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GAMA INSIGHT By Pete Bunce 50 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE TECHNOLOGY W HILE WE CELEBRATE THE SMALL AIRPL ANE design rule rewrites that aviation authorities around the world have implemented or are working toward implementing, industr y leaders and representatives are now turning their sights towardsa similar goal: to modernize the design standards for rotorcraft to improve innovation, safety, and efficiency of cer tification approval. The European Aviation Safet y Agency (EASA) and Federal Aviation Administration (FA A) air wor thiness design requirements for rotorcraf t are published in Cer tification Specification (CS) 27 and 29 and Par t 27 and 29 requirements, respectively. Over the past 20 years, new requirements have been piled on top of old to address safety features that were state of the ar t, at the time. As a result, many of the rotorcraft requirements are prescriptive methods of design and inhibit innova- tion and the introduction of modern technologies, which include many safety-enhancing features. Additionally, some requirements lead to reduced cer tification and validation efficiency, driving up costs without a propor- tional safety benefit. The General Aviation Manufacturers A ssociation (GAMA) is collaborating with the AeroSpace and Defence Industries Association of Europe (ASD) to sponsor a working group of rotorcraft manufacturers that is con- ducting a comprehensive review of the CS/Par t 27 and 29 design requirements and developing recommenda- tions to remove outdated prescriptive rules and define performance and risk-based safety objectives. Proposed new requirement s will consider safet y continuum approaches, which establishes the appropriate level of design requirements and rigor based on a combina- tion of risk factors, such as number of occupants, flight environment, type of operation (Instrument Flight Rules (IFR)/ Visual Flight Rules (VFR)), design complexity ,and rotorcraft performance. GAMA/ASD will submit its report to EASA and FAA in April 2018 with a request for harmonized rulemaking. The recommendations to update design requirements for new rotorcraft will stimulate innovation and facilitate the intro- duction of new technology and safety-enhancing equip- ment, while also streamlining certification and validation through harmonized and performance based rules. GAMA is also a strong advocate and actively engaged in initiatives to change rotorcraft design requirements to enable incorporation of new safety standards as retrofit into previously type certificated designs. A current initia- tive is the FA A Aviation Rulemaking Advisor y Committee (ARAC) Rotorcraft Occupant Protection Working Group (ROPWG). A recent FA A fatal accident study demonstrated that Crash Resistant Fuel System (CRFS) and Crash Resistant Sur vival System (CRSS) requirements are effective in saving lives. But, there is slow progress to incorporate these new design measures into the current fleet of rotorcraft that were t ype cer tificated before the new standards were established. The FA A-industr y working group is developing recommendations to accelerate the incorporation of CRFS and CRSS safety enhancements as a retrofit into newly manufactured and current opera- tion rotorcraft. The ROPWG recommendations will be submitted to the FA A by July 2018. However, there is significant inter- est in CRFS by manufacturers and operators and these recommendations are already being voluntarily incor- porated in nearly all new production rotorcraft and STC retrofit kits are becoming available for large por tions of the existing fleet. GAMA recognizes that any new rotorcraft requirements must be harmonized and globally accepted through par- ticipation and commitment to improvement by global air wor thiness authorities and industr y. This focused engagement, involving key stakeholders will promote improved safety and innovation, strengthen industry and authority partnership and collaboration, and lead to a much stronger rotorcraft industry in the future. ROTORCRAFT SEGMENT LOOKS TO MODERNIZE SAFETY REGULATIONS TO FOSTER INNOVATION AND ENHANCE SAFETY PETE BUNCE is president and CEO of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), which represents more than 85 of the world's leading manufacturers of general avia- tion airplanes and rotorcraft, engines, avion- ics, components, and related services. GAMA's members also operate repair stations, FBOs, pilot and main- tenance training facilities and manage fleets of aircraft. For more info: www. gama.aero . The goal is to enhance rotorcraft safety by harmonization of rulemaking between authorities.