SAIB SW-06-20

SPECIAL AIRWORTHINESS

INFORMATION BULLETIN

Aircraft Certification Service Washington, DC

U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration

SW-06-20 January 12, 2006 http://www.faa.gov/aircraft/safety/alerts/ This is information only. Recommendations aren’t mandatory

Introduction

This Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) alerts you, owners and operators of certain, Meggitt/S-TEC Corporation pitch servo components, listed below, that could exhibit a potential failure of the pitch servo causing autotrim operation to become inoperative or unreliable. The pitch servo is installed in various small airplanes that have a Meggitt/S-TEC autopilot configuration. This failure may result in loss of control of the aircraft.

SERVO COMPONENTS Servo Part Number and Type Serial Number Range/Manufacture Dates 0107-( )-( ) and 14 VDC 0505-15886 to 0519-16166 / Feb. 2, 2005 to May 10, 2005 0108-( )-( ) and 28 VDC 0505-14131 to 0519-14543 / Feb. 2, 2005 to May 11, 2005 01230-( )-( ) and 28 VDC 0452-076 to 0517-090 / Dec.

20, 2004 to Apr. 29, 2005 Background

We received notification from Meggitt/S-TEC Corporation, the servo manufacture, that they have identified two servos in their production line with trim switch actuation arm fastener lose. In one case, the fastener was loose within the servo housing. The second case noted pitch autotrim was inoperable during initial installation ground checks. They discovered both defects prior to the production phase of certification.

Recommendation

To prevent additional failures of the pitch servos, we strongly recommend that you comply with Meggitt/S-TEC Service Bulletin 05-004 (attached).

For Further Information Contact

Patrick Massie, Aerospace Engineer, FAA, Fort Worth Aircraft Certification Office, 2601 Meacham Blvd., Forth Worth, Texas 76137;

phone: (817) 222-4637; fax: (817) 222-5960;

email: patrick.r.massie@faa.gov

~ MEGGITT- S-TEC

MEGGITT S-TEC One S-TEC Way Mineral Wells Texas 76067-9236 USA tel (940) 325-9406 fax(940) 325-3904 www.s-tec.com www.magic.aero SERVICE BULLETIN - SB 05-004 PN: 7740 DATE: 5/13/2005 TO: Meggitt I S-TEC Dealers FROM: Trevor Palmeri, VP Customer Support

1. PLANNINGINFORMATION A. EFFECTIVITY The following pitch servos:

B. CONCURRENT REQUIREMENTS NIA C. REASON To notify dealers of the requirement to contact owners 1 operators to inform them of a~mandatory pitch servo repair requirement and provide instructions for accomplishment of this Service Bulletin.

D. DESCRIPTION Two pitch servos have been identified as having a trim switch actuation arm fastener lose torque. In one case the fastener was loose within the servo housing. In the second case, pitch autotrim was noted to be inoperable during initial installation ground checks. In both cases, the indications were discovered prior to or during installation of the system. No reports have been received of this malfunction after an aircraft has been placed in service.

Failure indications could include loss of pitch servo operation, loss of or faulty autotrim operation (if installed), or loss of or faulty trim requirement indications. The loss of autotrim capabilities could result in an "out of trim" condition at autopilot disconnect.

E. COMPLIANCE Compliance is mandatory and should be accomplished as soon as practical, but no later than the next 20 flight hours or 90 calendar days, which ever is less. After August 13, 2005, the autopilot may not be used until this Service Bulletin has been complied with. The autopilot pre-flight test procedure in the applicable Pilot's Operating Handbook should be accomplished prior to each flight. In the event of any autopilot malfunction, the autopilot should be disengaged and turned off until repairs are accomplished by an authorized S-TEC dealer.

Pitch Servos FRM 8.3-02-01 Rev. A SB 05-004 Manufacture Date Range Serial Number Range Servo PN From To From To 0107-( )-() 14 VDC Feb 2, 2005 May 10, 2005 0505-15886 0519-16166 0108-( )-( ) 28 VDC Feb 2, 2005 May 11, 2005 0505-14131 0519-14543 01230-( )-( ) 28 VDC Dec 20, 2004 Apr29,2005 0452-076 0517-090

F. APPROVAL N/A G. MANPOWER One and one-half hours of warranty labor will be paid to authorized S-TEC dealers for removal and reinstallation of affected pitch servos.

H. WEIGHT AND BALANCE N/A I. ELECTRICAL LOAD DATA N/A J. REFERENCES N/A K. OTHER PUBLICATIONS EFFECTED N/A

2. MATERIAL INFORMATION A. TOOLING N/A B. MATERIAL COST AND AVAILABILITY N/A

3. ACCOMPLISHMENT INSTRUCTIONS A. DISASSEMBLY

1. INSTRUCTIONS Remove the pitch servo from the aircraft and contact S-TEC Customer Service @ 1-800-872-7832 for an RMA number. Ship the pitch servo to S-TEC for modification. Dealers should include shipping charges to the factory on the warranty labor claim. S-TEC will return the updated unit to the dealer, freight prepaid.

B. RE-ASSEMBLY

1. INSTRUCTIONS Reinstall updated pitch servo and perform ground functional test prior to returning aircraft to service.

Ensure proper maintenance entries are made in aircraft maintenance records, identifying compliance with Service Bulletin 05-004, dated 5/13/05.

C. RE-IDENTIFICATION Re-identification of servo will be accomplished at update by S-TEC.

evor Palmeri Vice President of Customer Support Pitch Servos FRM 8.3-02-01 Rev. A S8 05-004 2