Discrete Gust Design Criteria. The airplane is assumed to be subjected to symmetrical vertical and lateral gusts in level flight. Limit gust loads must be determined in accordance with the provisions:

Loads on each part of the structure must be determined by dynamic analysis. The analysis must take into account unsteady aerodynamic characteristics and all significant structural degrees of freedom including rigid body motions.

The shape of the gust must be:

A sufficient number of gust gradient distances in the range 30 feet to 350 feet must be investigated to find the critical response for each load quantity.

The design gust velocity must be:

The following reference gust velocities apply:

At airplane speeds between VB and VC: Positive and negative gusts with reference gust velocities of 56.0 ft/sec EAS must be considered at sea level. The reference gust velocity may be reduced linearly from 56.0 ft/sec EAS at sea level to 44.0 ft/sec EAS at 15,000 feet. The reference gust velocity may be further reduced linearly from 44.0 ft/sec EAS at 15,000 feet to 20.86 ft/sec EAS at 60,000 feet.

At the airplane design speed VD: The reference gust velocity must be 0.5 times the value obtained under § 25.341(a)(5)(i).

The flight profile alleviation factor, Fg, must be increased linearly from the sea level value to a value of 1.0 at the maximum operating altitude defined in § 25.1527. At sea level, the flight profile alleviation factor is determined by the following equation:

When a stability augmentation system is included in the analysis, the effect of any significant system nonlinearities should be accounted for when deriving limit loads from limit gust conditions.

Continuous turbulence design criteria. The dynamic response of the airplane to vertical and lateral continuous turbulence must be taken into account. The dynamic analysis must take into account unsteady aerodynamic characteristics and all significant structural degrees of freedom including rigid body motions. The limit loads must be determined for all critical altitudes, weights, and weight distributions as specified in § 25.321(b), and all critical speeds within the ranges indicated in § 25.341(b)(3).

Except as provided in paragraphs (b)(4) and (5) of this section, the following equation must be used:

Values of A must be determined according to the following formula:

The limit turbulence intensities, Uσ, in feet per second true airspeed required for compliance with this paragraph are—

At airplane speeds between VB and VC:

At speed VD: Uσ is equal to 1/2 the values obtained under paragraph (b)(3)(i) of this section.

At speeds between VC and VD: Uσ is equal to a value obtained by linear interpolation.

At all speeds, both positive and negative incremental loads due to continuous turbulence must be considered.

When an automatic system affecting the dynamic response of the airplane is included in the analysis, the effects of system non-linearities on loads at the limit load level must be taken into account in a realistic or conservative manner.

If necessary for the assessment of loads on airplanes with significant non-linearities, it must be assumed that the turbulence field has a root-mean-square velocity equal to 40 percent of the Uσ values specified in paragraph (b)(3) of this section. The value of limit load is that load with the same probability of exceedance in the turbulence field as AUσ of the same load quantity in a linear approximated model.

Supplementary gust conditions for wing-mounted engines. For airplanes equipped with wing-mounted engines, the engine mounts, pylons, and wing supporting structure must be designed for the maximum response at the nacelle center of gravity derived from the following dynamic gust conditions applied to the airplane:

A discrete gust determined in accordance with § 25.341(a) at each angle normal to the flight path, and separately,

A pair of discrete gusts, one vertical and one lateral. The length of each of these gusts must be independently tuned to the maximum response in accordance with § 25.341(a). The penetration of the airplane in the combined gust field and the phasing of the vertical and lateral component gusts must be established to develop the maximum response to the gust pair. In the absence of a more rational analysis, the following formula must be used for each of the maximum engine loads in all six degrees of freedom: