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ETOPS is an aviation acronym for Extended-range Twin-engine Operational Performance Standards, reduced as "Extended Operation" by the FAA. It refers to the standards and recommended practices (SARPS) issued by ICAO for aircraft (such as the Airbus A300, A310, A320, A330 and A350, the Boeing 737, 757, 767, 777, 787, the Embraer E-Jets, and the ATR 72) to fly long-distance routes that were previously off-limits to twin-engined aircraft. (Starting in February 2015, ETOPS regulations were also extended for the first time to the Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental quad-jet for examples built after that date.〔(Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental Receives FAA Approval for 330-Minute ETOPS ), March 18, 2015, accessed April 13, 2015〕). In aviation vernacular, the colloquial backronym is "Engines Turn Or Passengers Swim," referring to the inevitable emergency water landing of a twin engine aircraft after a double engine failure over water outside gliding range of land. But ETOPS operation has no direct correlation to water or distance over water. It refers to flight times between diversion airfields, regardless as to whether such fields are separated by water or land. There are different levels of ETOPS certification, each allowing aircraft to fly on routes that are a certain amount of single-engine flying time away from the nearest suitable airport. For example, if an aircraft is certified for 180 minutes, it is permitted to fly any route not more than 180 minutes single-engine flying time to the nearest suitable airport. According to the FAA in the Federal Register, "This final rule applies to air carrier (part 121), commuter, and on-demand (part 135) turbine powered multi-engine airplanes used in extended-range operations. However, all-cargo operations in airplanes with more than two engines of both part 121 and part 135 are exempted from the majority of this rule. Today's rule (16, 2007 ) establishes regulations governing the design, operation and maintenance of certain airplanes operated on flights that fly long distances from an adequate airport. This final rule codifies current FAA policy, industry best practices and recommendations, as well as international standards designed to ensure long-range flights will continue to operate safely." Prior to 2007, FAA defined ETOPS as "Extended Range Operations with two-engine airplanes" and applied to twins only. International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Standard and Recommended Practice (SARP) applies only to twins and defines ETOPS as "Extended-range Twin-engine Operational Performance Standards". ETOPS applies to twins on routes with diversion time more than 60 minutes at one engine inoperative speed. For rules that also cover more than two engines, as in the case of the FAA, ETOPS applies on routes with diversion time more than 180 minutes for airplanes with more than two engines. Until the mid-1980s, the term EROPS (extended range operations) was used before being superseded by ETOPS usage. In 1997, when Boeing proposed to extend ETOPS authority for twins to beyond 180 minutes, Airbus proposed to replace ETOPS by a newer system, referred to as ''LROPS'' or ''Long Range Operational Performance Standards'', which would affect all civil airliners, not just those with a twin-engine configuration with more than 180 minutes ETOPS. According to the FAA in 2007, "Several commenters … recommended use of the acronym "LROPS"—meaning 'Long Range Operations'—for three- and four-engine ETOPS, to avoid confusion, particularly for those operations beyond 180-minutes diversion time. The FAA has decided to use the single term, 'extended operations,' or ETOPS, for all affected operations regardless of the number of engines on the airplane." Government-owned aircraft (including military) do not have to adhere to ETOPS regulations. == History == The first direct transatlantic air crossing was made in 1919, by John Alcock and Arthur Brown, in a twin-engined Vickers Vimy. The flight from Canada to Ireland took sixteen hours. Due to the unreliability of piston engines at the time, flights far from land were considered very risky. More than two engines were seen as a must for flight over long distances and inhospitable terrain, or over the ocean. In 1953, the US Civil Aeronautics Authority, having recognized piston engine limitations, introduced the ''60-minute rule'' for 2-engine aircraft. This rule stated that the flight path of twin-engined aircraft should not be farther than 60 minutes of flying time from an adequate airport. This forced these aircraft, on certain routes, to fly a dogleg path to stay within regulations; they were totally excluded from certain routes due to lack of en route airports. The ''60-minute rule'' was also called the ''60-minute diversion period''. The totally excluded area was called the ''exclusion zone''. In the 1950s, Pan Am flew Convair 240s across the Caribbean, from Barranquilla to Kingston, Jamaica, and Avensa flew Convair 340s from Maracaibo to Montego Bay. Delta's Convair from New Orleans to Havana flew a longer trip but could arc north to stay within reach of an airport. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「ETOPS」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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