DG-300/303 owners...

I would think an ultrasonic inspection could get
a good enough picture of the undulations to know
if it's serious. Problem is what deviation from
ideal is acceptable? If anybody knows a glider
pilot who is in the USAF they could check with
the NDI Lab at their base and see if someone
could inspect the spar. Long, long ago I was an
AF NDI Technician and we X-Ray'd car batteries,
mag particle tested cam and crankshafts and would
have jumped at the chance to inspect a glider wing.

Nothing they did could be official, but for peace of

mind it might be something to try. You might get
some new students at your club. I first saw a soaring

site when I was stationed at Zweibrucken AB in Germany.

EASA has now published an emergency AD (saying essentially the same
thing as DG's Tech Note), available at:

http://ad.easa.europa.eu/blob/easa_a..._2007-0100-E_1

I know about this only because a friend saw the link on the BGA
website.

As a long-time DG-300 owner, I am extremely disappointed to have heard
NOTHING from Glaser-Dirks about this situation. There is simply no
excuse for this. They have all or most owners' e-mail addresses
already (for their monthly newsletter). This situation cries out for
proactive announcements, explanation, clarification, etc. from the
manufacturer. Instead, we are left to scavenge whatever "information"
we can (possibly not all accurate) from R.A.S. and other sources. DG
did put the Tech Note draft on its website last week but that helps no
one unless they know about it or accidentally stumble across it. What
is missing is any official notification from the manufacturer. I can
abide the limitations required by the AD more easily than I can this
pitiable lack of proper communications and support from Glaser-Dirks.

Almost two weeks ago, when the R.A.S. thread first appeared, I sent an
e-mail inquiry to Glaser-Dirks with copies to the North American
dealers. I received no response. No excuse for that, either.

At 13:18 16 April 2007, Mike Yankee wrote:
EASA has now published an emergency AD (saying essentially
the same
thing as DG's Tech Note), available at:

http://ad.easa.europa.eu/blob/easa_a...orrected.pdf/E
AD_2007-0100-E_1

I know about this only because a friend saw the link
on the BGA
website.

As a long-time DG-300 owner, I am extremely disappointed
to have heard
NOTHING from Glaser-Dirks about this situation. There
is simply no
excuse for this.

that would be because Glaser-Dirks went bankrupt several
years ago

Are all DG300 certified "experimental" (in the U.S.) ?
PeterK
"Ian" wrote in message
news
On Fri, 06 Apr 2007 23:34:52 -0700, Marc Ramsey wrote:

You should take a look at this:

http://www.dg-flugzeugbau.de/holm-dg300-e.html

Marc

Just finished reading this and the related thread. This is a nightmare for
the affected owners and many others in the industry!

However as a suggestion:

Would it be possible to determine if any one aircraft has the defect by
measuring wing deflection under a known load?

From my understanding of the defect, the misaligned fibres would not only
reduce the strength of the spar, but also it's stiffness. By measuring the
deflection of a sample of wings under load and then opening them up to
determine whether they have the defect or not, it might be possible to
draw up a non invasive procedure which can be used to determine if the
defect exists in a particular aircraft, and if it does, to what extent.

Anybody from DG reading this?

Ian

Peter wrote:
Are all DG300 certified "experimental" (in the U.S.) ?

Yes, but the operating limitations usually (always?) require that they
be maintained according to the published factory technical notes...

Marc