Maule Fabric Tester Report

[mikerice]

The Taylorcraft factory website has posted the recently released Maule Fabric Tester Report.

The Maule Fabric Tester is an often requested Alternate Method of Compliance (AMOC) to the recent Airworthiness Directive 2007-16-14

The report is interesting reading and the accompanying photographs are useful in understanding the limitations of this testing device.

[robbie]

Re: Maule Fabric Tester Report

Interesting report.
Do you think the piper boys might be looking at a change in there struts checking.
Well I believe the maule testing is a dead issue now so, It's NDT or new struts now.
Does any one know how the Alaska boys are doing on getting their struts approved.
The Factory cost is to much for my plane. I would be lucky to get $15,000 for it.
That 23% of the total cost of the worth of the plane.
Come on Factory, if other folks can make struts of $450 and you are at $800. plus, Whats wrong with this picture.

[barnstmr]

Re: Maule Fabric Tester Report

As all this data is stacking up, I am coming to the conclusion that the cub guys are not all that far off with the Maule Tester. Mike cushway did some calculations early in this strut fiasco that showed the steel struts are WAY overkill. That's right... and this is important.... THE ORIGINAL STEEL STRUTS ARE WAY OVER BUILT FOR THE JOB. Mike Redpath has also pointed out that there are many other small airplanes of similar size and heavier that have ALUMINUM struts. AND Then there's the results of the pull tests done by Mike Cushway that showed heavily rusted struts have more than 50% strength margin. IN ADDITION - I have also done some calculations myself that show 1010 steel streamline tubing down to very thin wall sections are sufficiently strong to carry the loads - even in the acrobatic category (+6 G / - 2.4G). 1025 and 4130 are even stronger.

Now... seeing the results of this test, I think this actually proves the worth of the Maule tester. If the Maule test shows ANY yielding or marring of the surface, then it is evident that the strut wall thickness has degraded to a point of low safety margin. SO THEY ARE NOT AIRWORTHY - REPLACE THEM.

I am trying to get all of this into a report for submittal before the comment period is over. But working two jobs... i am running short on time. Perhaps before this is all over, somehow the FAA will begin to see this for the reality that it is.

I am thinking of taking a 1010 steel tube strut and drilling it full of holes and doing an ultimate load test, which I am confident will show how over built these things are.

[VictorBravo]

Re: Maule Fabric Tester Report

Come on Factory, if other folks can make struts of $450 and you are at $800. plus, Whats wrong with this picture.

The factory is what's wrong with the picture.

Remember the congressional hearings where it finally came out that the tobacco companies went out of their way years ago to make cigarettes addictive, then they stood up and swore that cigarettes are not addictive?

Remember the General who falsified the enemy troop reports in Vietnam so it looked like we had to get more deeply involved?

Remember the company that had the facility where all the employees living nearby were getting cancer, and the company doctor kept telling the people their kids were healthy? Erin Brockovich was the movie made about it.

Let's have some fun here guys... how many examples of this kind of tomfoolery can you name?

[flyguy]

Re: Maule Fabric Tester Report

I can go for fun just now--ok, not fun--weird.
The movies I saw (in color no less) on the ships at the Pacific atomic bomb testing where the sailors where walking around in work jeans with no shirts on and the scientists all had the full coverage aluminized suits. Guess it wasn't much fun for the sailors a few years later. Sad.
DC

[flyguy]

Re: Maule Fabric Tester Report

On subject comment:
Looks like it came down to being a material hardness test. If you have "regular" steel struts it will tell you something, but the 4130 ones are just too hard for it to work.
DC