SAIB ACE-97-05
Current · Issued 07/21/1997 · Pilatus Aircraft Ltd. P3-03 | -05 · FAA DRS
SAIB ACE-97-05 — Open on drs.faa.gov ↗
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Bulletin text · verbatim from the FAA PDF · 11 paragraphs · 323 words
No. ACE-97-05 July 21, 1997
Published by: FAA, AFS-610, P.O. Box 26460, Oklahoma City, OK 73125 This is issued for informational purposes only and any recommendation for corrective action is not mandatory.
INTRODUCTION:
The purpose of this Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin is to advise operators of Pilatus P3-03 and -05 Model airplanes certified in the Experimental Exhibition Category of the need to review the information below.
BACKGROUND:
The Small Airplane Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service, of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently received a letter from the Swiss Federal Office for Civil Aviation (FOCA) concerning the spin characteristics of the Pilatus P3-03 and -05 aircraft when the ventral fin has been removed. The Swiss FOCA considers this modification to be extremely dangerous and all attempts to have these alterations approved by the Swiss FOCA have been refused. Quoting from the FOCA letter to the FAA:
“An investigation by FOCA at the Pilatus flight test department and the Swiss Air Force flight test unit has shown that the P-3 has, under some center of gravity positions and airframe adjustments, a tendency to enter a nearly irrecoverable flat spin. The SAF had several accidents/incidents and finally installed the ventral fin after extensive tests to get rid of this problem for good.
It is to be noted that once this spin develops, even a current test pilot that knows exactly what is going on has problems to recover the aircraft, so we could imagine that such an incident would far bypass the capabilities of the average P3 pilot with no previous knowledge of this trait inherent to this aircraft model”.
RECOMMENDATION:
It is the recommendation of the FAA that although these aircraft are operated in the Experimental Exhibition Category, the information provided by the Swiss FOCA be adhered to.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Roman T. Gabrys, Aerospace Engineer, FAA, Project Support Branch (ACE-112), Small Airplane Directorate, 1201 Walnut, Suite 900, Kansas City, Missouri 64106, telephone (816) 426-6934.