrated that the modified configuration complies with the design requirements that the aircraft was originally type certificated against.
CASA recognises that it is often not possible nor practicable for the operator to demonstrate strict compliance with all applicable design requirements in the case of temporary ferry fuel systems and overweight operations. The operator should be able to demonstrate that the aircraft embodying a temporary fuel system for one-off ferry flight is capable of performing a safe flight.
Proposal
To overcome the above stated problem, we intend to issue a general exemption allowing CAR 35 authorised persons to approve design of temporary ferry fuel system or navigational equipment for one-off ferry flight, without any prescribed design standards, subject to the condition the aircraft and the installed system is considered safe for the intended flight. We intend to provide guidance about the installation of temporary systems in AC 21-09 – Special Flight Permits.
Rules affected
AC 21-09 – Special Flight Permits
Project management
Project Sponsor: Jim Coyne
Project Leader: Shamshad Quraishi