Certification Issues for Electrical and/or Electronic Engine Controls

The new family of fuel efficient engines that is being introduced in this decade has employed the emerging digital technology in the electronic engine controls (EEC) to enhance their performance. This has led to an increasing demand for the certification of these controls. Whereas existing regulations have been used in the past, the EEC has become a large and specialized certification requirement so that regulatory action is underway to provide standards for future programs. Certification issues of power supply requirements, aircraft supplied data, failure modes, software verification/validation, and lightning requirements need to be addressed. This paper will discuss these issues and present the current status of the FAA's effort in this area.