Awe S#it, winter damage sucks!

[astjp2]

Just got the photos tonight....

[TimHicks]

Re: Awe S#it, winter damage sucks!

Big Bummer.
How did this happen?
Did the spring break?

[astjp2]

Re: Awe S#it, winter damage sucks!

It looks like snow load on the tail along with a fatigued spring. I wont be able to fix it until July when I get up to Alaska. Tim

[Robert Lees]

Re: Awe S#it, winter damage sucks!

Under static load? That sounds a bit of severe loading!.

The usual contender for that kind of damage is, as you suggest, weak or fatigued leaf springs (and commonly, failed bolts!). Our little fleet in the UK had a spate of these a few years ago, so we determined to:

1. Replace all tailspring attach bolts every year
2. Replace all leaf springs every 5 years.

Tim, my thoughts are that possibly your leaf springs were suffering from the cold (going brittle?) When I was in the cold-storage business, all steel was a particular steel that had to be able to endure 40 below; "normal" steel would fracture. I know that spring steel is not "normal". I wonder if your kind of failure is common in such cold climes?

Rob

[astjp2]

Re: Awe S#it, winter damage sucks!

Just think of -60 temps, 8" of snow and an occassional wind gust....the tail spring bolts are NAS and not AN because of this...substitution of hardware is a minor in this case...tim