Federal Aviation Administration, DOT

Section 31.61

(f) Each element of the system must
be serviceable at the end of the test.
[Doc. No. 1437, 29 FR 8258, July 1, 1964, as
amended by Amdt. 31-2, 30 FR 3377, Mar. 13,
1965; Amdt. 31-7, 61 FR 18223, Apr. 24, 1996; 61
FR 20877, May 8, 1996]

Section 31.49 Control systems.
(a) Each control must operate easily,
smoothly, and positively enough to
allow proper performance of its functions. Controls must be arranged and
identified to provide for convenience of
operation and to prevent the possibility of confusion and subsequent inadvertent operation.
(b) Each control system and operating device must be designed and installed in a manner that will prevent
jamming, chafing, or interference from
passengers, cargo, or loose objects. Precaution must be taken to prevent foreign objects from jamming the controls. The elements of the control system must have design features or must
be distinctly and permanently marked
to minimize the possibility of incorrect
assembly that could result in malfunctioning of the control system.
(c) Each balloon using a captive gas
as the lifting means must have an
automatic valve or appendix that is
able to release gas automatically at
the rate of at least three percent of the
total volume per minute when the balloon is at its maximum operating pressure.
(d) Each hot air balloon must have a
means to allow the controlled release
of hot air during flight.
(e) Each hot air balloon must have a
means to indicate the maximum envelope skin temperatures occurring during operation. The indicator must be
readily visible to the pilot and marked
to indicate the limiting safe temperature of the envelope material. If the
markings are on the cover glass of the
instrument, there must be provisions
to maintain the correct alignment of
the glass cover with the face of the
dial.

spaschal on DSK3GDR082PROD with CFR

[Doc. No. 1437, 29 FR 8258, July 1, 1964, as
amended by Amdt. 31-2, 30 FR 3377, Mar. 13,
1965]

Section 31.51 Ballast.
Each captive gas balloon must have a
means for the safe storage and con-

trolled release of ballast. The ballast
must consist of material that, if released during flight, is not hazardous
to persons on the ground.
Section 31.53

Drag rope.

If a drag rope is used, the end that is
released overboard must be stiffened to
preclude the probability of the rope becoming entangled with trees, wires, or
other objects on the ground.
Section 31.55

Deflation means.

There must be a means to allow
emergency deflation of the envelope so
as to allow a safe emergency landing. If
a system other than a manual system
is used, the reliability of the system
used must be substantiated.
[Amdt. 31-2, 30 FR 3377, Mar. 13, 1965]

Section 31.57

Rip cords.

(a) If a rip cord is used for emergency
deflation, it must be designed and installed to preclude entanglement.
(b) The force required to operate the
rip cord may not be less than 25, or
more than 75, pounds.
(c) The end of the rip cord to be operated by the pilot must be colored red.
(d) The rip cord must be long enough
to allow an increase of at least 10 percent in the vertical dimension of the
envelope.
Section 31.59 Trapeze,
basket,
or
other
means provided for occupants.
(a) The trapeze, basket, or other
means provided for carrying occupants
may not rotate independently of the
envelope.
(b) Each projecting object on the trapeze, basket, or other means provided
for carrying occupants, that could
cause injury to the occupants, must be
padded.
Section 31.61

Static discharge.

Unless shown not to be necessary for
safety, there must be appropriate bonding means in the design of each balloon
using flammable gas as a lifting means
to ensure that the effects of static discharges will not create a hazard.
[Amdt. 31-2, 30 FR 3377, Mar. 13, 1965]

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