INTELLIGENCE

摘要

1. THE FAA HAS GRANTED TEXTRON AVIATION A TEMPORARY exemption to meeting fuel tank flammability requirements that would allow Citation Longitude deliveries to begin but require a retrofit of delivered aircraft by Jan. 31, 2020. Certification of the Model 700 Longitude had originally been expected in late 2017. The company now expects certification in the third quarter of 2018. At issue is the aircraft's fuel system, which stores fuel in the wing with the center portion covered by an aerodynamic fairing, the FAA's docket said. "While Textron considers the entire fuel tank to be in a conventional unheated aluminum wing, which could be shown to meet the flammability requirement via qualitative analysis, the FAA has determined that the portion of the fuel tank covered by the aerodynamic fairing is not a conventional unheated aluminum wing tank," the docket said. "With this FAA determination, the Model 700 does not comply with the requirements of 14 CFR 25.981 (b) amendment 25-125." In response to the FAA's decision, Textron must submit a compliance plan by Oct. 1. It also must obtain FAA type approval of an amendment to the design and develop service instructions that eliminate the noncompliance by July 31, 2019, and incorporate design changes into noncompliant aircraft delivered to customers by Jan. 31, 2020. Textron must substantiate that the portion of the fuel tank located within the fuselage contour and the aerodynamic fairing has a flammability exposure of less than 7% FEET, the FAA said. It also must substantiate that the remaining wing-section portion of the fuel tank have a flammability exposure of less than 3% FEET or equivalent to a conventional unheated aluminum wing tank.