(a) The airplane must be safely controllable and maneuverable during—

(1) Takeoff;

(2) Climb;

(3) Level flight;

(4) Descent; and

(5) Landing.

(b) It must be possible to make a smooth transition from one flight condition to any other flight condition without exceptional piloting skill, alertness, or strength, and without danger of exceeding the airplane limit-load factor under any probable operating conditions, including—

(1) The sudden failure of the critical engine;

(2) For airplanes with three or more engines, the sudden failure of the second critical engine when the airplane is in the en route, approach, or landing configuration and is trimmed with the critical engine inoperative; and

(3) Configuration changes, including deployment or retraction of deceleration devices.

(c) The airplane must be shown to be safely controllable and maneuverable with the most critical of the ice accretion(s) appropriate to the phase of flight as defined in Appendices C and O of this part, as applicable, in accordance with §25.21(g), and with the critical engine inoperative and its propeller (if applicable) in the minimum drag position:

(1) At the minimum V2 for takeoff;

(2) During an approach and go-around; and

(3) During an approach and landing.

(d) The following table prescribes, for conventional wheel type controls, the maximum control forces permitted during the testing required by paragraph (a) through (c) of this section:

(e) Approved operating procedures or conventional operating practices must be followed when demonstrating compliance with the control force limitations for short term application that are prescribed in paragraph (d) of this section. The airplane must be in trim, or as near to being in trim as practical, in the preceding steady flight condition. For the takeoff condition, the airplane must be trimmed according to the approved operating procedures.

(f) When demonstrating compliance with the control force limitations for long term application that are prescribed in paragraph (d) of this section, the airplane must be in trim, or as near to being in trim as practical.

(g) When maneuvering at a constant airspeed or Mach number (up to VFC/MFC), the stick forces and the gradient of the stick force versus maneuvering load factor must lie within satisfactory limits. The stick forces must not be so great as to make excessive demands on the pilot's strength when maneuvering the airplane, and must not be so low that the airplane can easily be overstressed inadvertently. Changes of gradient that occur with changes of load factor must not cause undue difficulty in maintaining control of the airplane, and local gradients must not be so low as to result in a danger of overcontrolling.

(h) The maneuvering capabilities in a constant speed coordinated turn at forward center of gravity, as specified in the following table, must be free of stall warning or other characteristics that might interfere with normal maneuvering:

(i) When demonstrating compliance with §25.143 in icing conditions—

(1) Controllability must be demonstrated with the most critical of the ice accretion(s) for the particular flight phase as defined in Appendices C and O of this part, as applicable, in accordance with §25.21(g);

(2) It must be shown that a push force is required throughout a pushover maneuver down to a zero g load factor, or the lowest load factor obtainable if limited by elevator power or other design characteristic of the flight control system. It must be possible to promptly recover from the maneuver without exceeding a pull control force of 50 pounds; and

(3) Any changes in force that the pilot must apply to the pitch control to maintain speed with increasing sideslip angle must be steadily increasing with no force reversals, unless the change in control force is gradual and easily controllable by the pilot without using exceptional piloting skill, alertness, or strength.

(j) For flight in icing conditions before the ice protection system has been activated and is performing its intended function, it must be demonstrated in flight with the most critical of the ice accretion(s) defined in Appendix C, part II, paragraph (e) of this part and Appendix O, part II, paragraph (d) of this part, as applicable, in accordance with §25.21(g), that:

(1) The airplane is controllable in a pull-up maneuver up to 1.5 g load factor; and

(2) There is no pitch control force reversal during a pushover maneuver down to 0.5 g load factor.

[Doc. No. 5066, 29 FR 18291, Dec. 24, 1964, as amended by Amdt. 25-42, 43 FR 2321, Jan. 16, 1978; Amdt. 25-84, 60 FR 30749, June 9, 1995; Amdt. 25-108, 67 FR 70826, Nov. 26, 2002; Amdt. 25-121, 72 FR 44667, Aug. 8, 2007; Amdt. 25-129, 74 FR 38339, Aug. 3, 2009; Amdt. 25-140, 79 FR 65525, Nov. 4, 2014]