The concern sheet
Text extracted from the PDF.
Revised 1/24/02 Airworthiness Concern Sheet
Full Name Eric Kinney Title Flight Test Pilot Organization Rotorcraft Directorate Department Fort Worth ACO, ASW-150 Address 2601 Meacham Blvd City State ZIP Fort Worth, TX 76137 Telephone Number (817) 222-5459 E-mail Eric.Kinney@faa.gov Make, Model, Series, Serial No.: EA500 AVIO NG equipped aircraft (See AD worksheet for serial number and service bulletin information) Reason for Airworthiness Concern: Uncommanded changes in communications radio frequency, transponder code, or altitude pre-select.
Date: April 1, 2010 FAA Description of Airworthiness Concern (Who, What, Where, When, How? Attachments: RA and appropriate data)
Several anomalies associated with Avio NG aircraft have been identified. These have been reported to Eclipse Aviaition by pilots in fielded aircraft and verified in Eclipse Flight Test operations. The three anomalies are:
Uncommanded Switching of Transponder Codes: Evidence has been observed of PFD transponder codes changing spontaneously during flight.
Uncommanded Switching of Active and Standby COM Frequencies: There are confirmed reports of the active and standby radio frequencies in the PFD COM window swapping spontaneously, as if the concentric knob was pushed.
Uncommanded Altitude Select Synch: During climbs or descents to altitudes selected on the Autopilot Control Panel (ACP), there have been very limited instances of the selected altitude changing spontaneously.
Request for Information (Proposed Alternate Inspection/Repair Procedures, Cost Impact, Etc. Note: Any comments or replies to the FAA need to be as specific as possible. Please provide specific examples to illustrate your comments/concerns.):
A request for information was sent via letter on December 22, 2008 to Eclipse Aviation Corporation. All requested information was provided along with the following corrective actions:
Eclipse Service Bulletin SB 500-31-15 has been developed along with temporary revisions 10 and 10A to Airplane Flight Manual (AFM) 06-122204 or AFM 06-122204 Revision 3 for the installation of EFIS software 1.3. An alternative to this would be to upgrade the complete avionics suite to AVIO NG 1.5 through Eclipse Service Bulletin SB 500-99-005 with AFM 06-122204 Revision 3.
Attachments: *SDR(s) *A/IDS *SL(s) *SAIB *FAASR/*NTSBSR *AD *AMOC *RA
Notification: FAA *AOPA *EAA Type Club *TC Holder O t h e r :
Response Requested __/__/__: Emergency (10 days) Alert (30 days) Information (90 days) (Space Bar Adds “X” to Check Boxes) *Service Difficulty Reports (SDRs); Accident/Incident Data System (A/IDS); Service Letter (SL); Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB);
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)/National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Safety Recommendation (FAASR/NTSBSR); Airworthiness Directive (AD); Alternate Method of Compliance (AMOC); Risk Assessment (RA); Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association (AOPA);
Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA); Type Certificate (TC)