lml@lancaironline.net Mailing List Archive

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<--->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> << Lancair Builders' Mail List >> <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<--->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> In case any of you Continental owners haven't been contacted by TCM yet, and you don't subscribe to AvWeb's AvFlash, here is a reprint of several articles from this morning's issue. This whole situation is pretty amazing to me, given the cost of those engines... FAA: YOU *WILL* DRILL TWO HOLES IN YOUR TCM CRANKSHAFT PROP FLANGE... As expected, the FAA signed off on Emergency Airworthiness Directive 2000-08-51 Friday, and will be mailing it to owners of TCM 360-, 470-, 520- and 550-series engines next week. The AD puts the force of law behind TCM's MSB 00-5, which affects about 1,100 engines with cranks manufactured between April 1998 and March 2000. The AD requires that within the next 10 hours two core samples be bored from the crankshaft's propeller flange and be sent to TCM in Mobile, Ala., for metallurgical testing. The action was prompted by 11 in-flight crankshaft failures, ultimately attributed to improperly processed steel. ..WHILE OWNERS AND MECHANICS GRIPE AND SQUIRM... Reactions of owners and mechanics ranged from disbelief to extreme discomfort. Upon first reading MSB 00-5, lots of A&Ps were heard to grumble, "They can't be serious ... no way are they going to get ME to drill holes in a crankshaft!" or words to that effect. TCM's customer support group in Mobile was deluged with calls, but indicated that viewing TCM's instructional video made many A&Ps more comfortable about undertaking the procedure. Based partially on early feedback from the field, TCM issued Revision A of MSB 00-5 on Friday, making a few changes to the list of affected serial numbers and adding several additional paragraphs to the instructions. ..IT'S AN UGLY JOB, BUT SOMEBODY HAS TO DO IT Meantime, TCM customer support continued to ramp up to get the 1,100 affected engines inspected and back in the air as quickly as possible. In the two weeks since MSB 00-5 was first issued, TCM has been in contact with the owners of roughly 450 of the affected engines. TCM's engineering chief John Barton told AVweb that the factory now has 130 of the special boring tools, and 100 of them are in the field at FBOs, with the rest to follow shortly. NOTE: AVweb's Newswire <http://www.avweb.com/newswire/news0018a.html> includes the complete text of emergency AD 2000-08-51. For an in- depth report on the TCM crankshaft situation, see AVweb's recent NewsWire coverage at <http://www.avweb.com/newswire/news0016a.html>. <<< LML website: http://www.olsusa.com/Users/Mkaye/maillist.html Builders' Bookstore: http://www.buildersbooks.com/lancair Please send your photos and drawings to marvkaye@olsusa.com.