SAIB CE-00-01 —

REGULATORY SUPPORT DIVISION P.O. BOX 26460 OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA 73125-0460

U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration

No. CE-00-01 October 7, 1999

SAIB’s are posted on the internet at http://av-info.faa.gov 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 (SAIB) is to provide safety information to Rolladen Schneider Models LS-6, LS-7, and LS-8 series sailplane owners on the following:

• Potential of Obstruction of Emergency Canopy Jettison System

Background: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has assessed a potential safety problem that may occur on the Rolladen Schneider Models LS-6, LS-7, and LS-8 series sailplanes. The manufacturer has determined that there is a potential of the canopy frame jamming against the instrument panel during the emergency jettison process.

Safety Issue: The Luftfahrt-Bundesamt (LBA) has issued German Airworthiness Directives on the service difficulty issue listed above. The FAA is currently assessing the need to issue a corresponding United States (U.S.) Airworthiness Directive on Rolladen Schneider Model LS-6c sailplane type design. The Model LS-6c has a U.S. type certificate. The type designs of the Model LS-6c and the Models listed above are essentially the same in concept, however, they do not have U.S. type certificates.

Technical Bulletins 6036, 7011, and 8004 are attached for your information. The FAA highly encourages you to comply with these Technical Bulletins. The FAA has also attached LBA AD 1999-266, 1999-267, and 1999-268 for your information and review.

General Information: The FAA provides this information as a courtesy to operators of the Rolladen Schneider Models LS-6, LS-7, and LS-8 series owners/operators because this is a known safety issue. The FAA does not issue Airworthiness Directives for sailplanes that do not have a U.S. type certificate. This safety issue will not be tracked or enforced by the FAA. Furthermore, the FAA will not use an SAIB to track all safety related items for non-type certificated products.

For Technical Information Concerning These Safety Issues Contact: Rolladen Schneider Flugzeugbau GmbH, Muhlstr. 10, D-63329 Egelsbach, GERMANY; Telephone 49.6103.4126; Facsimile 49.6103.45526.

Further Information Contact: Mike Adams, United States Rolladen Schneider Dealer, 1231 2nd St., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266; Telephone: (310) 372-1272; Facsimile: (310) 416-7134.

Mike Kiesov, Aerospace Engineer/Pilot, FAA, Small Airplane Directorate, 1201 Walnut, Kansas City, Missouri 64106; telephone (816) 426-6934; Facsimile (816) 426-2169; email: [email protected].