A set of FAA special conditions published on Friday in the Federal Register suggests Bell's 525 super-medium twin could be certified later this year, even though the company has officially remained non-committal. In the latest FAA Part 29 certification special condition proposed for the heavy-twin helicopter, the FAA noted, “Bell applied for multiple extensions, with the most recent occurring on November 12, 2020. The date of the updated type certification basis is December 31, 2016, based upon the applicant's proposed type certificate issuance date of December 31, 2021.”
This special condition addresses the current requirement that the pilot is able to determine that full control authority is available before flight. The FAA notes that this has traditionally been done via manipulating the mechanically linked flight controls before flight, but since the 525 four-axis fly-by-wire (FBW) has no such linkages, that type of verification is not possible. An “FBW system may have the ability to verify full control authority without having to move the primary flight controls,” the FAA said.
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