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#1
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Pegasus time limit
Has anything developed regarding extending the total time limit on the
Pegasus? Tom Idaho |
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Pegasus time limit
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#3
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There is a SF Bay Area Soaring Club that has a perfectly alright Pegasus already sitting on the ground for more than 1 year. Club members have been calling and calling and calling.
That "something" is already in the works forever and going to be delivered tomorrow. There seem to be only less than a handful of these ships with exceeded time in the US. The manufacturer has left the glider business already long time ago and is not really interested anymore. Yes, it is only a paperwork issue, restating the inspection regime in the handbook and performing a standard 3000h inspection. But why would they invest more time in these few "freedom fries" owners ? Wake up guys ! Aint gonna happen ! Dumass |
#4
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Pegasus time limit
I spoke with Greg Davison at the FAA in OK City recently, and his take was somewhat less encouraging. It seems that Centrair has been contacted on a number of occasions in the last fourteen months by owners and the FAA about the service life limit. Greg reports that they are "very polite" and continually offer the response that "something" will be done. As yet, nothing has resulted except these empty promises. I inquired about other means to get around this issue, such as an "Alternate Means Of Compliance (AMOC)," Experimental certificate, Time Machine, etc. Greg informed me that the "Experimental" route is a non-starter (Sorry Jacek, read the FAR's). Experimental category does NOT exempt an aircraft from FAA issued AD's, especially ones that concern airframe structure and life limits. Likewise, the AMOC route is also pretty much a no-go. In order to create an AMOC dealing with the structural limits of the airframe, all the original test data must either be included or duplicated. This means testing to failure and extensive fatigue tests. The Pegasus spar was based on another Centrair spar (the Marianne), and the design was accepted. Unfortunately, all these data are the property of the holder of the Type Certificate (S.N. Centrair) and unless the data is released, it has to be duplicated. Meaning, buy a glider and test it like the factory did. And then break it. As much fun as this sounds, it is likely to be prohibitively expensive. Greg is disturbed at the situation. In his words, the FAA is NOT particularly enamored of the potential to ground an entire fleet of gliders when a simple solution exists- but only if the cure comes from S.N. Centrair. What is needed is a Service or Technical Bulletin from S.N. Centrair that supersedes the Bulletin removing reference to a (non-existent) 3,000 hr. inspection protocol and emphasizing the 3,000 hr. structural life limit in the U.S. As Greg put it, this situation became apparent after an owner inquired about the contradictory references in the Pegase 101 Owners Manual. FAA requested clarification from S.N. Centrair and they just sidestepped the issue by stating that the 3,000 hr. limit is the accepted reference. As a result, Greg and the FAA were forced to issue the AD. It would have been better if the reference had been to the 3,000 hr. inspection and such an inspection was offered. At this time, the ball is in S.N. Centrair's court. The FAA is pretty much unable to bring pressure on them, and can only work through EASA, the Eurpoean equivalent of the FAA. Since EASA is a relatively new organization, having superseded the JAA, it is busy dealing with more pressing issues- like who gets the corner office, etc. I suggested a 3,000 hr. service life limit on other French aircraft (Like the Airbus 380, which may need it more than the Pegase, if what I have read about their wing problems is true). Maybe if Airbus had to deal with something like this, S.N. Centrair would be "encouraged" to step up and provide a 3,000 hr. inspection. Needless to say, I'm not holding my breath. |
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Pegasus time limit
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#6
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Pegasus time limit
According to the FAA, there are approximately 50 Centrair Pegase 101
gliders in the US. I don't know how effective we are as a group, but letters to Centrair and emails couldn't do to much harm. They are French, so probably they dislike us boorish Yanks anyway. (As long as the Germans aren't singing marching songs) The address is: Societe Nouvelle Centrair B.P. 44, Aerodrome 36300 Le Blanc, France Email: |
#7
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Pegasus time limit
And how do we find said owner who inquired about the contradictions, buy
them a one-way ticket to Baghdad, and have him/her join Saddam for a good old lynching? Never stick your hand in the mouth of a rotweiller if you don't want to get bit. As Greg put it, this situation became apparent after an owner inquired about the contradictory references in the Pegase 101 Owners Manual. FAA requested clarification from S.N. Centrair and they just sidestepped the issue by stating that the 3,000 hr. limit is the accepted reference. As a result, Greg and the FAA were forced to issue the AD. It would have been better if the reference had been to the 3,000 hr. inspection and such an inspection was offered. |
#8
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Pegasus time limit
Oh, my it seems I have lost my Pegasus logbook. Whatever will I do?
I believe the procedure is to buy a new logbook and then make an entry showing estimated total time......................... Let's see now, I think it had something like 600 hours on it. Yep, it was exactly 600 hours.................Done! When the bureaucracy goes mad, a little creative compliance is called for. Just to be on the safe side, one might have a glider repair facility perform a 3000 hour inspection using another manufacturer's checklist. Grob has a very thorough one. JJ |
#9
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Pegasus time limit
JJ Sinclair wrote: Oh, my it seems I have lost my Pegasus logbook. Whatever will I do? Well, JJ, you ain't gonna like what happens if you do so. I heard from a pretty reliable source that a Learjet in Cancun was auctioned off for $100,000 because the logbooks disappeared with the pilot's luggage and the FAA basically said that, without documentation, the airframe is assumed to have reached its service life. So if you didn't have 3,000 hours on your Pegasus before, lose the logbooks and the FAA will say that you do. Besides, documenting the assorted AD's issued on the glider over the years will get a bit more complex at your next annual. Receipts will help, but logbook entries are needed also. Mark Mocho |
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