SAIB CE-06-25

SPECIAL AIRWORTHINESS

INFORMATION BULLETIN

Aircraft Certification Service Washington, DC

U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration

CE-06-25 January 27, 2006 http://www.faa.gov/aircraft/safety/alerts/SAIB This is information only. Recommendations aren’t mandatory.

Introduction

This Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) alerts you, owners and operators of Glasflügel model gliders listed in Table 1, that the German Airworthiness Authority, has issued Airworthiness Directive (AD) D-1988-028R1 dated December 12, 2005, to address a safety concern.

TABLE 1 Glasflügel Models Technical Note Club Libelle 205, Mosquito, Mosquito B, Hornet, Hornet C, Glasflügel 304, Glasflügel 304-B, 205-16, 206-12, 303-12, 304-3

Note: The Mosquito B, Glasflügel 304, Hornet, and Hornet C sailplanes are not type certificated in the U.S. However, these models are currently listed on the U.S. registry.

Background

AD D-1988-028R1 revises their previously released version (1988-028 dated February 23, 1988) to include additional glider models. The latest AD, as well as its previous version, calls for an inspection and eventual modification or replacement of the elevator drive bracket. A review of our Aircraft Safety Alert database revealed no previous airworthiness alerts issued for this specific concern. Hansjörg Streifeneder has issued Technical Notes (see Table 1) to address the required actions.

Difficulties in the control of a Glasflügel sailplane were encountered when one side of the elevator drive bracket broke. The failure was attributed to an inadequate design of the bracket. For gliders operating with this design, the technical note calls for the elevator drive bracket to be inspected and reinforced or replaced. The estimated part cost of a new elevator bracket is $154 U.S. dollars.

Recommendation

The Technical Note called for compliance by April 30, 1988. We recommend that you do the actions of the stated technical note upon receipt of this SAIB and the bracket reinforced or replaced within 10 hours time-in-service.

However, in lieu of using a 5x magnifier for the visual inspection, we recommend using a minimum 10x magnification. If you find a crack or deformation, modify or replace the bracket before further flight.

Technical Notes May Be Obtained From

Hansjörg Streifeneder, Glasfaser-Flugzeug- Service GmbH, Hofener Weg, 72582 Grabenstetten, Germany;

email: streifly@aol.com; or http://www.streifly.de/home-eng.html.

For Further Information Contact

Gregory Davison, Aerospace Engineer, FAA Small Airplane Directorate, Room 301, 901 Locust, Kansas City, Missouri 64106; phone:

(816) 329-4130; facsimile: (816) 329-4090; email:

Gregory.Davison@faa.gov