Spar AD Serial #'s

[Wayne Pearce]

Was very interested to read the string on Wing Spar Inspection.

People made mention that the AD was applicable to different year & models. In Australia our AD is applicable to all 337 models. If it is applicable to different models or years could members please let me know & perhaps give me the FAA reference so that I can request a review of the Australian AD.

A meeting in Tasmania is still out of the question huh!!

Regards ...... Wayne.

[GMAs]

the spar inspection covers allmost all the skymasters that I know of... which is all of them... you need to go to the us FAA gov web site and look at the ad sections.. it will tell you all about the AD as well as what it was written for... just do a search on FAA and your browser should bring up the government web site... it was a long time coming to get them to put it on the web... but, now that they have.. its great.. as you don't have to go thru the services that used to charge for it... like 500 bucks... now its free...to all under safety... you can even look up your TCDS on their web site and get the latest greatest changes... but, remember you have to look up each product by themselves... i.e cont engine, bendix mags, champion spark plugs.. etc, etc,

Actually it is a good question and some of the others here on the board should also go look up theirs for practice so they are proficent in getting the info... kinda thing...

As to the meeting down under... hey I'm game.. provided that we can do a little tour of the area with a couple of skymasters.. kinda thing... sort of a fly commercial, fly skymaster thing... and if someone put some shrimp on the barbie... hey were in heaven... it would be great to meet some of the other pilots and veterans who flew them in VN as well as just plain socicalize with the gals and in their case guys... smile... I hear you have some great beaches in the wintertime down their that wives are not allowed on... huh.... ops here comes larry and bob troting over.. to look too... GMAs...

[Kim Geyer]

Wayne
you can go to www.faa.gov and in the search box type in
78-09-05 and the AD will show up. It looks like if you own a late model 337 you don't have to do much. We have a T337H
S/N 1902 and the AD doesn't apply.
Hope it helps
Kim

[GMAs]

S/n 1902 is on the list you just have to go look for it deeper in the AD's... Their is no differance in the way the H was made than any of the others... and thus it applies... because they are made alike... however, the fact that the T337H is flown way up their.. they do relize the fact that it won't get bounced around as much and thus the flexing on the boom mount is not as pronounced... but, never the less you should have it checked when it gets on in age... we have only seen two have cracks in all the ones we have seen and those had cracks show up when we changed out the fuel tanks... and they were not scheduled for inspection for another 2000 hours...
but,... the plane was not in good condition.. and had tremendious boom bounce... almost like riding on a horse... the owner thought it normal... as it always did it and the previous owner though it normal too... needless to say we had to fix it.. as well as fix the reason it was bouncing too... Oh and by the way the rear motor mount was cracked at the firewall too... when we inspected it closer... it had gone thru several annuals.. probably with it broken... in one spot.. as it was well worn and rusted... they missed it totally... and yet they kept flying it... smile... remember metal flexes only so many times before it cracks... smile.. GMAs

[GMAs]

ME78-2... sorry... it is in one of the revisions... where they cover the 1902.. series no's... which some thought were exempt from inspecting... that was the basis of the AD which the FAA messed up on... smile... but, they go with the All others of the same A6CE type certificated products. Which includes them all... I guess... sort of a grey area... but, its better to error on the safe side than sorry kinda thing... but, at first appearances... Guy is right... however when you dig around... it makes you scratch your head.. and wonder...

However, AD's.. which stand for AFTER DEATH... are supposed to help... guide you on your examination... and thus a IA should be able to figure out if he needs to go further into a area to insure safety...

Again the planes were all made from the same material... same drawings.. and put togeather the same... some had mods but, none were in that area.. so if it applies to one... and they all have the same TC then it applies to all... unless it has a mod to note the fact... this is not like the prop hubs... kinda thing... where they were made different and have a change notice..

Matter of fact I would check the rear spar more than the fwd one... as that is where we have seen problems.. and it makes logical deductions that the stress is greatest on that section by the boom mounts... their you only have to do a die penatrant test... easy and quick... kinda thing... and actually you can tell real quick with out it because it will have lots of gunsmoke around the crack area.. starting from the rivet out... as that area doesn't get cleaned often... to replace the rear spar is bear.. but, it can be done... as its a piece of streight metal... and you don't have to take the wing off... to do it... kinda thing... but, lots of time involved... cheeper to find a nother wing GMAs

[Kim Geyer]

GMAs
Thanks for correcting yourself, I was trying to make sure I was reading correctly, or ya,ll just did things different on the left coast.
Kim

[Guy Paris]

Hey guys what is this boom bounce bit like? How does one detect it and is it real obvious when it happens. Guy.... old72driver....