SAIB CE-03-16

1 SPECIAL AIRWORTHINESS INFORMATION BULLETIN Aircraft Certification Service Washington, DC U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration CE-03-16 January 6, 2003 We post SAIBs on the internet at "av-info.faa.gov" This is information only. Recommendations are not mandatory. Introduction This Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) provides safety information to Schempp- Hirth Model Nimbus-3/24.5, all serial numbers, sailplane owners on the following: • Extension of Service Life to 12,000 hours, and • Supplementing the Maintenance Manual with a special multi-stage inspection program. Background Schempp-Hirth has developed Technical Note No. 286-34 that extends the service life and supplements the Maintenance Manual. We have attached the applicable service information. Safety Issue The German Airworthiness Authority, Luftfahrt-Bundesamt, has issued Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2002-357, requiring compliance of this Technical Note. The FAA does not issue ADs for extension of service life. General Information We are providing this information as a courtesy to operators of the Schempp-Hirth Model Nimbus- 3/24. We do not issue ADs for sailplanes that do not have a U.S. type certificate. The FAA will not track or enforce this issue. 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 Schempp-Hirth Flugzeugbau GmbH, Postfach 14 43, D-73222 Kirchheim/Tech, Federal Republic of Germany; Telephone 49.7021.7298-0; Facsimile 49.7021.7298-199. Further Information Contact Tom Knauff, United States Schempp-Hirth Dealer, 3523 South Eagle Valley Road, Jullian, PA 16844; Telephone (814) 355-2483; Facsimile (814) 355-2633 Greg Davison, Aerospace Engineer, FAA, Small Airplane Directorate, 901 Locust, Room 301, Kansas City, Missouri, 64106; telephone (816) 329-4144; Facsimile (816) 329-4090, email; [email protected].

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