Wing Strut AD last NPRM, we hope!

[Forrest Barber]

As most of you know the NPRM for the latest Rev of the Strut AD has ended and the NEW REVISED AD is due out soon!!
I got the following heads up from the FAA :

Gentlemen,
Just a heads-up. The Taylorcraft Final Rule after NPRM for the wing lift
struts is on public display today (this means in title only) and is
expected to be published tomorrow in the Federal Register.

Best Regards,

Andy
210-308-3365
More as it comes in or if anyone sees the link post it. I believe the final Rev to the AD will be what we tried to do for clairification and extension of time.

Blue Skys , Forrest

[Buell Powell]

Re: Wing Strut AD last NPRM, we hope!

New revised AD

[Forrest Barber]

Re: Wing Strut AD last NPRM, we hope!

Thank you Buell, read it completely, it is not a Revision, which is good!
I will go to a Funeral most of tomorrow for a retired Capt. on the Alliance Police Department , we served together for 26 yrs. and he saved my butt a couple of times.

[rdwater]

Re: Wing Strut AD last NPRM, we hope!

What's good about elimination of eddy current inspection and keeping the 2-year recurring radiographic inspection requirement for corrosion not found! Looks like new seal structs are the only viable option. I had hoped the FAA would have more sense. Bob

[flyguy]

Re: Wing Strut AD last NPRM, we hope!

Nope, it is 48 months, unless you had only an eddy current, then you have to get a sound or xray within 24 months. 48 after that.
DC

[Hank Jarrett]

Re: Wing Strut AD last NPRM, we hope!

What I'm hearing is, if you use a useless inspection (eddy current can't detect interior corrosion, it is for cracks) you can continue to fly your un-inspected plane (un-inspected for the failure mode you are looking for) for two years. If you do a real inspection for the failure mode (X-ray/ultrasonic) you can go for 4 years. If a plane is lost to strut failure from interior corrosion (not likely) that used a KNOWN INEFFECTIVE inspection method, the FAA is in for some MAJOR embarrassment (and should be open to some MAJOR lawsuits). They KNOW the inspection method used is useless for corrosion. The only reason they are accepting the risk is there really IS no risk. Even with corrosion almost through the strut they know there won't be a failure. They also KNOW the corrosion in a properly inspected and treated strut CANNOT progress to failure in four years (or ten times that long) but they are in a corner and can't (or won't) admit they have gone down the wrong path.
I have a whole career in Aerospace in structures, materials, NDI and now Aerospace Safety for NASA. I am DISGUSTED with this whole thing, but will do every inspection required by the FAA. I will follow their useless inspections to the letter with PROPER inspections to insure MY safety and that of my passengers afterwords (you are NOT restricted from doing ADDITIONAL inspections). There are some great people in the FAA and I am NOT using a wide brush here. Some of those people have their names all over these threads and I salute them for doing all they have, but with a full career in Civil Service (I am retired from Civil Service now and can speak my mind) I know there were MANY times where higher authority imposed their "solutions" when the chief goal was NOT the safety of the aircraft involved, but protecting the reputations of those who made the uninformed, BAD decisions at the top. I have been intimidated by senior management and had to put my career at risk when I wouldn't give up and embarrassed senior managers. It's one of the reasons I have my current contracting job. Several senior people in NASA KNOW I will NOT SHUT UP when I see a safety hazard that is not being properly mitigated, and they WANT that.
If you are flying with a plane that was inspected only with Eddy Current, DO MORE so you and I both will sleep better. At least do a good visual and probe test of your struts.
Hank

If I had written this when I was Civil Service I would probably have been fired. THAT is intimidation.

[jstall]

Re: Wing Strut AD last NPRM, we hope!

What I'm hearing is, if you use a useless inspection (eddy current can't detect interior corrosion, it is for cracks) you can continue to fly your un-inspected plane (un-inspected for the failure mode you are looking for) for two years. If you do a real inspection for the failure mode (X-ray/ultrasonic) you can go for 4 years. If a plane is lost to strut failure from interior corrosion (not likely) that used a KNOWN INEFFECTIVE inspection method, the FAA is in for some MAJOR embarrassment (and should be open to some MAJOR lawsuits). They KNOW the inspection method used is useless for corrosion. The only reason they are accepting the risk is there really IS no risk. Even with corrosion almost through the strut they know there won't be a failure. They also KNOW the corrosion in a properly inspected and treated strut CANNOT progress to failure in four years (or ten times that long) but they are in a corner and can't (or won't) admit they have gone down the wrong path.
I have a whole career in Aerospace in structures, materials, NDI and now Aerospace Safety for NASA. I am DISGUSTED with this whole thing, but will do every inspection required by the FAA. I will follow their useless inspections to the letter with PROPER inspections to insure MY safety and that of my passengers afterwords (you are NOT restricted from doing ADDITIONAL inspections). There are some great people in the FAA and I am NOT using a wide brush here. Some of those people have their names all over these threads and I salute them for doing all they have, but with a full career in Civil Service (I am retired from Civil Service now and can speak my mind) I know there were MANY times where higher authority imposed their "solutions" when the chief goal was NOT the safety of the aircraft involved, but protecting the reputations of those who made the uninformed, BAD decisions at the top. I have been intimidated by senior management and had to put my career at risk when I wouldn't give up and embarrassed senior managers. It's one of the reasons I have my current contracting job. Several senior people in NASA KNOW I will NOT SHUT UP when I see a safety hazard that is not being properly mitigated, and they WANT that.
If you are flying with a plane that was inspected only with Eddy Current, DO MORE so you and I both will sleep better. At least do a good visual and probe test of your struts.
Hank

If I had written this when I was Civil Service I would probably have been fired. THAT is intimidation.

AMEN BROTHER!!!! WELL SAID

[Forrest Barber]

Re: Wing Strut AD last NPRM, we hope!

You can lead a horse.......... Common sense is a virtue, how can it be taught.
Look your airplane over real well especially if you purchase another persons cast off. Another Amen to Hank.

[jstall]

Re: Wing Strut AD last NPRM, we hope!

You can lead a horse.......... Common sense is a virtue, how can it be taught.
Look your airplane over real well especially if you purchase another persons cast off. Another Amen to Hank.

ABSOLUTELY

JS

[DannyDot]

Re: Wing Strut AD last NPRM, we hope!

I thought eddy current would measure the wall thickness. Is this not true? Or is the problem it measures the total thickness of good metal and rust as opposed to wall thickness of good metal.

Danny Deger

[Ron Coleman]

Re: Wing Strut AD last NPRM, we hope!

I received a copy of the 2008-04-09 Taylorcraft: Amendment 39-15381; Docket No. FAA-2007-0286; Directorate Identifier 2007-CE-086-AD., in the mail today.
It becomes effective on March 28, 2008.

At least it didn't come on April 15th.

Sunshine today. Snow melted. Mud and water over my shoes. River flooding. Soon I will be flying again.

RonC

[Hank Jarrett]

Re: Wing Strut AD last NPRM, we hope!

Dan,
Eddy Current measures changes in the magnetic flux across breaks in a conducting material (cracks). It DOES NOT measure thickness of steel. That is why the inspection calls for x-ray now (which CAN measure thickness with the right standard for what is being measured and density measuring equipment that none of us will get access to). I'm sure if the factory had the equipment they would require us to come to them and they would charge the cost of new struts to tell us how much metal is left, but lucky for us they can't afford the equipment either. Also lucky for us, the FAA will accept ultrasonic to measure the thickness (not that it is very good at it without a really good standard, but it is good enough for what we need).
The short answer is , NO, Eddy Current DOES NOT measure the thickness of the strut material and is useless to inspect your struts (unless you are looking for a crack). If you already did the inspection with Eddy Current, GO LOOK AGAIN for interior corrosion. You may be legal, but you don't want that on your grave.
Hank
Not that I think the struts will fail in tension if they don't have easily detectable corrosion visible. Just do the latest inspection to make the FAA happy and close the AD (for a few years), then look at them CAREFULLY yourself to make sure they are safe. Do your own inspection every annual even if the Feds DON'T require it.

[VictorBravo]

Re: Wing Strut AD last NPRM, we hope!

Just do the latest inspection to make the FAA happy and close the AD (for a few years), then look at them CAREFULLY yourself to make sure they are safe. Do your own inspection every annual even if the Feds DON'T require it.

WISDOM ALERT: Everyone read what Hank said again. I agree, for whatever it's worth... Make the FAA happy.

THEN take control of the situation, and remember your own destiny is in your own hands. One of the big advantages of owning an airplane is that you get to spend a lot of quality time with it, up close and personal.

You're married to your Taylorcraft, which means you can touch and feel and grope each other, talk dirty to each other, and look closely at each other's parts which are not proper for the public to see. The T-craft gets to know more about you than anyone else knows, and it gets to fondle your private thoughts and feelings in the privacy of remote flights. It keeps your secrets and it knows who you really are. Return the favor, get intimate with it, and keep the T-craft safe and sound. She don't ask much, but she needs you to watch out for her health and keep her bones in good shape. That's a hell of a bargain for what you get in return.

[DannyDot]

Re: Wing Strut AD last NPRM, we hope!

Dan,
Eddy Current measures changes in the magnetic flux across breaks in a conducting material (cracks). It DOES NOT measure thickness of steel. That is why the inspection calls for x-ray now (which CAN measure thickness with the right standard for what is being measured and density measuring equipment that none of us will get access to). I'm sure if the factory had the equipment they would require us to come to them and they would charge the cost of new struts to tell us how much metal is left, but lucky for us they can't afford the equipment either. Also lucky for us, the FAA will accept ultrasonic to measure the thickness (not that it is very good at it without a really good standard, but it is good enough for what we need).
The short answer is , NO, Eddy Current DOES NOT measure the thickness of the strut material and is useless to inspect your struts (unless you are looking for a crack). If you already did the inspection with Eddy Current, GO LOOK AGAIN for interior corrosion. You may be legal, but you don't want that on your grave.
Hank
Not that I think the struts will fail in tension if they don't have easily detectable corrosion visible. Just do the latest inspection to make the FAA happy and close the AD (for a few years), then look at them CAREFULLY yourself to make sure they are safe. Do your own inspection every annual even if the Feds DON'T require it.

Great!!! I had mine tested with eddy current. The FAA guys sounded like he knew what he was talking about -- I talked to him about 3 times on the phone. Now it turns out the approved eddy current was basically worthless. My faith in the FAA just dropped a couple of notches. Fortunately I live very close to Houston so just about any type of testing gear is close by.

Danny Deger

[Robert Lees]

Re: Wing Strut AD last NPRM, we hope!

I'm unsticking this...there are too many stickies