New Wing Spar AD

[N172MZ]

Beating up on the 12 year MSI thread so I may as well go here too.

Just to confirm, this spar AD is not actually required until 2023? Or is that only if the 12 year MSI is done? That may or may not be a requirement for US planes? Confusing.

I will say it is entertaining reading though this thread with all the mad face, sue happy customers. Anyone have a good lawyer joke?

[Rich]

Beating up on the 12 year MSI thread so I may as well go here too.

Just to confirm, this spar AD is not actually required until 2023? Or is that only if the 12 year MSI is done? That may or may not be a requirement for US planes? Confusing.

I will say it is entertaining reading though this thread with all the mad face, sue happy customers. Anyone have a good lawyer joke?

It's an AD. Required for US planes. It's relatively inexpensive. I had it done in conjunction with other work. IIRC it was about $650. Not worth beating one's breast over. I do have a knowledgeable composite shop readily available to me.

[blsewardjr]

Marc- The original that started this thread was tied to the MSI but it was subsequently superseded by FAA-AD-2014-13-08 -- see http://support.diamond-air.at/fileadmin ... cation.pdf

Per the new AD, the date requirement for the wing spar is not tied to the MSI but rather depends on the number of hours time in service of your aircraft when the AD was issued. It's fairly complicated so read it closely (Section F - Actions and Compliance). Mine worked out to August 2018 so I had it done in early 2018 when the seats were out for other work.

[N172MZ]

Bernie,
Got it, thank you. We are good until 2023. Helps us get through our impending annual for now.

Rich,
Not worth beating one's breast over. I do have a knowledgeable composite shop readily available to me.

Exactly, litigation is the root of all US evil and not worth trying to beat up Diamond in court over this. Easy fix.
Is your composite shop Eldon, or someone else? He is very busy and a great guy.
Not many composite friendly shops around here, still old school, aluminum based.

[Steve]

Mine is also good until 2023. I'll do it on one of the upcoming annuals, maybe if I need to do something else that will keep the aircraft down for a longer than usual time. This year I'm spending enough (ADS-B out)...

Steve

[Rich]

Is your composite shop Eldon, or someone else? He is very busy and a great guy.
Not many composite friendly shops around here, still old school, aluminum based.

I used Professional Air (now Leading Edge) in Bend for diamond-specific stuff (like composite work) and to order parts that have to come from Diamond. They're a Cirrus and Diamond repair center and are set up for composite work, including the equipment for bagging and temperature control.

I work with Eldon for all the ordinary stuff. You're right, he's super-busy, as is Eric at High Desert (he redid my aircraft weighing after the MTOW/MLW mods). Both are so busy they'll let me assist with work they do on the plane.

[smoss]

Anyone with tips on how to cut and handle the carbon fiber? I tried making a triangle to spec with scissors, a razor blade, and a rotary cutter, and the stuff just separates and falls apart when you look at it wrong.

[Rich]

Anyone with tips on how to cut and handle the carbon fiber? I tried making a triangle to spec with scissors, a razor blade, and a rotary cutter, and the stuff just separates and falls apart when you look at it wrong.

I used my most flexible tool - my checkbook - and let those experienced with composites do the work. The process (ignored by some) calls for vacuum-bagging and temperature-controlled curing. I was able to observe the later stages of the process, waiting for the controlled curing time to elapse.

[Steve]

Anyone with tips on how to cut and handle the carbon fiber? I tried making a triangle to spec with scissors, a razor blade, and a rotary cutter, and the stuff just separates and falls apart when you look at it wrong.

Hi Steve:

I made a clamshell template out of a manila folder the correct size of the triangles. Place the carbon cloth in the folded template, then cut with a heavy, sharp scissors. I used something like this:

https://www.fibreglast.com/product/12-i ... t-scissors

I believe it was significantly cheaper when I bought mine. Cut a few extra carbon fiber triangles, use the best ones. Make sure to post cure the repair according to Diamond's instructions. Some folks make a heated box to do the cure, but I simply used a thermostatically controlled heat pad:

Thermostat for heat pad

Heat pad in place on spar repair

[Chromer]

When I had my wing spar done, a piece of plastic was laid down, the carbon fibre was put on the plastic then the resin. Another piece of plastic was put over top and a bond scraper was used to get the resin into all of the carbon fibre and get rid of any air bubbles. Once that was done there was no extra resin. He then cut the plastic into the needed shape and removed the outer piece of plastic and laid the carbon fibre in the appropriate places. No mess, very little clean.