Glad I don't have a Decathlon..

FredFenster

FredFenster

Pre-takeoff checklist
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Greg L
https://www.federalregister.gov/doc...ss-directives-american-champion-aircraft-corp

Summary - We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain American Champion Aircraft Corp. Model 8KCAB airplanes. This AD requires fabrication and installation of a placard to prohibit aerobatic flight, inspection of the aileron hinge rib and support, and a reporting requirement of the inspection results to the FAA. This AD was prompted by a report of a cracked hinge support and cracked hinge ribs, which resulted in partial loss of control with the aileron binding against the cove. We are issuing this AD to correct the unsafe condition on these products.


Yikes.
 
No aerobatic flight even after the inspection? That's harsh, I can hear the value of those planes falling from here.
 
Wow. That's going to tick off a bunch of folks.
And kill the retail price of the Decathlon.
Sorry to read this, as I have had my share of fun warping the "D" around the sky.
 
Shepherd said:
Wow. That's going to tick off a bunch of folks.
And kill the retail price of the Decathlon.
Sorry to read this, as I have had my share of fun warping the "D" around the sky.
Click to expand...
I'm sorry too, as I've had fun in the Decathlon, even got my tailwheel endorsement in one, and I was planning on making one my "retirement airplane".
 
When people go vertical and back slide the aircraft on it's tail,that puts a lot of load on aileron hinge rib and support and other things. If you are going to do that sort of thing expect to look a little closer for problems.
 
Eek! I know of 3 Super D owners in the area '98 '99 and '04 models. I'd be curious as to what years these serial numbers apply for.

(i) Serial numbers 1116-2012 through 1120-2012, and 1122-2012 and up; and

(ii) any Model 8KCAB airplane equipped with part number 4-2142 exposed balance ailerons.
 
Hmmm... on the plus side, maybe I can afford one now.... always think of the positives...
 
It's a small minority of the fleet and the inspection is straightforward.

Only one airplane has had a failure AFAIK.

Biggest issue here is a poorly worded AD imo.
 
Harsh AD. If cracks are found, the plane cannot be flown until an FAA approved repair is performed. The AD then goes on to say there is currently no FAA approved repair.

On the plus side if there are no cracks you can remove the placard prohibiting aerobatic flight.
 
Ryanb said:
Eek! I know of 3 Super D owners in the area '98 '99 and '04 models. I'd be curious as to what years these serial numbers apply for.

(i) Serial numbers 1116-2012 through 1120-2012, and 1122-2012 and up; and

(ii) any Model 8KCAB airplane equipped with part number 4-2142 exposed balance ailerons.
Click to expand...
Highly unlikely.
 
brien23 said:
When people go vertical and back slide the aircraft on it's tail,that puts a lot of load on aileron hinge rib and support and other things. If you are going to do that sort of thing expect to look a little closer for problems.
Click to expand...
I put about 350 hours on a Decathlon and did a lot of aerobatics in it. The manual clearly states: Tail slides and Lomcevaks (tumbling maneuvers) are not approved. I know people do it, but when they do, they've become test pilots.
 
Ryanb said:
Eek! I know of 3 Super D owners in the area '98 '99 and '04 models. I'd be curious as to what years these serial numbers apply for.

(i) Serial numbers 1116-2012 through 1120-2012, and 1122-2012 and up; and

(ii) any Model 8KCAB airplane equipped with part number 4-2142 exposed balance ailerons.
Click to expand...

I'm guessing 2012 and later.

I fly N814AC (Palo Alto's West Valley Flying Club's Decathlon). It's serial number is 814-98, and the airworthiness date is 8/27/98, so based on that data point, it's a reasonable bet that the numbers after the dash represent the year.

While the plane I fly is not covered in the serial number list, the AD also applies to:

"(ii) any Model 8KCAB airplane equipped with part number 4-2142 exposed balance ailerons."

Are these the spades on ailerons? I will have to check with West Valley, I guess, to see if 814AC has those.


The other concern is that there is not yet an approved repair if the plane is found to have cracks in the hinge.

"(3) If cracks are found during the inspection required in paragraph (h)(1) of this AD, no further flight is permitted until an FAA-approved repair for this AD has been accomplished. There is currently no fix for airplanes with cracks in this area so such airplanes could not be operated until a repair that was FAA-approved specifically for the AD is incorporated."

Hopefully, American Champion's engineers are putting in some overtime to create a fix and get it approved by the FAA.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Just convert it to experimental and do what you want.
 
So, some guy beats the snot of of his airplane, exceeding all limits of common sense and doing things that the airplane was never designed to do, and managed to break it. Clearly a design defect.

But, if you are one of those guys; given there is no "approved" repair, it would seem to me that the obvious thing to do would be to inspect the parts, not see the cracks, and replace what isn't broken?
 
So we have ONE airplane that had this happen so the FAA determines that the whole fleet needs to have this restriction. Typical FAA overkill without regard to the damage it will cause owners and operators. How old was the airplane involved and how was it maintained. Was it consistently overstressed? Just like the T-34 wing attach AD that killed the value of them. The aircraft that had a problem were all operated by combat schools that overstressed them time and time again.
 
OkieAviator said:
Just convert it to experimental and do what you want.
Click to expand...

You can't convert a certified airplane to experimental! Only for flight testing for something like an STC and then the restrictions don't allow anything but flight testing.
 
jimhorner said:
While the plane I fly is not covered in the serial number list, the AD also applies to:

"(ii) any Model 8KCAB airplane equipped with part number 4-2142 exposed balance ailerons."

Are these the spades on ailerons? I will have to check with West Valley, I guess, to see if 814AC has those.
Click to expand...

My understanding from the FB group is that sometime around 2012 ACA changed the design of the aileron and hinge. I don't believe this applies to aileron spades. It basically applies to any newer model that has the new design, plus any aircraft that had the wings replaced during the same time period with the new design.

It also sounds like it only applies to about 61 actual aircraft.
 
OkieAviator said:
Just convert it to experimental and do what you want.
Click to expand...
Dadblast them commie Feds for wanting you to check to see if your plane is going to fall apart in flight!
 
yakdriver said:
You can't convert a certified airplane to experimental! Only for flight testing for something like an STC and then the restrictions don't allow anything but flight testing.
Click to expand...

To clarify I was being a smart ass... but I do believe you could do a basic modification and apply for an exhibition expieremental category change. No clue what that entails.
 
OkieAviator said:
To clarify I was being a smart ass... but I do believe you could do a basic modification and apply for an exhibition expieremental category change. No clue what that entails.
Click to expand...

Yes, but that category is worthless. The only experimental sub-certification that provides you with operating parity with a normal category AWC, is Experimental-AB. The rest are worthless for personal/pax travel and at-large recreational use.

--break break--

To be clear, this was "solved" in the 2013 Aviation Rulemaking committee proposal that became law. What did the FAA do with it? Shelved that section with contemptuous impunity. It was a hit job inside the FAA and nobody got taken to task about it, full knowing that was the one change that would have actually made significant and immediate economic change in the market. Nothing else mattered to us in that entire piece of crap legal non-difference, written diarrhea so-called re-write.

I became convinced at that point we will never see an owner-maintained/modified category for certified spam cans in our lifetimes. It's over. These things will go to the salvage yards, and that's why the FAA shelved it, and that's where the FAA wanted them right yesterday. It's clear as day. They don't need this segment of aviation to keep their civil service jerbs.

The FAA is the enemy, their job is the preservation of their civil service jobs. Nobody in that agency cares about recreational aviation or recreational airplanes flying in the first place. They'd regulate car parts tomorrow if the mission statement changed overnight, and nobody in that make-work criminal syndicate would care. They're everything that's wrong with our federal bureaucracy. Incompetents with no skin in the game prescribing behavior to people they have nothing in common with.

Whew, I feel better now :D
 
I have an aerobatic flight scheduled in a super decathlonlater today. I hope this doesn't mean that I'm grounded for a 5th time :(
 
korben88 said:
I have an aerobatic flight scheduled in a super decathlonlater today. I hope this doesn't mean that I'm grounded for a 5th time :(
Click to expand...

Only if the airplane is a 2012 or newer, or has had its wings replaced with new ones since 2012.
 
hindsight2020 said:
Yes, but that category is worthless. The only experimental sub-certification that provides you with operating parity with a normal category AWC, is Experimental-AB. The rest are worthless for personal/pax travel and at-large recreational use.

--break break--

To be clear, this was "solved" in the 2013 Aviation Rulemaking committee proposal that became law. What did the FAA do with it? Shelved that section with contemptuous impunity. It was a hit job inside the FAA and nobody got taken to task about it, full knowing that was the one change that would have actually made significant and immediate economic change in the market. Nothing else mattered to us in that entire piece of crap legal non-difference, written diarrhea so-called re-write.

I became convinced at that point we will never see an owner-maintained/modified category for certified spam cans in our lifetimes. It's over. These things will go to the salvage yards, and that's why the FAA shelved it, and that's where the FAA wanted them right yesterday. It's clear as day. They don't need this segment of aviation to keep their civil service jerbs.

The FAA is the enemy, their job is the preservation of their civil service jobs. Nobody in that agency cares about recreational aviation or recreational airplanes flying in the first place. They'd regulate car parts tomorrow if the mission statement changed overnight, and nobody in that make-work criminal syndicate would care. They're everything that's wrong with our federal bureaucracy. Incompetents with no skin in the game prescribing behavior to people they have nothing in common with.

Whew, I feel better now :D
Click to expand...

What, no political pressure from manufacturers in your rant? That's weak :D
 
Shepherd said:
Wow. That's going to tick off a bunch of folks.
And kill the retail price of the Decathlon.
Sorry to read this, as I have had my share of fun warping the "D" around the sky.
Click to expand...
Yeah this is a major buzzkill to the model. I've had a great amount of fun in them as well. First time experiencing aerobatics and tail wheel flying was in one.
 
skier said:
Harsh AD. If cracks are found, the plane cannot be flown until an FAA approved repair is performed. The AD then goes on to say there is currently no FAA approved repair.

On the plus side if there are no cracks you can remove the placard prohibiting aerobatic flight.
Click to expand...

Until the next time you tail slide the airplane?

Removing the placard after inspection makes no sense.
What prevents the cracks from appearing after the inspection? Do you have to inspect it after every flight?

I've read some bad ADs in my lifetime, but this one is really vague.
 
This does not affect the whole fleet. It affects approx 64 Decathlons out of over 800 currently on the registry. This AD is far from onerous.

Some of you folks get bent out of shape far too easily.

The FAA is the enemy? Give me a break.
 
DutchRoller said:
This does not affect the whole fleet. It affects approx 64 Decathlons out of over 800 currently on the registry. This AD is far from onerous.

Some of you folks get bent out of shape far too easily.

The FAA is the enemy? Give me a break.
Click to expand...
Uhhh. . .yeah; they are the enemy often enough, or at least often enough to be subject to fair criticism. It's a bureacracy without accountability - that they do some good stuff, pretty often, doesn't rate a pass when they screw the pooch, which is also pretty often. I say this not knowing if this case merits a boo or a cheer.
 
This AD will effect about 65 aircraft. To repair any wing that has these cracked ribs will encompass removing the fabric. this an automatic major repair requiring a 337 pre-approval from FSDO. when they approval the 337 this will become a FAA approved repair.

once the bad ribs are replaced, repair completed the wing/aircraft becomes a "NO crack aircraft"
 
Shepherd said:
Until the next time you tail slide the airplane?

Removing the placard after inspection makes no sense.
What prevents the cracks from appearing after the inspection? Do you have to inspect it after every flight?
Click to expand...

Per the service letter, the inspection becomes part of the 100hr or annual inspection after initial inspection.
 
wilkersk said:
Per the service letter, the inspection becomes part of the 100hr or annual inspection after initial inspection.
Click to expand...
There is the possibility of replacing the rib and re-covering wings every 100 hours or annual. unless they come out with a new designed rib. 337 , 337 , 337 at nauseam
 
wilkersk said:
Per the service letter, the inspection becomes part of the 100hr or annual inspection after initial inspection.
Click to expand...
True, but how to return to service is the big question. IMHO any repair would be a major repair requiring a pre-approved 337, once the 337 is signed by a ASI it becomes a FAA approved repair. as the AD requires.
 
Tom-D said:
There is the possibility of replacing the rib and re-covering wings every 100 hours or annual. unless they come out with a new designed rib. 337 , 337 , 337 at nauseam
Click to expand...

Why would you replace un-cracked ribs?

Seems to me this is a situation where you install inspection holes and give the parts of interest a look at the required intervals. If you find a problem, fix it. Otherwise, relax and enjoy the ride.
 
kyleb said:
Why would you replace un-cracked ribs?
You wouldn't, if the ribs aren't cracked you are good to remove the placard and fly.
Seems to me this is a situation where you install inspection holes and give the parts of interest a look at the required intervals. If you find a problem, fix it. Otherwise, relax and enjoy the ride.
Click to expand...

but when the AD is required to be complied with at each 100 hours or annual you will be required to replace any found cracked.
I don't know the 8Kcab well enough to know if these ribs can be seen by installing inspection holes, or if they could be placed where the crack area can be seen.

The "FIX IT" you speak of is not so easy. Read FAR 43- appendix A for what constitutes an airframe major repair. And Remember you will be working on a flight control mounting point.

My point in my first message was, IF these break that easy. you could be finding cracked ribs at every 100 hour or annual.
 
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