(a) The Special Federal Aviation Regulation (SFAR) in this part prescribes:

(1) Certain requirements that may be satisfied in lieu of the requirements of part 61 of this chapter for persons seeking a powered-lift pilot certificate and rating, the conditions under which those certificates and ratings are necessary, and the privileges and limitations of those certificates and ratings;

(2) The general operating rules applicable to all persons operating powered-lift, including those an operator must meet to conduct powered-lift operations under parts 91, 135, and 136 of this chapter;

(3) The requirements for persons conducting training, testing, and checking utilizing a powered-lift or flight simulation training device (FSTD) representing a powered-lift under parts 135, 141, and 142 of this chapter; and

(4) The requirements for persons conducting maintenance, preventative maintenance, rebuilds, alterations, or inspections on powered-lift pursuant to part 43 of this chapter.

(b) In addition to the requirements in this part, the following parts continue to apply to those persons described in paragraph (a) of this section unless otherwise specified in this part: parts 43, 60, 61, 91, 97, 135, 136, 141, and 142 of this chapter.

For the purpose of this part:

Aviation Safety Inspector means a pilot employed by the FAA to conduct operations of a powered-lift for the purpose of establishing a type rating in that particular powered-lift under part 21 of this chapter, as appropriate.

Extended over-water operation means a powered-lift operation over water at a horizontal distance of more than 50 nautical miles from the nearest shoreline and more than 50 nautical miles from an off-shore heliport structure under part 91 or 135 of this chapter.

FAA test pilot means a pilot employed by the FAA to conduct operations of a powered-lift for the purpose of FAA examination or inspection of a type design for which an application for type certification has been submitted under part 21 of this chapter.

Heliport means an area of land, water, or structure used or intended to be used for the landing and takeoff of helicopters and powered-lift.

Instructor pilot means a pilot employed or used by a manufacturer of a powered-lift to conduct operations of the powered-lift for the purpose of developing a proposed training curriculum and providing crew training.

Manufacturer means any person who holds, or is an applicant for, a type or production certificate for an aircraft. An amateur builder under § 21.191(g) of this chapter, builder of a kit aircraft under § 21.191(h) of this chapter, or the holder of a restricted category type certificate are not considered manufacturers for the purpose of this part.

Test pilot means a pilot employed or used by a manufacturer of a powered-lift to conduct operations of the powered-lift for the purpose of research and development and showing compliance with this chapter.

Vertical-lift flight mode means a mode of flight where a powered-lift:

(1) Is in a configuration that allows vertical takeoff, vertical landing, and low-speed flight; and

(2) Depends principally on engine-driven lift devices or engine thrust for lift.

Wing-borne flight mode means a mode of flight where a powered-lift is not operating in the vertical-lift flight mode as defined and depends exclusively or partially on nonrotating airfoil(s) for lift during takeoff, landing, or horizontal flight.

(a) For flight simulation training devices (FSTDs) representing powered-lift for which qualification standards have not been issued under part 60 of this chapter, the applicable requirements will be the portions of the flight simulation training device qualification performance standards contained in appendices A through D to part 60 of this chapter that are found by the Administrator to be appropriate for the powered-lift and applicable to a specific type design, or such FSTD qualification criteria as the Administrator may find provide an equivalent level of safety to those FSTD qualification standards.

(b) Proposed qualification performance standards as set forth by paragraph (a) of this section will be published in the Federal Register for comment, except when the FAA considers public notice to be unnecessary because previous opportunities to comment on substantially identical proposed qualification performance standards have been provided. In these instances, FAA will provide personal notice and opportunity for comment.

This part, consisting of Special Federal Aviation Regulation (SFAR) No. 120, will remain in effect until January 21, 2035.

Certain material is incorporated by reference into this part with the approval of the Director of the Federal Register under 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51. All approved incorporation by reference (IBR) material is available for inspection at the FAA and at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Contact the FAA's Office of Rulemaking, 800 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20590; phone: (202) 267-9677. For information on the availability of this material at NARA, visit www.archives.gov/federal-register/cfr/ibr-locations.html or email [email protected]. The material may be obtained from the sources in the following paragraphs:

(a) RTCA, Inc., 1150 18th St. NW, Suite 910, Washington, DC 20036; phone: (202) 833-9339; website: www.rtca.org/products.

(1) Section 2 of RTCA DO-309, Minimum Operational Performance Standards (MOPS) for Helicopter Terrain Awareness and Warning System (HTAWS) Airborne Equipment (Mar. 13, 2008); into §§ 194.302; 194.306.

(2) [Reserved]

(b) U.S. Department of Transportation, Subsequent Distribution Office, DOT Warehouse M30, Ardmore East Business Center, 3341 Q 75th Avenue, Landover, MD 20785; phone (301) 322-5377; website: www.faa.gov/aircraft/air_cert/design_approvals/tso/ (select the link “Search Technical Standard Orders”).

(1) TSO-C194, Technical Standard Order: Helicopter Terrain Awareness and Warning System, effective Dec. 17, 2008; into §§ 194.302; 194.306.

(2) [Reserved]