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CFR NPRM
 Federal Register Information
 Header Information
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Agency
14 CFR Part 31
[Docket No. 1437; Notice No. 63-23]
Manned Free Balloons
Preamble Information
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Agency, DOT
ACTION: Proposed Airworthiness Requirements
SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that there is under consideration a proposal to adopt a new Part 12 of the Civil Air Regulations as hereinafter set forth. Manufacturers of balloons will be affected by the proposed new part.
DATES: Comments due on or before September 23, 1963.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Interested persons are invited to participate in the making of the proposed rule by submitting such written data, views, or arguments as they may desire. Communications should identify the regulatory docket or notice number and be submitted in duplicate to the Federal Aviation Agency, Office of the General Counsel: Attention Rules Docket, 1711 New York Avenue NW., Washington 25, D.C. All communications received on or before September 23, 1963, will be considered by the Administrator before taking action upon the proposed rule. The proposals contained in this notice may be changed in the light of comments received. All comments submitted will be available, both before and after the closing date for comments, in the Rules Docket for examination by interested persons.
Recent technical advances in the design and construction of balloons have stimulated interest in free ballooning. A number of balloon clubs have been formed and the production of balloons has been increased.
The Civil Air regulations contain no comprehensive and detailed minimum airworthiness requirements for manned free balloons. In the absence of applicable requirements, the Agency has been issuing only experimental airworthiness certificates for such aircraft, with the usual restrictions on their operation.
Interested persons have asked the Agency to establish minimum airworthiness requirements for manned free balloons, and to issue type certificates and standards airworthiness certificates as is done for other aircraft, contending that the experimental airworthiness certificates now being issued are unnecessarily burdensome.
The Agency believes that sufficient technical knowledge concerning balloons now exists to permit the development of minimum airworthiness requirements for manned free balloons which would provide an adequate level of safety for the issuance of type certificates and standards airworthiness certificates.
Accordingly, it is proposed to add a new Part 12 to the Civil Air Regulations setting forth minimum airworthiness requirements for manned free balloons including, among other things, reasonable rule dealing with strength, design and construction, equipment, and operating limitations. It should be noted that the proposed new part would not be applicable to unmanned free balloons or to moored balloons. The Agency directs attention to several key provisions in the proposed to several key provisions in the proposed new part which are outlined briefly in the following paragraphs.
Strength provisions are proposed which would require that: (1) The balloon envelope be capable of withstanding, without bursting, a pressure of at least 5 times the pressure to which it is subjected in normal flight; and (2) The rigging, and its attachments to the balloon envelope, basket, or trapeze, be designed to a minimum safety factor of 7.0.
To insure that the balloon can be landed safely, requirements are proposed for: (1) A means for deflating the balloon capable of releasing 30 percent of the contained gas in one minute; and (2) A drag rope to serve as recoverable ballast and to facilitate safe ground handling.
The format of this proposed part will be subject to such changes as may be necessary for its recodification under the Agency's recodification program, announced in Draft Release No. 61-25 (26 F.R. 10698).
Regulatory Information
The Proposed Amendment:
In consideration of the foregoing, it is proposed to promulgate a new Part 12 of the Civil Air Regulations to read as hereinafter set forth.
This regulation is proposed under the authority of sections 313(a), 601, and 603 of the Federal Aviation Act or 1958 (72 Stat. 752, 775, 776; 49 U.S.C. 1354, 1431, 1423).
PART 12-MANNED FREE BALLOON AIRWORTHINESS
Subpart A-General
APPLICABILITY AND DEFINITIONS
Sec.
12.0 Applicability of this part.
12.1 Definitions.
CERTIFICATION
12.10 Eligibility for type certificates.
12.11 Designation of applicable regulations.
12.12 Recording of applicable regulations.
12.13 Type certificate.
12.14 Data required.
12.15 Inspections and tests.
12.16 Flight tests.
12.17 Airworthiness, experimental, and production certificates.
12.18 Approval of materials, parts, processes, and appliances.
12.19 Changes in type design.
Subpart B - Flight Requirements
12.100 Controllability.
Subpart C - Strength Requirements
12.200 Loads.
12.201 Flight load factor.
12.202 Factor of safety.
12.203 Strength.
Subpart D - Design and Construction
12.300 General.
12.301 Materials.
12.302 Fabrication methods.
12.303 Standard fastenings.
12.304 Protection.
12.305 Inspection provisions.
12.306 Fitting factor.
12.307 Fuel cells.
12.308 Gas heaters.
12.309 Control systems.
12.310 Ballast.
12.311 Deflation means.
12.312 Drag rope.
12.313 Rip cords.
12.314 Trapeze and basket.
Subpart E - Equipment
12.600 Functional and installational requirements.
Subpart F - Operating Limitations and Information.
12.700 Operating limitations and information.
12.701 Identification plate.
12.702 Identification marks.
12.703 Conspicuity.
Subpart A - General
APPLICABILITY AND DEFINITIONS
Sec. 12.0 Applicability of this part.
This part establishes standards with which compliance shall be demonstrated for the issuance of and changes to type certificates for manned free balloons. This part, until superseded or rescinded, shall apply to all manned free balloons for which applications for type certification are made after the effective date of this part.
Sec. 12.1 Definitions.
As used in this part, terms are defined as follows:
(a) Administration.
(1) Administrator. Administrator means the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Agency or any person to whom he has delegated his authority in the matter concerned.
(2) Applicant. An applicant is a person or persons applying for approval of a free balloon or any part thereof.
(3) Approved. Approved, unless used with reference to another person, means approved by the Administrator.
(b) General design.
(1) Balloon. Balloon means a lighter-than-air aircraft which is not engine driven.
(2) Basket. Basket means a container suspended beneath a balloon for the balloon occupants.
(3) Envelope. Envelope means the gasbag of a balloon.
(4) Free balloon. Free balloon means an unmoored balloon.
(5) Trapeze. Trapeze means a seat or harness, consisting of a horizontal bar or platform suspended beneath a balloon for the balloon occupants.
(c) Structural.
(1) Design maximum weight. The design maximum weight is the maximum weight of basket or trapeze, including contents, used in structural design for flight load conditions.
(2) Factor of safety. The factor of safety is a design factor used to provide for the possibility of loads greater than those anticipated in normal conditions of operation and for uncertainties in design. (See Sec. 12.202.)
(3) Fitting. A fitting is a part or terminal used to join one part of the balloon to another. (See Sec. 12.306.)
(4) Flight load factor. The flight load factor represents the component of acceleration in terms of the gravitational constant. The flight load factor shall be assumed to act in an upward direction through the center of lift and shall be equal in magnitude and opposite in direction to the balloon inertia load factor at the center of gravity.
(5) Limit load. A limit load is the maximum load anticipated in normal conditions of operation. (See Sec. 12.200.)
(6) Load factor. The load factor is the ratio of a specified load to the total weight of the balloon.
(7) Ultimate load. An ultimate load is a limit load multiplied by the appropriate factor of safety. (See Sec. 12.200.)
CERTIFICATION
Sec. 12.10 Eligibility for type certificates.
A balloon shall be eligible for type certification under the provisions of this part if it complies with the airworthiness provisions hereinafter established or if the Administrator finds that the provision or provisions not complied with are compensated for by factors which provide an equivalent level of safety: Provided, That the Administrator finds no feature or characteristic of the balloon which renders it unsafe.
Sec. 12.11 Designation of applicable regulations.
The provisions of this section shall apply to all balloons type certificated under this part irrespective of the date of application for type certificate.
(a) Unless otherwise established by the Administrator, the balloon shall comply with the provisions of this part together with all amendments thereto effective on the date of application for type certificate, except that compliance with later effective amendments may be elected or required pursuant to paragraphs (c), (d), and (e) of this section.
(b) If the interval between the date of application for type certificate and the issuance of the corresponding type certificate exceeds three years, a new application for type certificate shall be required, notwithstanding the applicant may have been issued provisional type certificate. At the option of the applicant, a new application may be filed prior to the expiration of the three-year period. In either instance, the applicable regulations shall be those effective on the date of the new application in accordance with paragraph (a) of this section.
(c) During the interval between filing the application and the issuance of a type certificate, the applicant may elect to show compliance with any amendment of this part which becomes effective during that interval, in which case all other amendments found by the Administrator to be directly related shall be complied with.
(d) Except as otherwise provided by the Administrator pursuant to Sec. 1.24 of this chapter, a change to the type certificate (see Sec. 12.13(b)) may be accomplished, at the option of the holder of the type certificate, either in accordance with the regulations incorporated by reference in the type certificate pursuant to Sec. 12.13(c), or in accordance with subsequent amendments to such regulations in effect on the date of application for approval of the change, subject to provisions of subparagraphs (1) and (2) of this paragraph.
(1) When the applicant elects to show compliance with an amendment to the regulations in effect on the date of application for approval of a change, he shall show compliance with all amendments which the Administrator finds are directly related to the particular amendment selected by the applicant.
(2) When the change consists of a new design or a substantially complete redesign of a component, equipment installation, or system installation of the balloon and the Administrator finds that the regulations incorporated by reference in the type certificate pursuant to Sec. 12.13(c) do not provide complete standards with respect to such change, he shall require compliance with such provisions of the regulations in effect on the date of application for approval of the change as he finds will provide a level of safety equal to that established by the regulations incorporated by reference at the time of issuance of the type certificate.
(c) If a change in design, configuration, or weight is made which the Administrator finds is so extensive as to require a substantially complete investigation of compliance with the regulations, the balloon shall be considered as a new type, in which case a new application for type certificate shall be required and the regulations together with all amendments thereto effective on the date of the new application shall be made applicable in accordance with paragraphs (a), (b), (c), and (d) of this section.
Sec. 12.12 Recording of applicable regulations.
The Administrator, upon the issuance of a type certificate, shall record the applicable regulations with which compliance was demonstrated. Thereafter, the Administrator shall record the applicable regulations for each change in the type certificate which is accomplished in accordance with regulations other than those recorded at the time of issuance of the type certificate. (See Sec. 12.11.)
Sec. 12.13 Type certificate.
(a) An applicant shall be issued a type certificate when he demonstrates the eligibility of the balloon by complying with the requirements of this part in addition to the applicable requirements in Part 1 of this chapter.
(b) The type certificate shall be deemed to include the type design (see Sec. 12.14 (b)), and any conditions or limitations prescribed by the regulations in this chapter.
(c) The applicable provisions of this part recorded by the Administrator in accordance with Sec. 12.12 shall be considered as incorporated in the type certificate as though set forth in full.
Sec. 12.14 Data required.
(a) The applicant for a type certificate shall submit to the Administrator such descriptive data, test reports, and computations as are necessary to demonstrate that the balloon complies with the requirements of this part.
(b) The descriptive data required in paragraph (a) of this section shall be known as the type design and shall consist of such drawings and specifications as are necessary to disclose the configuration of the balloon and all the design features covered in the requirements of this part, such information on dimensions, materials, and processes as is necessary to define the structural strength of the balloon, and such other data as are necessary to permit by comparison the determination of the airworthiness of subsequent balloons of the same type.
Sec. 12.15 Inspections and tests.
Inspections and tests shall include all those found necessary by the Administrator to insure that the balloon complies with the applicable airworthiness requirements and conforms to the following:
(a) All materials and products are in accordance with the specifications in the type design;
(b) All parts of the balloon are constructed in accordance with the drawings in the type design; and
(c) All manufacturing processes, construction, and assembly are as specified in the type design.
Sec. 12.16 Flight tests.
After proof of compliance with the structural requirements contained in this part, and upon completion of all necessary inspections and testing on the ground, and proof of the conformity of the balloon with the type design, and upon receipt from the applicant of a report of flight tests performed by him, such official flight tests shall be conducted as the Administrator finds necessary to determined compliance with the requirements of this part.
Sec. 12.17 Airworthiness, experimental, and production certificates.
(For requirements with regard to these certificates, see Part 1 of this chapter.)
Sec. 12.18 Approval of materials, parts, processes, and appliances.
(a) Materials, parts, processes, and appliances shall be approved upon a basis and in a manner found necessary to implement the pertinent provisions of the regulations of this chapter.
(b) Approval of materials, parts, processes, and appliances may be obtained in conjunction with type certification procedures for a balloon by compliance with the requirements of Part 514 of this title, or by any other method acceptable to the Administrator.
Sec. 12.19 Changes in type design.
(For requirements with regard to changes in type design and the designation of applicable regulations therefor, see Sec. 12.11 (d) and (e), and Part 1 of this Chapter.)
Subpart B - Flight Requirements
Sec. 12.100 Controllability.
Control of ascent and descent shall be demonstrated.
Subpart C - Strength Requirements
Sec. 12.200 Loads.
Strength requirements are specified in terms of limit and ultimate loads. Unless otherwise stated, the specified loads shall be considered as limit loads.
Sec. 12.201 Flight load factor.
The limit flight load factor shall not be less than 1.4.
Sec. 12.202 Factor of safety.
The factor of safety shall be 1.5 except as specified in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section.
(a) Bursting pressure. The envelope shall be demonstrated to be capable of withstanding a bursting pressure at least 5.0 times that to which it might be subjected in normal flight.
(b) Rigging and attachments. A minimum factor of 7.0 shall be used in the design of the rigging (net, load ring, etc.) and in all attachments of the rigging to the envelope, the basket, and trapeze.
Sec. 12.203 Strength.
(a) The balloon shall be capable of supporting all loads up to limit loads without detrimental effects.
(b) The balloon shall be capable of supporting ultimate loads without failure. It shall support the load during a static test for at least 3 seconds unless proof of strength is demonstrated by dynamic tests simulating actual conditions of load application.
(c) The trapeze and basket shall have sufficient strength to withstand a free-fall drop of not less than 36 inches with design maximum weight without appreciable distortion or failure. If a basket is used, the free-fall drop shall be made with the floor of the basket tilted at angles of 15° and 30°, respectively, to the horizontal.
Subpart D - Design and Construction
Sec. 12.300 General.
The suitability of all design details or parts having a bearing on safety in operation shall be established by tests or analysis.
Sec. 12.301 Materials.
(a) The suitability and durability of all materials shall be established on the basis of experience or tests. All materials shall conform to approved specifications which will insure their having the strength and other properties assumed in the design data.
(b) Material strength properties shall be based on a sufficient number of tests of material conforming to specifications in order to establish design values on a statistical basis.
Sec. 12.302 Fabrication methods.
The methods of fabrication employed in construction shall be such as to produce consistently sound balloon parts. When a fabrication process requires close control to attain the objective, the process shall be performed in accordance with an approved process specification.
Sec. 12.303 Standard fastenings.
Standard bolts, pins, screws, and rivets shall be used in the balloon parts. The use of a standard locking device or method is required for all such bolts, pins, and screws. Self-locking nuts shall not be used on bolts subject to rotation during operation of the balloon.
Sec. 12.304 Protection.
All parts of the balloon shall be suitably protected against deterioration or loss of strength in service due to weathering, corrosion, or other causes.
Sec. 12.305 Inspection provisions.
Means shall be provided to permit the close examination of such parts of the balloon as require periodic inspection and adjustments.
Sec. 12.306 Fitting factor.
A multiplying factor of safety of at least 1.15 shall be used in the analysis of all fittings, the strength of which is not proved by limit and ultimate load tests in which the actual stress conditions are simulated in the fitting and surrounding structure. This factor applies to all portions of the fitting, the means of attachment, and bearing on the members joined. In the case of integral fittings, the part shall be treated as a fitting up to the point where the section properties become typical of the member. The fitting factor need not be applied if the joint design is based on comprehensive test data and is made in accordance with approved practices.
Sec. 12.307 Fuel cells.
Fuel cells shall be capable of withstanding, without failure, any inertia loads to which the cells might be subjected.
Sec. 12.308 Gas heaters.
When gas heaters are used, shielding shall be provided, as necessary, to protect other parts of the balloon and the occupants from heat effects.
Sec. 12.309 Control systems.
(a) All controls shall operate with sufficient ease, smoothness, and positiveness to permit the proper performance or their function and shall be so arranged and identified as to provide convenience in operation and prevent the possibility of confusion and inadvertent operation.
(b) All control systems and operating devices shall be so designed and installed as to prevent jamming, chafing, and interference from passengers, cargo, and loose objects. Precautions shall be provided to prevent the entry of foreign objects into places where they might jam the controls. The elements of the control system shall incorporate design features or shall be distinctively and permanently marked to minimize the possibility of incorrect assembly which could result in malfunctioning of the control system.
(c) On balloons using a captive gas as the lifting medium, an automatic valve, or appendix, shall be provided which is capable of releasing gas automatically at the rate of at least 3 percent of the total volume per minute when the balloon is at its maximum operating pressure.
Sec. 12.310 Ballast.
Provisions shall be made for safe storage and controlled release of ballast. Ballast shall consist of material which, if released during flight, is not hazardous to persons on the ground.
Sec. 12.311 Deflation means.
Means for deflating the envelope shall be provided which permits releasing at least 30 percent of the gas in the first minute.
Sec. 12.312 Drag rope.
A suitable drag rope shall be provided to facilitate landings. The drag rope shall be stiffened at the end which is released overboard to preclude the probability of rope entanglement with trees, wires, or other objects on the ground.
Sec. 12.313 Rip cords.
If a rip cord is used:
(a) It shall be attached to the envelope in at least two places to prevent inadvertent operation, and the breaking force of each attachment shall not be less than 10 pounds but not more than 25 pounds;
(b) The force required to operate the rip cord shall not be less tan 25 pounds but not more than 75 pounds; and
(c) The end of the rip cord for use by the balloonist shall be red. The rip cord shall have sufficient slack to allow at least 10 percent elongation in the vertical diameter of the balloon.
Sec. 12.314 Trapeze and basket.
The trapeze and basket shall not rotate independently of the envelope. All projecting objects on the trapeze or basket which could cause injury to occupants shall be padded.
Subpart E - Equipment
Sec. 12.600 Functional and installational requirements.
Each item of equipment in a balloon shall be:
(a) Designed and installed to insure that it will perform the intended function reliably under all reasonably foreseeable operating conditions:
(b) Designed to safeguard against hazards to the balloon in the event of malfunction or failure; and
(c) Demonstrated to function properly in the balloon.
Subpart F - Operating Limitations and Information
Sec. 12.700 Operating limitations and information.
Operating limitations, normal and emergency procedures, and other pertinent information peculiar to the balloon's operating characteristics necessary for safe operation shall be provided by the manufacturer by means of an aircraft flight manual furnished with each balloon, or by means of placards or markings on the balloon which are clearly visible to the operator. The operating limitations shall include the maximum certificated weight.
Sec. 12.701 Identification plate.
A fireproof identification plate shall be securely attached to the structure in an accessible location where it will not likely be defaced during normal service. The identification plate shall not be placed in a location where it might be expected to be lost in the event of an accident. The identification plate shall contain the identification data required by Sec. 1.50 of this chapter.
Sec. 12.702 Identification marks.
The nationality and registration marks shall be permanently affixed to the envelope in compliance with Sec. 1.100 of this chapter.
Sec. 12.703 Conspicuity.
The exterior surface of the envelope shall be painted, dyed or marked with a contrasting color or colors so that it will be conspicuous during operation.
Footer Information
Issued in Washington, DC, on June 17, 1963.
G.S. Moore
Director, Flight Standards Service.
[FR Doc. 63-6569 Filed June 21, 1963; 8:48 a.m.]
Comments
Document History
Other Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Actions:
Not Applicable.
Final Rule Actions:
Final Rule. Docket No. 1437; Issued on 6/26/1964.
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