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#1
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I wonder if anyone knows if the european phantom 337 with the wing root problem that predicated the entire Cessna SID fiasco, had any tip or tank mods?
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#2
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That was so long ago, the tips were not available then. I am not certain about Flint tanks being available at that time.
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#3
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Don't forget, Friends, the same basic airplane as the 337 are the O-2s that proved immensley tough in Vietnam! As originally built these planes are tough birds!!
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#4
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Alrighty, then....
I told yall I'd let you know what my tech found out when they inspected my wing. Here is what they said: "Tell everyone you know that has wing mods from this company to get their wings inspected ASAP." They said that you can deal with a bad this or that....but you cant deal with a wing that falls off. So...what did they see? Yall saw the pick I sent. A couple of smoking rivets and some minor disfiguring of the top skin. Inside there were many MANY more smoking rivets. Bent stringers. Cracked mountings. all of which could be attributed to the stacked mods (extensions AND winglets). However, they said that their primary concern was the workmanship (which has nothing to do with stacking mods). They said that 3/4 of the screws that they could see that were holding the extension to the original had no nut and no nut plate. They were simply relying on the threads contacting the skin.....they dit not like that at all. Additionally, the cap-stringer (the last orignial stringer to which the wing extension abuts) didnt quite mate to the extension perfectly, so whoever installed it had used a pair of pliars to rip the "lightning hole" to enlarge it to allow passage of one of the lines. All of which are text-book no-no's and very bad from their point of view. I asked the crew chief what I should do, he said, "Call Carlie Emering at the FAA, he already has the info and is VERY concerned." I called Charlie, and he expressed his concerns very professionally and diplomaticly, but made his point very clear. "Tell everyone you know that they REALLY should take CE-10-20 extremely seriously." I asked him what I should do about my plane. He told me to call Harry Sunderland at Cessna. They are trying to develope a uniform fix as opposed to having A&P's all over the country dream up their own solutions. So thats where I am. Grounded. With very significant safety concerns. Naturally, everyone must choose for themselves how seriously they want to take the issue. I've paraphrased the hour of phone conversations I've had fairly accurately. But I cannot convey their tone very accurately. Suffice it to say, I recommend taking it very seriously. No, the mods didnt cause the crash in NJ. But that crash did shine a light on something we needed to be aware of. Plan accordingly. Cole Last edited by N5ZX : 03-25-10 at 03:51 PM. |
#5
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So who installed the wing tips on your 337? Who signed off the FAA Form 337?
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#6
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owen bell
October 24, 2000 |
#7
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Thanks for keeping the information coming Cole. I have been watching this thread carefully and the story gets more amazing everyday. It really makes me wonder what was going on inside that wing in New Jersey. I feel badly that you have to deal with all this. Hang in there!
Ed |
#8
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Quote:
'nuff said. Last edited by tropical : 03-26-10 at 07:26 AM. |
#9
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No biggie.
I'm glad to be alive and dealing with it. But to calm the waters a bit I'd like to point out that while there are problems, it can be argued very effectively that the mods didnt cause the accident in NJ. The pilot exceeded limitations. Its that simple. If I mount a C-5 wing on my skymaster (that's would be fun to see...I gotta try that on photoshop) and I exceed the limitations....they're gonna break. If the wing failure in NJ happened at ...3000 agl.....it might have been survivable. If he hadnt pulled up so sharply... If he hadnt gone so fast... If he hadnt overstressed it in the past... If the air density had been lower.... If he had fuel in the tips... If he hadnt had a full-boat.... There's a LOT of factors involved. They all came together at one point in space and time to create a tragedy which fortunately has made us take a deeper look at our wings and go.... "Hmmmm...." Owen just sent out an email 20 minutes ago, reminding folks to be sure their placards are installed, and he included copies of the SAIB, so he is starting to surface. If I were him, I'd put on my Captain Proactive cape and start driving this beast instead of getting drug by it. If ya let go of a horse's raigns and spur him in the flank, your gonna have a hell of a ride. But if you manage it along the way, ya just might not get bucked off. (now imagine I said all that with a twang) He has a PMA fab-shop (for now). He should use the Cessna factory engineering diagrams to manuafacture fiberglass replacement wings. Lighter and stronger than the factory wing and incorporate all the latest bells and whistles. AND Circumvent the damn SID in the process. Chump to champ in a heartbeat. This is all still pretty fresh. Like Herb says, we're still waiting for the dust to settle. Patience is a virtue (but I aint no saint) Cole Last edited by N5ZX : 03-26-10 at 12:19 PM. |