Forwarded from the bounce bin. Message is from
Andy Draper, Technical Director, Europa Aircraft
andy@europa-aircraft.com
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Dear Europa builder,
Due to the recent e-mail traffic I thought that I should post the following with
regard to the Europa XS port wing panel situation.
A mistake was made in the positioning of the spanwise stiffener due to a change
in personnel at the manufacturer. The problem was
only identified when the first complaint was received. By this time, nearly 9
months' worth of production had already been
delivered.
Initially it was thought that this faulty panel was an isolated case. After a
further two reports were received it was realised
that we had an epidemic on our hands; hence the recent announcement asking
Europa
builders to check their panels.
The misplacing of the stiffener has little, if any, measurable effect on the
wing's
structural performance, but as the ribs have
recesses moulded into them to accept the stiffener, assembly of the panel to the
wing would not be possible. A straightforward
repair, with new foam core material supplied, involving local relieving of the
misplaced stiffener where there is a conflict with
the 3 ribs, is all that is required to enable proper fitment of the wing panel.
I apologise for the inconvenience, but the repair should take no more than 3
hours
to complete, and the skill required is not great.
The result is a wing panel that is every bit as structurally sound as the
original.
I regret that any information that shipments of replacement panels were on their
way to various destinations is not true; however
repair kits are being sent out in response to confirmation that panels are found
to be affected.
Although I doubt that this would be very practical for most of you, we will
undertake
to carry out the work for you, either at the
UK or Florida facilities, if you decide to send us your panel. However the cost
of crating and shipping panels would probably be
out of proportion to the problem.
Regards,
Andy Draper,
Technical Director.
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