Sean,
I can help on this one.
The aircraft that experienced the failure was one of the early classics that
had a different TP18 - as is 'WB, by the sounds of it. There was a mod on
them that raised the lower hole in the TP09, leaving the lower arm of the
TP18 bent to accommodate the change. Those aircraft in the 25-hour category
(i.e. those not on the list) have the later version of TP18 that has a
slightly more acute angle between the tubes.
The bent in the TP18 puts the end fitting under a bending moment to begin
with. This was probably a contributory factor, hence the lower time limit.
Regarding the steel, I understand it arrived in Kirkbymoorside on Monday and
parts manufacture could then begin.
Regarding PFA Engineering response times, I've been working hard on this
since September when I was elected to the EC. Progress is being made, but
I'm not going to pretend that that progress is anything like as quick as I'd
like. There are a number of things I want in place, including a commitment
by Engineering to levels of service quality - I'm working on that, along
with my real job, building my plane, selling my house and getting married
:-) I've given up on flying for now and will lapse while I'm on honeymoon
due to lack of P1 hours or a proficiency check - the above have taken
priority instead.
I would offer to do more, but...
Regards,
Jeremy
Jeremy Davey
Europa Monowheel 537M G-EZZA
Europa Club Vice-Chairman, Webmaster, PFA NC Representative
PFA EC Member
If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs, then it is
possible you haven't grasped the severity of the situation.
Tail done
Standard XS wings with mods underway
CM installed in fuse (with airbrakes fittings)
1380 build hours to date
Intended fit:
Rotax 914 turbo, Airmaster CS fully-feathering prop
Lots of lights, buttons, switches, gizmos, and alarms
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-europa-list-server@matronics.com
[mailto:owner-europa-list-server@matronics.com] On Behalf Of Sean O'Reilly
Subject: RE: Europa-List: Mod 70 and the PFA letter
<seanmoreilly@hotmail.com>
Jeremy,
I received the letter last Saturday.
I / WB falls into the 'fit the mod within 5 hours or next permit renewal,
whichever is sooner' category.
The letter is quite clear as to which serial numbers are affected and what
the appropriate restrictions are on a per aircraft basis.
I will let the engineers discuss the merits (or otherwise) of the mod
itself; of more concern to me is the seemingly arbitrary limit that has been
imposed. Why is 5 hours the right limit for some aircraft? The cause of it
all (ie the arm failure) occured some time ago - if it was serious why
wasn't the entire fleet grounded? If its not serious then why wasn't a more
reasonable limit imposed on owners?
This is made all the more ridiculous when you consider the disconnect
between the PFA and the factory; the factory did not know the letter was
being distributed last week! In the meantime the factory cannot supply the
mod kits (GBP 40 ish by the way) because of a worldwide shortage of steel!
It looks like a number of us will be grounded by effluxion of time through
no fault of our own (or our aeroplanes).
I have emailed the PFA but no reply to date - response times not a
priority...
Regards
Sean
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