SAIB CE-04-65

CE-04-65 April 29, 2004 We post SAIBs on the internet at www.airweb.faa.gov This is information only. Recommendations are not mandatory.

Introduction

This Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin alerts you, owners and operators of the SCHEMPP- HIRTH model listed below, that Luftfahrt-Bundesamt (LBA) has issued Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2003-281, dated October 02, 2003. This AD calls for the immediate inspection of the elevator outer mass balance weights and, if required, modification per Technical Note No. 349-28, 360-20, and 863-8.

Model Serial Number Discus 2T 1 through 33

Note: The Discus 2T sailplane is not type certificated in the U.S.

Background

The LBA has reported a roughness of the elevator control of a Discus-2T that occurred during a pre- flight check. After removal of an elevator, the outer mass balance was found broken. Schempp-Hirth has developed repair procedures through the stated Technical Note and estimated four (4) hours labor time and negligible material cost to perform the repair.

Recommendation

Effective immediately, we strongly recommend that owners and operators of the sailplanes listed above comply with the provisions of LBA AD 2003-281 and Schempp-Hirth Technical Note No. 349-28, 360-20, and 863-8.

We are providing this information as a courtesy because we do not issue ADs for gliders that don’t have a U.S. type certificate.

For Further Information Contact

Gregory Davison, Aerospace Engineer, FAA Small Airplane Directorate, Room 301, 901 Locust Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64106; phone: (816) 329-4130; fax: (816) 329-4090; email: [email protected]

SCHEMPP-HIRTH Flugzeugbau GmbH, Postfach 1443, 73222 Kircheim/Teck, Federal Republic of Germany; phone: 49 7021 7298-0; fax: 49 7021 7298-199. Service Bulletin information and LBA AD information is available at: http://www.schempp-hirth.com/