AC 25-7C

Historical

Advisory circular · Flight Test Guide For Certification Of Transport Category Airplanes

A newer version is currentThis is a historical version. AC 25-7D CHG 1 is the version in force, approved September 16, 2025.
Approved
October 16, 2012
Last reviewed
September 1, 2017
Cancels
AC25-7B Change 1 Incorporated
Cancelled by
AC25-7D
Family
AC 25-7 · 6 versions
Revision
C
14 CFR parts
25

Guidance, not mandatory unless a rule or AD requires it. DRS record last changed November 21, 2025.

Show pages 392–403
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Appendix 5 A5-3

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Appendix 5 A5-4 Figure 3. Sample Tasks for Evaluating Airplane Handling Qualities

A. Trim & Unattended Operation.

Characteristics of the airplane to stay at or depart from an initial trim or unaccelerated condition.

-- Dynamic and steady-state flight path response to pulse input (all 3 axes)

-- Dynamic and steady-state flight path response to atmospheric disturbance

-- Spiral stability (e.g., release controls at 40 bank)

B. Large Amplitude Maneuvering.

Generally, these are open-loop maneuvers in which the pilot attempts a significant change in airplane path, speed, or attitude in order to evaluate safe airplane capability that are beyond those expected in normal operational service. Maneuvers may be initiated outside the Normal Flight Envelope and transition flight envelopes. Most of these maneuvers are representative of airworthiness stability and control tests.

Pitch/Longitudinal -- Wind-up turn or symmetric pull-up/push-over -- Slow-down turn at fixed g or on AOA or g-limiter -- Stall or AOA-limiter approach -- Push-pull off trim speed

Roll -- Rapid bank-to-bank roll

Yaw -- Sudden heading change -- Constant heading sideslip

Operational -- Pitch/roll upset recover -- Emergency descent -- Climbing/diving turn -- Takeoff/land windshear escape maneuver -- Takeoff/land windshear escape maneuver-- Go around/power or thrust application from low speed -- Arrest of high sink rate, at touchdown or level-off altitude -- Collision avoidance roll/pull -- Takeoff and landing flare with underspeed or high crosswind

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Appendix 5 A5-5 Figure 3. Sample Tasks for Evaluating Airplane Handling Qualities (continued)

C. Closed-Loop Precision Regulation of Flight Path Generally, these are tightly-bounded, pilot closed-loop tasks expected to be performed in routine commercial flight. These controlling tasks are almost exclusively within the Normal Flight Envelope, or not far outside the NFE boundary.

-- ILS and precision touchdown, various atmospheric disturbance and initial offset.

-- Formation flying (as simulator for maneuver tracking).

SPD/ALT/HDG tracking, in various atmospheric disturbance and cockpit display status, for:

-- Takeoff -- Climb -- Cruise -- Descent -- Hold -- Configuration changes/power or thrust changes -- Transition between aforementioned

d. Figure 4 provides guidance for determining the probability of occurrence associated with being in a particular portion of the flight envelope (Xe), in a particular atmospheric disturbance level (Xa), and with a particular flight control failure state (Xc). It also describes how the flight envelope probability (Xe) should be modified for interrelationships with the atmospheric condition.

Figure 4. Probability of Occurrence Guidelines

A. Flight Envelope (Xe) Probability of occurrence (at flight envelope boundary) Normal Flight Envelope Generally associated with routine operational and/or prescribed conditions, either all engines operating or one engine inoperative.

100 Operational Flight Envelope Generally associated with warning onset; outside the normal flight envelope.

10-3 Limit Flight Envelope Generally associated with airplane design limits or EFCS protection limits.

10-5 Refer to this Figure and Figures 5 and 6 for more detail on determining which flight envelope is applicable.

It may be necessary to consider several of the pertinent flight parameters together to determine which flight envelope a given flight condition is in. For the more influential flight parameters, such as angle-of-attack (AOA), speed, and load factor normal to the flight path (Nz), the choice of which flight envelope a condition is in may be determined by as few as one of the parameter values. Since the flight envelopes cover ranges of parameters (e.g., for Flaps UP, Nz in the LFE can be from 1.6 to 2.5), the above target probabilities for OFE and LFE might vary slightly depending on the expected airplane behavior and the assigned task.

Figure 4. Probability of Occurrence Guidelines (continued)

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Appendix 5 A5-6

B. Atmospheric Disturbance Level Probability of occurrence (at flight envelope boundary) Light: Turbulence that momentarily causes 100 slight, erratic changes in altitude and/ or attitude (pitch, roll, yaw). Crosswinds up to10 kts.

100 Moderate: Turbulence that is similar to light turbulence, 10-3 but of greater intensity. Changes in altitude and/or attitude occur. Usually causes variations in indicated airspeed. Crosswinds up to 25 kts.

10-3 Severe: Turbulence that causes large, abrupt 10-5 deviations in altitude and/or attitude. Usually causes large variations in indicated airspeeds.

Crosswinds substantially in excess of the minimum required crosswind to be demonstrated safe for takeoff and landing.

10-5

C. Flight Control System Failure State

Probability of occurrence (at flight envelope boundary)

Normal Operation: 100

Probable Failures: 100 - 10-5

Improbable Failures: 10-5 - 10-9

D. Modifying The Flight Envelope Probability for Interrelationships With Atmospheric Conditions

The above probability of occurrence values apply when considered separately. When obvious interrelationships exist due to the design or the intended or expected operation of the airplane, the way to address this within HQRM is to modify the flight envelope probability value. For example, a severe windshear event may result in a flight envelope probability of 100, not 10-3 or 10-5 as shown above for the OFE or LFE, since the operational procedure for escape would be to pull toward the AOA limit in windshear. Similarly, an airplane may experience overspeed, from VMO cruise, into the OFE due to a gust, in which case the modified flight envelope probability would be 100, not 10-3. This probability adjustment concept would also apply to EFCS failure cases where, for example, loss of warnings or exposure to reduced airplane stability might contribute to excursions outside the normal flight envelope (NFE) or OFE, in which case the flight envelope probability should be appropriately increased.

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Appendix 5 A5-7

e. Three different flight envelopes (or portions of the airplane’s flight envelope), called the normal, operational, and limit flight envelopes have been defined as a function of various flight parameters. These flight envelopes are shown for flaps up and flaps down configurations in figures 5 and 6, respectively.

Figure 5. Flaps UP Flight Envelopes

Normal Flight Envelope Operational Flight Envelope Limit Flight Envelope NFE LFE OFE V

DET

* or or -150

* *

0.8

0.0

- 1.0 or IB V  ENG INOP

or

or

1.6

1.3 LIM LIM

LIM DYN

 LIM

 LIM DYN

2.5 LIM

 LIM

or 

V

MMO

ALTITUDE AOA ROLL BETA BUFFET V PITCH V PITCH    VMO MFC VFC  sw CLMAX

CLMAX LIM STDY LIM STDY VSW j or ±670 ±500 ±400 VFTO ±400 V

1.3VS LOWEST SELECT NFE NFE OFE LFE +300 MD VD NZ NZ LIM or *Rudder appropriate to task/operation/ or rudder lock evaluation 

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Appendix 5 A5-8

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Appendix 5 A5-9 Figure 6. Flaps DOWN Flight Envelopes

V

DET

or or -150

*

*

0.8

0.5

0.0

or IB

 ENG INOP

or

or

1.6

1.3

LIM DYN

 LIM

 LIM DYN

2.0 LIM   LIM

or 

V

ALTITUDE AOA ROLL BETA BUFFET V PITCH V PITCH    VFE VFE + V sw CLMAX

CLMAX LIM STDY LIM STDY VSW j or ±670 ±500 ±400 V2+X X ±400 LAND NFE NFE OFE LFE +300 NZ NZ Normal Flight Envelope Operational Flight Envelope Limit Flight Envelope NFE LFE OFE LIM VFE + V TO & L +3000 TO & L +3000 ±300

TAKEOFF VRFE * * V *Rudder appropriate to task/operation/ or rudder lock evaluation

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Appendix 5 A5-10

f. Figure 7 presents the method for combining the various flight condition parameter probabilities to determine the minimum acceptable handling qualities rating for each combination of these parameters. This method is shown graphically in Figure 8.

Figure 7. Combining Values

A. Analyze Failures/Determine Flight Control System Failure Probability (Xc)

-- Predicted failure rates/check failure co-dependence -- Equipment Inoperative Dispatch under MEL -- Service Difficulty Records (continuing airworthiness)

B. Determine Flight Envelope Probabilities (Xe) and Atmospheric Probabilities (Xa) for the flight condition

C. Modify the flight envelope probability if inter-related with the atmospheric condition (See Figure 4, Section D.)

D. Repeat process to identify all cases where Xc * Xa * Xe   10 -9

E. Determine: “Flight Condition” (Xc * Xe)

-- PROBABLE FLIGHT CONDITION: 10-5  (Xc * Xe) < 0 -- IMPROBABLE FLIGHT CONDITION: 10-9  (Xc * Xe) < 10-5

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Appendix 5 A5-11 Figure 8. Probability Guidelines to Determine HQ Requirements

0 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 -7 -8 -9

PROBABLE FAIL IMPROBABLE FAIL EFCS FAILURE RATE -10Xc Xc= -9 -8 -7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 EFCS *Based on (Xe+Xc) Xe Xc Xa IMPROB FLT CONDPROB FLT COND* PROBABILITY -10x

FLIGHT ENVELOPE &

ATMOSPHERIC DISTURBANCE **Gust intensity variations may be expected with altitude and between u, v, w axes

OFE LFENFE

MOD SEVERELIGHT 3 5 8 14 20GUST** fps SHEAR XWIND 10 18 25 33 45 kts

SMALL RAMP INCR & JFK DEN MSY DFW (TO&L) ug FLIGHT

ENVELOPE

ATMOSPHERIC

DISTURBANCE

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Appendix 5 A5-12

g. Figure 9 shows the minimum acceptable FAA handling qualities rating for a given flight condition, defined as a combination of the flight envelope conditions and the level of atmospheric disturbance, relative to the probability of the failure condition being evaluated.

Figure 9 is not meant to imply that every atmospheric disturbance level and every flight envelope combination must be tested. It simply shows the minimum acceptable handling qualities rating for a handling qualities task conducted in a specific environmental state (i.e., atmospheric disturbance level), in a specific segment of the flight envelope, and in a specific system failure state.

Figure 9. Minimum HQ Requirements

ATMOSPHERIC DISTURBANCE (Xa)

FLIGHT LIGHT MODERATE SEVERE CONDITION FLIGHT ENVELOPE (Xe) (Xc*Xe) NFE OFE LFE NFE OFE LFE NFE OFE LFE

PROBABLE

CONDITION S S A A C C C C C

IMPROBABLE

CONDITION A A C C C C

S=SATISFACTORY A=ADEQUATE C=CONTROLLABLE

NFE – Normal Flight Envelope

OFE – Operational Flight Envelope

LFE – Limit Flight Envelope

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Appendix 6 A6-1

Appendix 6

Correction Of Air Minimum Control Speed To Standard Conditions

The following analysis presents three methods of correcting a flight test derived value of air minimum control speed to standard conditions. These methods are applicable only to rudder deflection limited VMCA, for either jet or propeller driven airplanes. The effect of banking into the operating engine is accounted for, and the method will work with either fixed pitch or constant speed propellers, including the effects of windmilling drag. For rudder pedal force limited VMCA, see Appendix 7.

Theoretical Basis

Given the static lateral/directional equations of motion for straight line, unaccelerated flight:

Fy  Cy   a yaC    Cy rr  = CL · sin 

Mx  Cl   Cl aa   Cl rr    

Mz  Cn   Cn aa   Cn rr  Cna  

where:

CL = 295 2   W V Se Cna = 295 2     F l V S b na e e

W = weight - lbs

Ve = equivalent airspeed - kts

S = wing area - ft2

Fna = asymmetric net thrust - lbs

Fna = (Fn + Dw) for engine inoperative

Fna = (Fn + Fi) for engine at idle

Fn = net thrust of the operating engine - lbs

Fi = idle engine net thrust - lbs

Dw = windmill drag - lbs

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Appendix 6 le = distance from aircraft center line to engine thrust line - ft b = wingspan - ft Constant Cn Method For the case where full rudder deflection is achieved, r is a constant, and the system of equations can be resolved to an identity which shows that Cna is a linear function of CLsin .

 Cna = A·CL  sin + B (4) If it is assumed that test and standard day VMCA occur at the same angle-of-attack and bank angle, the asymmetric yawing moment coefficient will be constant, and VMCA can be corrected to standard conditions by the relationship:

= · for Turbojets = · for Propeller driven where:

THPs = Maximum AFM scheduled Brake/Shaft horsepower multiplied by standard day propeller efficiency.

THPt = Test day brake/shaft horsepower where VMCA was achieved multiplied by test day propeller efficiency.

= Atmospheric density ratio at standard conditions.

= Atmospheric density ratio at test conditions.

Windmilling shaft horsepower is not considered, because the current part 25 takeoff requirements for propeller driven airplanes result in such large performance penalties with a windmilling propeller that all part 25 turboprops to date have had autofeather installed.

Since both net thrust and shaft horsepower vary with speed, use of these equations will require an iterative solution. Because this constant Cn method does not consider the effect on VMCA due to variations in bank angle, weight, sideslip angle, or adverse yaw, its use is limited to corrections of 5 percent or less in asymmetric net thrust or power.

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