# SAIB CE-07-45: Flight Controls - Type: Special airworthiness information bulletin (advisory, not mandatory) - Status: Current - Revision: 0 - Issued: August 24, 2007 - Products: American Champion 11AC, 11BC, 11CC, 7AC, 7ACA, 7BCM (Army L-16A), 7CCM (Army L-16B), 7DC, 7EC, 7ECA, 7FC, 7GC and 18 more - Product type: Aircraft, Small Airplane - PDF: https://openairdocs.org/files/sha256/00/be/00be320fefaff59c7862e0bd8338b8105304e55ed6e5d10c0eda11ed675fb608 - FAA DRS: https://drs.faa.gov/browse/excelExternalWindow/2A7843AD1A50D9E48625734100705552.0001 - DRS record last changed: August 28, 2007 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/saib/CE-07-45 ## Text FAA Aircraft Certification Service **SPECIAL AIRWORTHINESS** INFORMATION BULLETIN SUBJ: Flight Controls SAIB: CE-07-45 Date: August 24, 2007 This is information only. Recommendations aren’t mandatory. Introduction This Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) advises you of an airworthiness concern for airplanes built by Aeronca, Bellanca, Champion, or American Champion Aircraft Corporation (ACAC) where possible flight control cable fraying, if undiscovered/unchecked by maintenance, could lead to loss of flight control. The models include: 7AC, 7ACA, S7AC, 7BCM, 7CCM, S7CCM, 7DC, S7DC, 7EC, S7EC, 7ECA, 7FC, 7GC, 7GCA, 7GCAA, 7GCB, 7GCBA, 7GCBC, 7HC, 7JC, 7KC, 7KCAB, 8KCAB, 8GCBC, 11AC, S11AC, 11BC, S11BC, 11CC, and S11CC. This airworthiness action has been taken after consideration of the responses from ACAC as well as airplane owners/ operators through relevant associations and type clubs, using the procedures found in the Small Airplane Directorate Airworthiness Directives Manual Supplement (Airworthiness Concern Process Guide). At this time, this airworthiness concern is not considered an unsafe condition that would warrant an airworthiness directive (AD) action under Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR part 39). Background There are several service difficulties for frayed elevator and rudder control cables in the areas where the cables pass over pulleys in the empennage of the airplane. Recently a fixed based operator reported that a pilot performing aerobatics in a Decathlon (8KCAB) noticed a change in elevator control stick pressure and position. Upon landing, it was discovered that the up elevator control cable had stretched as a result of three of seven strands failing. The fraying had occurred where the up elevator cable passes over a pulley just below the vertical stabilizer. Discussion Metallurgical examination of the above-mentioned cable by a laboratory has not discovered any abnormalities in the wire rope used in the fabrication of the cable. However, the wire rope was not manufactured by a company listed on the military Qualified Products List (QPL) of Products Qualified Under Detail Specification MIL-DTL-83420 Wire Rope, Flexible, For Aircraft Control, General Specification For; document number QPL-83420-14. Wire rope that is not manufactured by a company that is listed in the QPL does not mean the rope is not adequate for the application; however, it raises the possibility that the rope may not meet all the performance requirements required by the MIL-DTL-83420 specification, including a reduction in the wire rope fatigue life. Cable wear and degradation is expected, especially in the vicinity of the pulleys. Section 8, “Inspection and Repair of Control Cables and Turnbuckles” of Chapter 7, “Aircraft Hardware, Control Cables, and Turnbuckles” in Advisor Circular AC 43.13-1B, “Acceptable Techniques, Methods, and Practices – Aircraft Inspection and Repair” includes recommended procedures for inspection and care of control cables. Specifically, paragraphs 7-149.d and 7-152 respectively cover 2 close inspection in critical fatigue areas and cable corrosion protection/lubrication (for carbon steel cables). The ACAC service manual does call for a visual inspection of the control cables at the 100-hour or annual inspection. It is assumed that any initial/minor fraying of control cables will be detected at the inspection before it can progress to cable stretch or failure. Airplanes flown routinely for aerobatics will also incur more cable wear than those flown with much lighter loads imposed on the flight controls. The pulleys used with the flight control cables for elevator, rudder, and aileron are self lubricating and sealed so lubrication is not required. However, most of the pulleys used for the elevator trim and flaps (for those airplanes that have flaps) are constructed of aluminum riding on a steel insert. These pulleys require lubrication with general purpose oil at intervals not to exceed 100 hours to keep the pulleys from binding and causing undue control cable wear (See the Airplane Service Manual for details). Recommendations We recommend that the airplane flight control cables be thoroughly inspected every 100 hours. This is especially important in the 2- to 3-inch areas where the cables travel over pulleys. If possible, the inspector should have another person move the control being inspected over its full travel, while the cable is being inspected. Fraying of a few wires may be difficult to detect unless the cable is bent such that broken wires protrude from the cable. Some cable bending occurs where the cable passes over the pulleys, however, the inspector may wish to remove the cables from the airplane for a complete and thorough inspection. If cable replacement is required, we suggest the wire rope used in the replacement cable be manufactured by a QPL qualified company. As of the writing of the SAIB, any cable manufactured by ACAC will contain QPL qualified wire rope. In addition , we highly recommend lubrication of the elevator trim and flap pulleys (for airplanes with flaps – 5 of 7 pulleys require lubrication) at intervals not to exceed the recommended intervals in the airplane service manual. For Further Information Contact Wesley Rouse, Aerospace Engineer, FAA Chicago Aircraft Certification, 2300 E. Devon, Des Plaines, IL 60018; phone: (847) 294-8113; email: wess.rouse@faa.gov ## Registered aircraft it may concern (OpenAirDocs) Registry models matched by make and model, the same way as ADs, most registered aircraft first. - [Aeronca 7AC](https://openairdocs.org/model/aeronca-7ac): 1,878 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Aeronca 11AC](https://openairdocs.org/model/aeronca-11ac): 603 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Bellanca 7GCBC](https://openairdocs.org/model/bellanca-7gcbc): 487 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [American Champion 8KCAB](https://openairdocs.org/model/american-champion-8kcab): 449 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Champion 7ECA](https://openairdocs.org/model/champion-7eca): 419 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Bellanca 8KCAB](https://openairdocs.org/model/bellanca-8kcab): 371 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Bellanca 7ECA](https://openairdocs.org/model/bellanca-7eca): 347 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [American Champion 7GCBC](https://openairdocs.org/model/american-champion-7gcbc): 232 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Bellanca 7KCAB](https://openairdocs.org/model/bellanca-7kcab): 230 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [American Champion 8GCBC](https://openairdocs.org/model/american-champion-8gcbc): 218 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Bellanca 8GCBC](https://openairdocs.org/model/bellanca-8gcbc): 182 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Aeronca 7BCM](https://openairdocs.org/model/aeronca-7bcm): 175 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Champion 7FC](https://openairdocs.org/model/champion-7fc): 164 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Champion 7EC](https://openairdocs.org/model/champion-7ec): 157 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Champion 7KCAB](https://openairdocs.org/model/champion-7kcab): 151 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Champion 7AC](https://openairdocs.org/model/champion-7ac): 144 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Champion 7GCBC](https://openairdocs.org/model/champion-7gcbc): 144 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Aeronca 7DC](https://openairdocs.org/model/aeronca-7dc): 121 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [American Champion 7GCAA](https://openairdocs.org/model/american-champion-7gcaa): 119 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Bellanca 7GCAA](https://openairdocs.org/model/bellanca-7gcaa): 118 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Champion 7GCAA](https://openairdocs.org/model/champion-7gcaa): 114 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Aeronca 7CCM](https://openairdocs.org/model/aeronca-7ccm): 91 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Aeronca 11CC](https://openairdocs.org/model/aeronca-11cc): 72 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Aeronca 11BC](https://openairdocs.org/model/aeronca-11bc): 65 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Champion AERONCA 7AC](https://openairdocs.org/model/champion-aeronca-7ac): 58 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Champion 7GCB](https://openairdocs.org/model/champion-7gcb): 55 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Aeronca 7EC](https://openairdocs.org/model/aeronca-7ec): 52 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Bellanca 7ACA](https://openairdocs.org/model/bellanca-7aca): 44 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [American Champion 7EC](https://openairdocs.org/model/american-champion-7ec): 38 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [American Champion 7ECA](https://openairdocs.org/model/american-champion-7eca): 38 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Champion 7GC](https://openairdocs.org/model/champion-7gc): 37 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Champion 7CCM](https://openairdocs.org/model/champion-7ccm): 20 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Champion 7BCM](https://openairdocs.org/model/champion-7bcm): 19 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Champion AERONCA 7FC](https://openairdocs.org/model/champion-aeronca-7fc): 18 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Champion AERONCA 7BCM](https://openairdocs.org/model/champion-aeronca-7bcm): 17 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Champion AERONCA 7EC](https://openairdocs.org/model/champion-aeronca-7ec): 14 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Champion 7HC](https://openairdocs.org/model/champion-7hc): 8 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Champion 7DC](https://openairdocs.org/model/champion-7dc): 7 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Champion AERONCA 7DC](https://openairdocs.org/model/champion-aeronca-7dc): 7 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Champion AERONCA 7GC](https://openairdocs.org/model/champion-aeronca-7gc): 7 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Aeronca S11AC](https://openairdocs.org/model/aeronca-s11ac): 6 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Champion AERONCA 7CCM](https://openairdocs.org/model/champion-aeronca-7ccm): 6 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Aeronca 7FC](https://openairdocs.org/model/aeronca-7fc): 5 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Champion 8KCAB](https://openairdocs.org/model/champion-8kcab): 5 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Champion 7JC](https://openairdocs.org/model/champion-7jc): 4 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Aeronca 7EC CONV](https://openairdocs.org/model/aeronca-7ec-conv): 3 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Aeronca S7AC](https://openairdocs.org/model/aeronca-s7ac): 3 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Aeronca S7CCM](https://openairdocs.org/model/aeronca-s7ccm): 3 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Champion 7EC(CONV)](https://openairdocs.org/model/champion-7ec-conv): 3 registered aircraft (airframe model) - [Champion AERONCA 7GCB](https://openairdocs.org/model/champion-aeronca-7gcb): 3 registered aircraft (airframe model) All 104: https://openairdocs.org/saib/CE-07-45/models.md --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.