SAIB CE-06-53

SPECIAL AIRWORTHINESS

INFORMATION BULLETIN

Aircraft Certification Service Washington, DC

U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration

CE-06-53 July 6, 2006 http://www.faa.gov/aircraft/safety/alerts/ This is information only. Recommendations aren’t mandatory.

Introduction

This Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin advises you of an airworthiness concern for the following Schempp-Hirth sailplanes:

Model Serial Number Ventus-c All (w/fuselage b) Ventus-cT All Ventus-cM All

Background

During flight in a Ventus-c, the bearing of the automatic control attachment separated from the fuselage port shell. Schempp-Hirth issued Technical Note Number 349-30 / 825-35, which includes procedures to check the fixed seat of the bearing of the automatic control attachment. If the bearing of the automatic control attachment is flexible or separated from the fuselage shell, further flight would be prohibited and the manufacturer should be contacted for further instructions.

The Luftfahrt-Bundesamt (LBA, the German airworthiness authority) has issued Airworthiness Directive D-2005-375 requiring an immediate inspection of the fixed seat of the bearing.

Note: Foreign ADs are not mandatory in the United States without FAA AD action. The Ventus-c, Ventus-cT, and Ventus-cM are not type certificated in the United States and therefore do not meet the criteria for mandatory action. We do not issue ADs for sailplanes without U.S. type certification.

However, these models could be operating in the United States with an experimental airworthiness certificate

Recommendation

Prior to further flight, we recommend you inspect the bearing tube to fuselage attachment per technical note requirements. Even if attachment is secure, we recommend modification of this connection as soon as possible.

For Further Information Contact

Gregory Davison, Glider Program Manager FAA Small Airplane Directorate 901 Locust Street, Room 301 Kansas City, Missouri 64106 Phone: (816) 329-4130 Fax: (816) 329-4090 Email: Gregory.Davison@faa.gov

SCHEMPP-HIRTH Flugzeugbau GmbH Postfach 14 43, D-73222 Kirchheim/Teck, Federal Republic of Germany Phone: 49 7021 7298-0 Fax: 49 7021 7298-199 Email: info@schempp-hirth.com

Technical Note information is available at:

http://www.schempp-hirth.com/