A Critical Review of Global Regulations For Certification and Operation of Airships
A Critical Review of Global Regulations For Certification and Operation of Airships
A Critical Review of Global Regulations For Certification and Operation of Airships
Advisory Circular
Airship Design Criteria
Civil Aviation Procedure
Civil Airworthiness Requirements (UK)
Category III of Instrument Landing System
Code of Federal Regulations
Cargo Lifter AG
Directorate General of Civil Aviation (India)
Federal Aviation Authority (USA)
Federal Aviation Regulation (USA)
International Civil Aviation Organization
Instrument Flight Rules
Instrument Landing System
Joint Aviation Authorities (Europe)
Joint Airworthiness Regulation (Europe)
Luftfahrt Bundesamts (Germany)
Lufttchtigkeitsforderungen fr Luftschiffe (Germany)
Rules for aviation Personnel-Part V (Germany)
Rijksluchtvaartdienst (The Netherlands)
Small Aircraft Directorate
Transport Airship Requirements (The Netherlands & Germany)
West Deutsche Lwerbung
Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik GmbH
Introduction:
Design, manufacture, safety, airworthiness and certification criteria are stringently applied on all
forms of aircraft by aviation regulatory authorities all over the world. Aircraft certified by these
standards are deemed airworthy. Conformation to accepted standards ensures a minimum level of
safety during operations, and helps obtaining a type approval in countries other than the country of
manufacture and/or certification.
Detailed regulations for fixed wing planes, helicopters and other aircraft are available with most
1
The country of issue and applicability of the regulations is mentioned in the brackets.
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regulatory agencies, and are very well known. However, except in the very early days, airships had not
played any significant role in global aviation, hence few rules and regulations were established for
certification for safe construction of small airship which have been used in the past. Owing to modern
developments in materials and manufacturing technology and control system design, airships have
emerged from the hibernation that they were forced to enter in late thirties, due to the much publicized
Hindenburg disaster. In their new avatar, non-rigid airships are now being considered as the aerial
vehicle of choice for several scientific applications such as HALE (High Altitude Long Endurance)
platform for communications, stabilized platform for aerial photography and photogrammetry, and
military applications such as anti-submarine warfare, airborne mine detection, airborne early warning,
psuedolite based platform for precision navigation system, and integrated battle management, to name
a few. In recent times, airships have also started revisiting their historic role as a vehicle for aerial
sightseeing, and transportation of goods and passengers over mountainous terrains.
Nayler has been reviewing the airship developments programs worldwide. As per his latest report [1],
20 countries worldwide had some airship related activities (research, development, manufacturing, or
operation) in progress in 2003. At present, there are 23 active manufacturers who have built manned
airships, and another nine who have built unmanned, remotely-piloted airships (including stratospheric
airships). Manned airships are being operated today in seven countries viz., Brazil, Canada, Japan,
France, Germany, Switzerland, and USA. Thus, it can be said that airships are now returning in a big
way as niche vehicles for applications where they score over their Heavier-Than-Air counterparts.
Owing to the obvious need to establish safety, operational and airworthiness standards related to
airships, many regulatory agencies have started developing regulations for airships. Many
components, equipment, processes and operating and testing procedures in airships can be considered
to have a large degree of commonality with their fixed-wing counterparts. Regulations for these are
either the same or largely derived from those applicable to fixed- or rotary-wing aircraft. Also, since
the extent of airships operation are on the increase worldwide, the need for an internationally agreed
set of operating rules is being felt.
Regulations for the airworthiness of airships in the United Kingdom have existed since the late 1970s
due to the requirements of various companies headed by Roger Munk who has created many of the
successful modern non-rigid airship designs. The current airworthiness requirement is British Civil
Airworthiness Requirements, CAP 471, Section Q, Non-Rigid Airships. This document is known
universally as BCAR Section Q. The document was originally published on 17th December 1979 with
further reprints in April 1984 and May 1986, and was again republished in its entirety in February
2001, as Issue 2.
This paper is largely derived from the information provided by Gritzbach [2], Pavel Novak [3],
Donaldson & Rentell [4] and the deliberations during a workshop on airship regulations [11]. The
paper also reviews the current situation with regard to airworthiness regulatory developments, and
outlines the progress that has been made in the development of operational regulations of airships.
Advisory Material, Policies & Guidance issued by FAA:
The impetus for creation of airship design criteria in the US arose from an application for a type
certificate of a non-rigid airship in 1979, and then another such application in 1983. Prior to this,
airships in US were built to the US Navy detail design specifications, and civil approval for the type
certificates was based on the Navys approval of the airship design. This procedure was unique at that
time, and was predicated on the extensive experience of the U. S. Navy with airship design,
construction and operation, since the early forties. The U.S. Navy, however, decommissioned the last
airship in the early 60s, and to the best of the knowledge of the authors, does not presently operate any
airships.
The FAA launched a program to arrive at the airworthiness criteria through the revision of 21.17(b)
of FAR-21 vide amendment 21-60 based on a critical review of the experience of US Navy personnel,
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BCAR Section-Q, and portions of FAR-23. As a result, the FAA developed airship design criteria that
are suitable for the U.S. type certification of non rigid airships. The criteria are based primarily on the
FAR-23, U.S. Navy detail design specifications of airships, and additional criteria developed by
FAA/NASA that were determined to be appropriate for current airship designs.
In 1987, the FAA issued an Advisory Circular AC 21.17-1A [6], which was later revised on July 24
1992 [7]. These documents provide advisory material and guidelines pertaining to type certification,
and list the requirements for type certification of airships. Further, these circulars (with minor
modifications as applicable) have been adopted by the civil aviation regulatory authorities in several
other European countries like UK, Germany and Russia, which operate manned airships
commercially.
Regulations for the issuance of airship type certificates:
The following regulations are currently in force for issuance of type certification for airships:
BCAR, Section Q:
These regulations apply to the type certification of the multi piston-engined non-rigid airships and
manually operated control systems with maximum inflated envelope volume not greater than 42450
m3 (1.5 million ft3) . These requirements are not applicable for other types of airship i.e., rigid airships,
or for single engined airships, or for the transport category. Subsequent amendments may be
incorporated to extend the applicability of BCAR Q to cover rigid or semi-rigid structures, installation
of gas turbine power plants, powered control systems and other features as necessary to cater to an
application for certification of a specific airship project.
FAA: P-8110-2 Change-1 Airship Design Criteria:
Based on the revised AC [7], a change in the original FAA document P-8110-2 titled, "Airship Design
Criteria (ADC) was incorporated to suit the requirements mentioned therein, while applying this new
version of the ADC to actual type certification projects. Later, a modification of this ADC as Change1 [8] came into circulation in 1992. Modern Non-rigid Airships in America are built to adapt to these
criteria, which defines an airship as an engine driven, steerable lighter-than-air aircraft that is capable
of achieving zero static heaviness in normal flight operations and whose structural integrity and shape
is maintained by the pressure of the gas contained within the envelope. It provides acceptable
airworthiness requirements for the type certification of conventional, near-equilibrium, non-rigid
airships with passenger accommodation not exceeding nine seats. FAA also offers a category of
Experimental aircraft for people who wish to experiment in single seater aircraft. However, the
carriage of passengers requires the full majesty of the law [4].
Further regulations for type certification are detailed in Part 21 of the 14th Amendment of the CFR (14
CFR Part 21) titled Certification Procedures for Products and Parts. Additional information on
type certification is available in the several parts of the CFR, such as Part 21.17 for designation of
applicable regulations, Part 21.183 for issue of type certificate, and Part 21.183 for issue of standard
airworthiness certificates as reported in [2].
FAA has also stretched BCAR Q to cover larger Airship with up to 12 occupants (passengers and
crew), but stated that an airship with greater capacity will need to be certified under Transport
Category under FAR-21 paragraph 17b and registered as a special class. Therefore, FAA identifies
Normal and Transport categories for airships, with the cut off at 12 occupants to harmonize the
development of regulations for Transport Category Airships.
LFLS:
To develop formal airworthiness regulations to suit the large semi-rigid design of the Zeppelin NT N07 class of airships, measures were put in hand by LBA. As an outcome of this activity a document
titled Lufttchtigkeitsforderungen fr Luftschiffe der Kategorien Normal und Zubringer which
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translates into English as Airship airworthiness requirements for Normal and Commuter categories
(Generally referred as LFLS) was published on 3rd August 1999. They are valid in Germany for
following two categories of airships.
(a)
(b)
The Normal category airship is a non rigid airship consisting of an envelope filled with the
lifting gas and pressurized slightly above ambient, whose shape is maintained by the pressure
of the lifting gas and that uses nose to tail structure for distributing the car weight into the
envelope using catenaries. It is limited to airships that have a seating configuration, excluding
pilot seats, of nine or less.
The Commuter category is limited to propeller-driven, multi-engine airships that have a
seating configuration, excluding pilot seats, of 19 or less.
However, LFLS has some provision to certify the airships in more than two categories, if the
requirements of each requested category are met by these airships.
Earlier, LBA has also been in the forefront of developing airworthiness regulations for both non-rigid
and semi-rigid airships. There have been a number of German non-rigid airships, mostly constructed by
the WDL Company in Mlheim. The WDL-1B airship received its certification in 1988 and its
certification was based on an ad-hoc mixture that can be comparable with the BCAR Section-Q for the
appropriate requirements. These requirements incorporated elements from airworthiness criteria for
blimps by the Goodyear Aircraft Corporation, FAR-23 (12th Amendment) for engines and electrical
systems, FAA-P-8110-2 Change-1, and additional LBA requirements for commercial passenger
transport. Beside these requirements, the FAA criteria have been amended to provide airworthiness
requirements for the type certification of airships in Normal and Commuter categories in LFLS.
TAR (March 2000 Issue):
LBA and RLD have developed common comprehensive airworthiness requirements for large airships to
accommodate Type Certification applications for such aircraft in their countries [4]. Existing
airworthiness codes such as FAR P8110-2 and JAR-25 have been selected to form the basis of these
Transport Airship Requirements (TAR). Terms used in this TAR are as contained in JAR-1, Definitions
and Abbreviations. The new category Transport Airships Regulations are applicable for the
Conventional (Rigid and Semi rigid) and Non rigid airships in near static equilibrium2. It defines airship
as an engine-driven, lighter-than-air aircraft that can be steered. For the transport category airship, TAR
defines airship as multi-engine propeller-driven airships that have a seating configuration excluding crew
seats of 20 or more, or a maximum weight of 15000 kg or more, or a volume of 20000 m or more,
whichever is greater.
JAR:
JAR is directly not available for normal, utility, and large airships. For that FAR or TAR may be
adopted. However, the JAR regulations for various aircraft parts such as engines (JAR E), propellers
(JAR P), APUs (JAR APU) and the Technical standard orders (JAR TSO) which are primarily for air
planes can also be applicable for airships [2].
SA-CATS-AR
These regulations have been issued by the South African Civil Aviation Authority in 1992, and they
are applicable for rigid and non-rigid airships. The motivation for issuing these regulations came from
the ambition program of Hamilton Airship Company of South Africa, which aimed to develop a 65
passenger rigid airships capable of flying non-stop from Johannesburg to London. These regulations
are mainly derived from BCAR-Section-Q and FAR-21 Design Handbook.
2
Near static equilibrium is the capability of achieving zero static heaviness resulting in zero vertical air speed
during normal flight operations.
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In LuftVg 2 of the LBA, Germany defines the noise level requirements which are applicable for all
aircrafts. But it does not specify the limitations or the tests requirements in details. However, a
proposal is under discussion for the noise emission by propeller aircraft under take off and cruise
mode (mentioned in Chapter 6 of LuftVg 2) and by Helicopter under take off and hover mode
(mentioned in Chapter 10 LuftVg 2). These regulations recommend six valid flights over a
microphone installed 1.2m above ground to check the noise levels.
JAR-36, which is a regulation for aircraft noise certification, is not valid for airships. It is obvious that
the equipment and test facility to perform measurements according to the regulations above must be
certified before issuance of a type certificate for external noise emission.
Regulations for Airship Maintenance:
As specified by the FAA, operating and flight rules for airships can be located in Part 91 of the 14th
Amendment of the CFR (14 CFR Part 91). FAR concerning maintenance (including preventive
maintenance), rebuilding and alteration of airships can be found in Part 43 of the 14th Amendment of
the CFR (14 CFR Part 43). The FAA Advisory Circular AC 43.13-1B [9] lays the framework for
inspection and methods.
Section-1 of JAR-145 [10] prescribes the requirements for issuing approvals to organizations for the
maintenance of aircraft and aircraft components and prescribes the general operating rules for
approved maintenance organizations. The approval, when granted, will apply to the whole
organization headed by the accountable manager. According to this regulation, an organization which
is located, in whole or in part, within the territories of the JAA full member States will be granted
approval in respect of any such location within those territories when in compliance with this JAR145. Other organizations will only be granted approval in respect of any such location outside those
territories if the JAA full member Authority is satisfied that there is a need for such approval to
maintain aircraft/aircraft components at that location and when in compliance with this JAR-145.
Alternatively, the JAA full member Authority may accept such an organization on the basis of an
approval granted by an Authority that is not a member or full member of the JAA subject to the
organization being in compliance with published JAA maintenance special conditions to ensure
equivalence to JAR-145. The alternative accepted organization may be required to show a need before
being accepted.
JAR-OPS 1.875 Section M Maintenance are applicable during the pre flight checks and mentions
that these checks need not to be performed by the approved maintenance organisation according to
JAR-145.
JAR-66 certifying Staff Maintenance is limited to aircraft and helicopter with a maximum take off
mass of 5700 kg, and does not cover airships. JAR-145 requires appropriately authorised certifying
staff to issue a certificate of release to service.
There are some categories provided in JAR which are applicable for Line maintenance and simple
defects type rating (Category A), Components mechanical and electrical systems and simple tests type
rating (Category B1 &2), Aircraft in its entirety, including all systems type rating (Category C). For
airships, new categories are under discussion by JAR-66 Study Group, such as the proposed new
category D1 and D2 for airship Components, and Category E1 and B2 for airships in their entirety.
JAR-147 Approved Maintenance Training Organisation are applicable for conducting the approved
training courses and examinations by JAR-66. These regulations previously were not applicable for
airships, and there is no training organisation for airships other than the existing airship operators.
Regulations for Operation and Commercial Air Carriers:
JAR-OPS 1&3 for Commercial Air Transportation Section A, though applicable for airplanes and
helicopters, doesnt include airships so far. However, the further section in this regulations are usable
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for airships such as Air carrier organisation certification, Organisation operation procedures, All
weather operation (included in Section B to E, respectively). Also sections K-L to P and Sections Q-S
are applicable for airships for Instruments & Equipment, Maintenance, Flight Crew, Cabin Crew,
Technical and operational logs, Dangerous goods and security respectively [2].
JAR-FCL 1&3 for Flight Crew Licensing and JAR-OPS 1.235/ ICAO for noise reduction procedures
for instrument flight doesnt include airship so far.
Safety and Operational Issues:
The most important safety criterion to be strictly adhered to is for the type of lifting medium. A
passenger carrying airship should not, by statute, use Hydrogen as the lifting gas. In the type
certification of the airships, it is clearly mentioned that Helium only is to be used as the lifting gas. In
addition, airships must comply with other safety regulations involving behavior and controllability in
severe weather (gusts, storms, etc.).
After investigating the 1993 crash of a US-LTA airship which was the result of Helium loss due to a
tear in the envelope, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) of the US Department of
Transportation made several recommendations to the FAA to implement an interim policy which
required an Envelope Monitoring System following which, the SAD enforced a clause in [8] to require
an envelope rip warning system on all airships.
In Germany, LBA has announced its intention to amend the German operational regulation LUFT-BO
by the 7.DVO, to adopt airships, due to the lack of JAR regulations.
All weather operations are different for airships. Ground handling, ice and snow handling and ground
wind handling need to be considered. IFR operations might be different for airships, and very time
consuming, hence special procedures will have to be adopted. It will definitely be possible to track an
airship down an ILS glide slope. However, due to the slow airspeed, the airship may block the airport
slots. But an airship would be able to follow a much steeper glide slope than fixed wing planes, and
even be able to hover. This enables an airship to perform CAT III approaches without any precise
glide-slope information. It may be noted that in 1940-50, US Navy pilots had developed special
procedures/rules for airship approach procedures.
Additional instruments and equipment is required for various operational scenarios, sometimes
contradictory to the regulations available. Such instruments and equipment again must be additionally
type certificated and installed by the manufacturer and the operator would not be allowed to install it.
Recommendations of the Workshop on LTA Regulatory Issues:
This workshop was held as part of the 14th AIAA LTA Technical Convention and Exhibition held at
Akron in July 2001 [11] in which issues related to Airworthiness, Certification and Operational
Regulations of airships were discussed at length. One of the main recommendations made during this
workshop was that a working group should be set up to look at the harmonization of regulations
related to airships. It was suggested that ICAO should be contacted to take a lead in this matter, though
they are known to be very slow to adopt any issues on a global case. Harmonization is desirable, and
there seems to be no resistance from regulatory bodies. It was strongly recommended that not just
TAR the entire spectrum of LTA activity should be taken up for harmonization. Further, it was
generally agreed that most of the expertise and knowledge related to airships rests mainly in the
operators and users, and many of the regulatory bodies do not have much experience in
regulating/certifying airships, hence their inputs should be sought before any regulations are
implemented.
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:References:
1. Arnold Nayler; Airship Activity and Development World Wide-2003, AIAAs 3rd Annual
Aviation Technology, Integration, and Operations (ATIO) Technical Forum, Denver,
Colorado, USA, 2003.
2. Robert Gritzbach; Application of Regulations for Certification and Operation,
3rd International Airship Convention and Exhibition, Friedrichschafen, Germany, 2000.
3. Pavel Novak; Regulations for the Training of Airship Pilots in Germany, 3rd International
Airship Convention and Exhibition, Friedrichschafen, Germany, 2000.
4. Ian Donaldson, Michael Rentell; The State of Airship International Regulatory
Developments Today, 4th International Airship Convention and Exhibition, Cambridge, UK,
2002.
5. FAA-S-8081-17; Private Pilot Practical Test Standards for LTA Balloons, and Airships,
U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Flight Standards
Service, Washington, DC 20591, 1996.
6. FAA Advisory Circular, No. 21.17-1A, Type Certification-Airships, U. S. Department of
Transportation, General Services Section, M-443.2, Washington, DC 20590, USA, 1987.
7. FAA Advisory Circular, No. 21.17-1A Change-1, Type Certification-Airships, Small
Airplane Directorate (ACE-100), Aircraft Certification Service, Federal Aviation
Administration, 601 East 12th Street, Kansas City, MO 64106, USA, 1992.
8. FAA-P-8110-2, Change 1, Airship Design Criteria, Small Airplane Directorate (ACE-110),
Aircraft Certification Service, Federal Aviation Administration, 601 East 12th Street, Kansas
City, MO 64106, USA, 1992.
9.
FAA Advisory Circular, No. 43.13-1B Change 1, Acceptable Methods, Techniques, and
Practices-Aircraft Inspection and Repair, Airworthiness Programs Branch, AFS-610, PO
Box 25082, Oklahoma City, OK 73125, USA, 1998
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