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New Phase 1 rules coming?

is this an April Fools?

Funny that it is announced on April Fools Day. Should we wait till tomorrow to believe it :D
 
Maybe not a joke

I went to the FAA web site and made a comment, so maybe this one is for real. If not, someone went to extraordinary effort for a joke.
 
So will this take more than 40 hours to complete?

First, it is an Advisory Circular, so even if the proposed changes go into effect, they are not a rule. It specifically states:
"The contents of this document do not have the force and effect of law and are not meant to bind the public in any way. This document is intended only to provide clarity to the public regarding existing requirements under the law or agency policies."

Second, it appears that they are adding the option of using the Task-Based approach that is contained in the EAA Flight Test Manual:
"This AC also provides criteria for the use of an optional, operationally centric or task-based experimental aircraft flight-test plan. This task-based option provides at least the same level of safety and reliability that the existing hourly minimum 25 or 40 hour flight-test provides, but with the advantages of having operational completion criteria, a plan to record data for the creation of an AFM, and a flight-test report documenting the flight testing results."
"This AC creates the ability for builders to utilize a comprehensive, individualized task-based flight-test plan to meet the objectives of the flight-test, but according to certain completion criteria and possibly less than the typical 25 or 40 hours, depending on the complexity of the aircraft."

My read of that is you can use the task-based approach instead of the 25 or 40 hour time limit, even if it results in flying less total hours.

I will also add that for flight testing my plane I used a task-based approach that is very similar to the EAA Flight Test Manual, and I ended up finishing at 40.1 hours. So I would not think of using this approach as some way to get through Phase I faster.
 
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Task based phase testing sounds great!

I mean, that’s what we should be doing regardless of how many hours are specified, right?? I always thought an arbitrary 40 hours didn’t prove anything if an organized test regime wasn’t utilized.

I doubt this is an April fools joke...just say’n
 
Task based flight test is a great idea, but not the way the AC is written. The AC is, unfortunately, a platinum standard for EAB flight testing and documentation and as such is far, far beyond the capabilities of most real world EAB builders and pilots.

As written, Section 1 (the only one I've reviewed in detail) is unrealistic. I've only skimmed the other sections, and they appear more reasonable although I found items here and there.

Hate to be so blunt as there was obviously a lot of work that went into the proposed revisions, but...
 
Give them your input

Task based flight test is a great idea, but not the way the AC is written. The AC is, unfortunately, a platinum standard for EAB flight testing and documentation and as such is far, far beyond the capabilities of most real world EAB builders and pilots.

As written, Section 1 (the only one I've reviewed in detail) is unrealistic. I've only skimmed the other sections, and they appear more reasonable although I found items here and there.

Hate to be so blunt as there was obviously a lot of work that went into the proposed revisions, but...

They’re looking for input until the 29th....help them make it more realistic.
 
Task based flight test is a great idea, but not the way the AC is written. The AC is, unfortunately, a platinum standard for EAB flight testing and documentation and as such is far, far beyond the capabilities of most real world EAB builders and pilots.

As written, Section 1 (the only one I've reviewed in detail) is unrealistic. I've only skimmed the other sections, and they appear more reasonable although I found items here and there.

Hate to be so blunt as there was obviously a lot of work that went into the proposed revisions, but...

For an advisory circular, I think writing the platinum standard is the correct approach. You give the builders all the information and steps that would make up a 100% correct flight test program and let them decide which steps they think are appropriate. It would be a worse idea to give them a more achievable entry level test outline with a comment that says "you could do more here, but we won't tell you what that is".
 
Timing?

Any idea of when this AC would come into effect...? I'm up for the airworthiness inspection and would like to make use of this, if possible. But if it's still months away, then obviously it won't work for me.
 
Any idea of when this AC would come into effect...? I'm up for the airworthiness inspection and would like to make use of this, if possible. But if it's still months away, then obviously it won't work for me.

If you’re ready for airworthiness inspection, I’d get it done and get flying. AC drops can happen fast or slow, and it can be hard to predict. The bottom line in this case is that a good flight test program is going to take you 30-40 hours anyway, so its not a huge time saver. The purpose of task based flight testing is getting pilots to actually DO good testing rather than simply “fly off the hours” - so if you’re going to do a good test program anyway, then get it flying and get it done!

Just my opinion....

Paul
 
AC drops can happen fast or slow, and it can be hard to predict. The bottom line in this case is that a good flight test program is going to take you 30-40 hours anyway, so its not a huge time saver. The purpose of task based flight testing is getting pilots to actually DO good testing rather than simply “fly off the hours” - so if you’re going to do a good test program anyway, then get it flying and get it done!

Paul is correct in that it will likely take you nearly 40 hours to properly flight test your aircraft anyway, especially if it's a a complex or high-performance aircraft.

Also, it's important to remember that an Advisory Circular is just that - advisory. it is NOT regulatory. So no changes could actually be made to your flight test phase 1 time until there are changes made to the operating limitations that we issue to the aircraft. Right now, we are required (for amateur-built aircraft) to issue either the 40 hour or 25 hour fight test period, just like we have been issuing for the past many years. There is currently no provision for an alternate, "task-based" flight test period.

Publication of the AC is not the controlling event. Publication of a new Order 8130.2 that allows the task-based flight test period is what you have to wait for.
 
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