AC 27-1A

Historical

Advisory circular · Certification of Normal Category Rotorcraft

A newer version is currentThis is a historical version. AC 27-1B CHG 1-9 is the version in force, approved June 23, 2023.
Approved
July 30, 1997
Last reviewed
January 23, 2001
Cancelled by
AC27-1B
Family
AC 27-1 · 10 versions
Revision
A
14 CFR parts
27
Cited by
1 AD

Guidance, not mandatory unless a rule or AD requires it. DRS record last changed November 22, 2025.

Show pages 104–115
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• Bank, Autorotation 105% Max RPM Power-Off 4 4 Level Forward Flight, Power-On

• 30° Bank, Power-On Max RPM Power-Off Max RPM Power-On 46 ROTOR RPM Min RPM Power-On д5 Min RPM Power-Off 07 95% Min RPM Power-Off 03 VNE 1.11 VNE

AIRSPEED

1. Autorotation at 1.11 VNE (AR) at minimum placard rotor speed.

2. Autorotation at 1.11 VNE (AR) at maximum placard rotor speed.

3. Autorotation at VNE (AR) at power-off minimum design limit rotor speed.

4. Autorotation at VNE (AR) at power-off maximum design limit rotor speed.

5. Forward flight 1.11 VNE at minimum power-on rotor speed.

6. Forward flight 1.11 VNE at maximum power-on rotor speed.

7. Right and left turn at VE at maximum power-on rotor speed with 30° bank angle.

8. Right and left turn at VE at minimum power-on rotor speed with 30° bank angle.

Note: VNE (AR) may be less than VNE • FIGURE 110-1. DEMONSTRATION POINTS Par 110 157

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111.-119. RESERVED.

Intentionally Left Blank 158 (thru 166) Par 111

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AC 27-1A 7/30/97

120. RESERVED Intentionally Left Blank 167 Par 120

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SECTION 7. STRENGTH REQUIREMENTS - GENERAL

121. §27.301 LOADS.

a. Explanation.

(1) The rule is a general statement concerning limit and ultimate loads and the application of these loads to the rotorcraft.

(2) Ultimate loads are limit loads multiplied by the prescribed factors of safety.

(3) The specified loads are specified to be distributed appropriately or conservatively and significant changes in distribution of the loads, as a result of deflection, are specified to be taken into account.

b. Procedures. The design criteria report and/or design loads report should contain data that comply with the rule.

122. § 27.303 FACTOR OF SAFETY.

a. Explanation.

(1) Unless otherwise provided by Part 27, a factor of safety of 1.5 is required and is applied as stated in the rule. This safety margin will ensure that the design strength of the rotorcraft is greater than the design loads contained in Part 27.

(2) Other rules, §§ 27.561(b)(3) and 27.787(c), specify use of defined ultimate inertial forces for protection of occupants.

b. Procedures.

(1) The design criteria report and/or design loads report should contain data that include the appropriate factor of safety.

(2) The factor of safety multiplies the limit external and inertial loads. The rule does allow the application of this factor to the resulting "limit internal" stresses if it is more conservative.

123. § 27.305 STRENGTH AND DEFORMATION.

a. Explanation.

(1) This general rule defines, in relative terms, allowable deformation for limit and ultimate loads.

168 Par 121

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(2) The structure is required to be able to support, in a static test, ultimate loads for 3 seconds without failure, or dynamic tests simulating actual load application may be used.

(3) Section 27.307 concerns proof of the structure and requires certain specified tests. This rule also allows substantiation by structural analysis. See Paragraph 124 of this AC.

b. Procedures. Any test results, static or dynamic, should satisfy the limitations or acceptance criteria contained in the rule.

(1) Any test proposals submitted for approval that are used to demonstrate compliance with sections of Part 27 should contain the criteria stated in the rule.

(2) Any test results reports shall contain data and information showing the test results comply with the standard.

124. § 27.307 (Amendment 27-3) PROOF OF STRUCTURE.

a. Explanation.

(1) The rule requires compliance with the strength and deformation requirements for each critical loading condition. Certain tests must be conducted as specified. Additional tests for new or unusual design features may be required as noted in § 27.307(b)(6).

(2) Structural analysis rather than load tests may be used only if the structure conforms to those for which experience has shown this method to be reliable.

b. Procedures.

(1) The design criteria and/or design loads report should contain typical or representative loading conditions from which the critical loading conditions will be selected for analytical substantiation in structural (static and fatigue) reports, dynamics (vibration and stability) reports, and in fatigue, static, dynamic, or operational test reports.

(2) Whenever tests are used or required, a test proposal or plan should be approved prior to the tests. The test article should have received conformity inspections and should have been accepted by the FAA/AUTHORITY for the test. Test fixtures and instrumentation should also be acceptable to the FAA/AUTHORITY (using DERs as appropriate) prior to the start of the test. The quality control office of the applicant or other qualified personnel may be authorized to conduct inspections of the test fixtures and instrumentation rather than the FAA/AUTHORITY or DER performing Par 123 169

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АС 27-1A 7/30/97 this task. The test proposal may be used to define and to authorize the means to accomplish inspection of the test fixtures and instrumentation. Unnecessary drawings such as test fixture details or layering of approvals are not intended or envisaged by this policy. Drawings, sketches, or photographs have been used by the FAA/AUTHORITY to control and to ensure correct location, direction, and magnitude of loads and other critical test parameters.

(3) Structural analysis has been accepted for rotorcraft in place of static tests.

Generally, the rotorcraft airframe should have natural frequencies remote to predominant rotor excitation sources, including higher harmonics, to avoid undesirable and possibly excessive vibration and potentially high operating stress levels due to this vibration. During the flight load measurement program conducted under § 27.571, critical loaded areas or critical joints may be instrumented with strain gages or other stress strain measuring devices. This actual flight data should be compared to the analytical data to verify accuracy.

(4) Paragraph (b) of the rule specifies certain tests. Test proposals should be approved prior to conducting official FAA/AUTHORITY tests. Other paragraphs in this advisory circular pertain to those tests.

124A. § 27.307 (Amendment 27-26) PROOF OF STRUCTURE.

a. Explanation. Amendment 27-26 adds the requirement to account for the environment to which the structure will be exposed in operation. This change is intended to codify recent FAA/AUTHORITY and industry practices for the consideration of environmental effects in showing "proof of structure."

b. Procedures. All of the policy materials pertaining to this section remains in effect with the following additions:

(1) For either tests or an analysis, environmental effects are now explicitly required. Consideration of loss of strength and stiffness of metals with elevated temperatures and loss of strength and stiffness of composite materials from exposure to heat, moisture, or other operational environments is now required and should be documented in analyses and test reports.

(2) MIL-HDBK-5, AC 20-107B, or MIL-HDBK-17B (or later versions) are acceptable sources of data and procedures to show compliance with environmental effects of metallic and composite materials, respectively.

125. § 27.309 DESIGN LIMITATIONS.

a. Explanation.

170 Par 124

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(1) The rule requires an orderly selection and presentation of the basic structural design limitations of the rotorcraft. The applicant is required to establish these structural limitations to facilitate design of the rotorcraft.

(2) Refer to the rule for the specific requirements.

b. Procedures.

(1) The design criteria and/or design load report should contain the design limits specified.

(2) These items are structural design limits. Other requirements may result in narrowing the ranges of type design limits or in reducing limits. It is not necessary to revise structural design criteria limits to agree with more conservative operational limits established during the certification program. The operational limits may be subsequently expanded by additional flight tests to agree with design limits.

Par 125 171

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126.-134. RESERVED.

Intentionally Left Blank 172 (thru 180) Par 126

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135. RESERVED.

Intentionally Left Blank Par 135 181

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SECTION 8. FLIGHT LOADS

136. § 27.321 (Amendment 27-11) GENERAL.

a. Explanation.

(1) The rule specifies the way the loads will be applied to the rotorcraft. It requires load analysis from minimum to maximum design weight. Any practical distribution of disposable loads must be included in the analysis.

(2) Paragraph (a) of the rule states:The flight load factor must be assumed to act normal to the longitudinal axis of the rotorcraft, and to be equal in magnitude and opposite in direction to the rotorcraft inertia load factor at the center of gravityi

b. Procedures.

(1) Derivation of the flight loads is required by and specified in §§ 27.337 through 27.351. This rule requires flight load determination from minimum to maximum weight and for disposable loads.

(2) The application of the design loads derived from the flight load factor will be as specified. The flight loads analysis data must comply with the rule.

137. § 27.337 (Amendment 27-26) LIMIT MANEUVERING LOAD FACTOR.

a. Explanation. The rotorcraft must be designed and substantiated to load factors as specified to provide a minimum level of structural integrity of the rotorcraft airframe and rotors.

(1) A range of design positive load factors from +3.5 to +2.0 may be used.

(2) A range of design negative load factors from -1.0 to -0.5 may be used.

(3) Load factors inside the range of +3.5 to -1.0 may be used provided the probability of exceeding the design load factors is shown by analysis and flight tests to be extremely remote and the selected load factors are appropriate to each weight condition between design maximum and minimum weight.

(4) Load factors exceeding these "minimums" may be used.

b. Procedures.

182 Par 136

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(1) The applicant may elect to substantiate the rotorcraft for a design maneuvering load factor less than +3.5 and more than -1.0. Whenever this option is used, an analytical study and flight demonstration are required.

The maximum positive design load factor of +3.5 is generally at a weight below maximum gross weight. The maximum thrust capability of the main rotor, combined with incremental lift of wings or sponsons, if installed, results in a maximum design positive load factor. An example of a load factor-gross weight curve is shown in Figure 137-1. Note the minimum positive design load factor is +2.0 even though the required analysis and flight demonstration may prove the rotorcraft is not capable of achieving this load factor. This curve also illustrates compliance with § 27.321(b)(1) since the design load factor varies with gross weight.

(її) The largest negative design load factor is -1.0; however, several current rotorcraft designs are not capable of achieving a negative load factor.

Therefore, -0.5 has been an acceptable structural design negative load factor for certain rotorcraft designs.

(2) Whenever the applicant analytically substantiates the lower load factors allowed by § 27.337(b), the flight demonstration required by § 27.337 (b) must be conducted. The flight test personnel should determine that the demonstration shows the probability of exceeding the selected design load factors (those factors less than +3.5 and more than -1.0) is extremely remote. (See Order 8110.4, Paragraph 166c(2)(c)).

(3) A numerical value has not been assigned to "extremely remote" in this standard.

Par 137 183

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+3.5 Represents curve of Design thrust + lift Load Factor

• +2.0 Nz -1.0 Minimum Gross Weight Lbs. Maximum

LOAD FACTOR GROSS WEIGHT CURVE FIGURE 137-1 184 Par 137