Cracked Stabilizer page
Below is an email message from Tom Ferraro regarding a crack stabilizer they found while inspecting a 1978 Grumman Tiger.
The pictures are from their investigation
From: Tom Ferraro [tferraro@jcpenney.com]
To: john.rock@tigeraircraft.com; richard.beckwith@faa.gov
Subject: SAIB for Tiger N28745
Gentlemen....
Attached are a few pictures that show the damage we found
while
inspecting our 1978 Grumman Tiger per SAIB CE-04-34. Based on
conversations
with both of you, here's a brief description of the aircraft
and some of
the history via the logs.
1978 AA5B
Serial
Number AA5B0789
TT 1902 hours
Damage
history:
Nose gear
replaced, prop strike and left wing tip repaired in 1978
Left wing
repaired at rib 6-7 aand 7-8 in 1984. No info as to what happened
or why the
repair was needed.
Looks like
recent minor hangar rash "ding" in right elevator trailing edge
Noticed the
tie down ring had been reinforced with a patch riveted to bottom
of fuse. No
log entry.
Tie down
ring itself shows not signs of damage - may have been replaced with
no log
entry.
Top
horizontal bulkhead in rear of fuse had been patched due to cracking at
left rear
corner.
Top tray
had also been wrinkled from left rear corner to the inspection hole
causing
crack under the flange at the hole. This could not be seen until the
rubber
edging around the hole was removed.
Observations:
Lower
stiffner was wrinkled and cracked on left side (#7 in SAIB drawing)
Lower
stiffner was cracked on right side (#6)
Both side
angles were cracked on the top rear (#1 and #2).
Significant
wrinkle on the right side (#1) under the forward spar
Minor
wrinkle on the left side under the forward spar
Close
inspection of the rest of the rear end of the aircraft and surfaces
looks good
The Plan:
We have
purchased the repair kit and new parts from Fletchair
Our plan is
to rivet and bond the new Angles and lower stiffner to the fuse
(per
Procedure w kit 125A)
We have
patched the upper bulkhead tray to repair and stiffen the rear area
where it
was wrinkled and cracked.
I
appreciate the information you both have been able to provide us with the
inspection
and repair. We should have it back in the air in the near future.
I hope
these pictures help you with your research on this subject. Please
feel free
to contact us if you need any more information etc. Thanks again!
Pictures:
crack lower left rear view.JPG
