Ramy wrote:
ok, maybe not automatic, but it shouldn't take couple of years to
approve a fix to prevent a rudder from falling off, and then only
notify owners of certified gliders, as if identical glider which was
not certified but is legal to fly can continue fly safely without the
fix...

Actually, the AD came out rather quickly (only a year!), given the time
frames the FAA normally operates with. In this case, there are 1000+
aircraft covered by the TN, ranging in age up to 30 years, but likely
only one or two actual instances of failure, none of which apparently
happened in flight. I think they got the trade-offs right.

With a potentially serious safety problem, the FAA will simply ground
all of the aircraft immediately (as they did with the Duos), then sort
out the paperwork and repair issues with the manufacturer at a
(slightly) accelerated pace. I wouldn't consider that a desirable
approach for this rudder mounting problem.

If one owns a glider with a special airworthiness certificate, one
assumes responsibility to check with the manufacturer for relevant
technical notes and service bulletins, as is clearly spelled out in the
operating limitations. If one wants the FAA to monitor these things,
one should buy a type certificated glider...

Marc