Civil French-U.S. Certification of the Coast Guard'S Hh-65 a Dauphin

One of the requirements imposed by the Coast Guard for the new Short Range Recovery helicopter is that it be FAA certified. The Aerospatiale HH-65A Dauphin is in the certification process, both in France and in the United States. The basic aircraft/engine combinati'on is being certified in France for VFR daytime operation with FAA compliance under FAA Brussells. The night Category II IFR certification is being conducted at Grand Prairie, Texas under cognizance of FAA Southwest Region. This paper will describe both certification programs with particular emphasis on handling qualities requirements for each. Completion of the VFR Type Certification is scheduled to be completed late this year and the IFR certification in the United States in August 1982. The authors attempt to identify differences, if any, in the certification requirements of the two countries. This program is unique in that the Automatic Flight Control System is a four-axis system including stabilization through the collective control. Thus, stabilized flight in the low speed regime will be an integral part of the development flight test program. In this program a dynamic simulator was designed and constructed by Rockwell Collins Government Avionics Division to support and verify the dynamic aspects of the avionics system, particularly the Automatic Flight Control System (AFCS) . The role of the Dynamic Simulator in this program will be discussed.