Service Bulletin SB 19-09-09 Published - Inspect RV-10 gear leg mount lug

[greghughespdx]

Van?s Aircraft has published a new Service Bulletin for the RV-10, SB 19-09-09. This bulletin directs RV-10 owners to inspect the inboard attachment lugs on the RV-10 nose gear leg for potential cracks at a specific location. If no cracks are found, the gear leg is serviceable and you may continue to fly the airplane and re-inspect each year at the annual condition inspection. Replacement is not necessary in that case.

If a crack is found, owners are directed to order a kit that contains an updated RV-10 nose gear leg and associated hardware. This is described in the service bulletin document.

This issue was discovered on one RV-10 aircraft, which operates regularly from a grass strip and has accumulated more than 1700 hours in service. The attachment lug location is visible and inspectable in the location where the crack could initiate. Van?s has a handful of the updated gear legs in stock, and we do not anticipate the need to ship a large number of replacements. The updated gear leg is included in currently-shipping finishing kits, and has been delivered in all RV-10 finishing kits that have shipped since Oct 1, 2019.

The original gear leg is considered serviceable and may continue to be used unless a crack is observed. The new version of the nose gear leg is available to purchase as a replacement part in the event a crack is discovered upon inspection.

The SB 19-09-09 document is available on the Van's Aircraft web site in the RV-10 Safety and Service Information section, here.

[ppilotmike]

For those of us RV-10 builders that have not yet installed our nose gear, is it possible to get just the new WD-1017-1 part, instead of the whole SB kit? Or, is there other special parts/hardware needed to incorporate the new WD-1017-1 part?

[greghughespdx]

Originally Posted by ppilotmike

For those of us RV-10 builders that have not yet installed our nose gear, is it possible to get just the new WD-1017-1 part, instead of the whole SB kit? Or, is there other special parts/hardware needed to incorporate the new WD-1017-1 part?

If you wanted to install the new leg you could choose to purchase the SB 19-09-09 kit. It includes the required hardware, which is different than your original kit hardware. We will be prioritizing the allocation of these gear leg kits to customers where/if an issue is found on a flying airplane. We do not anticipate a need to ship large numbers.

To emphasize: Replacement of this leg is not required, as this is an "inspect-and-act-only-if-issue-found" service bulletin. Of the many RV-10's flying, this has been seen on one aircraft to date, and it is an inspectable component.

[Bill Boyd]

Greg, that's certainly good news, as I will operate my -10 from a grass strip full time.

Unrelated note (and you can reply privately if you choose to at all) - my emails to info@ and to Jasmine@ have gone 5 and 3 days respectively without a reply. I somehow doubt that's normal. Let me know if email at the mother ship is no longer the way to handle questions and I'll try the ol' land line. Digital coms just seemed preferable for questions related to documents.

Thanks!

[KatanaPilot]

I have a few questions -

1. The date of the SB seems to indicate it was written September of last year, but yet it?s just now being released. Why so long?
2. If finish kits shipped since October of last year have the improved gear, one would assume the issue was discovered long ago - since a new gear was engineered and produced for shipping last October. Again, why the delay in notification?
3. Will any credit be offered to those of us with pre-October nose gears that have not been used?

I installed my nose gear two weeks ago and would not have done so if this SB had been released last year when it was written.

[greghughespdx]

The date in the SB name is not when it is written. Rather, it is typically related to when the initial work is opened, and there are a number of other factors that can determine the date-based name. Subsequent to the start of work there are many steps including analysis, test, design, validation, production and release planning (not necessarily in that order). These steps take time.

We release notifications when the work is done and parts are available. The engine mount designs have changed over time, as we revise parts for various reasons, and this kit and hardware are compatible with mounts shipped prior to the date in the service bulletin.

We are not offering a credit for gear legs. The existing gear leg is safe and serviceable. Vans recommends replacing only if and when a crack forms, and again we have only seen this occur on one airplane.

[PaulvS]

Hi Greg,
Is there any intention to also review/revise the 2019 design nose gear leg for the RV-7A and incorporating what appears to be a gusset on the lugs, assuming the structure is similar to the -10?

[greghughespdx]

Originally Posted by PaulvS

Hi Greg,
Is there any intention to also review/revise the 2019 design nose gear leg for the RV-7A and incorporating what appears to be a gusset on the lugs, assuming the structure is similar to the -10?

No. The 2019 7A/9A nose gear design is not the same, and was FEA evaluated as part of the design process for that optional update. There is no defined need to make any change.

[KatanaPilot]

Originally Posted by greghughespdx

The date in the SB name is not when it is written.

We are not offering a credit for gear legs. The existing gear leg is safe and serviceable.

I'm going to push back a bit.

I can only assume your SB naming convention has changed quite recently. Previous service bulletins for the RV-10 - https://www.vansaircraft.com/service...10&doctype=all

SB 18-05-21 posted May 21, 2018
SB 18-03-30 posted March 30, 2018
SB 16-03-28 posted March 28, 2016
Etc.

When you released the revised nose gear for the RV-7A/9A, you allowed purchasers of finish kits up to two years prior to the release an exchange period. Why not for the RV-10? The old design of the RV-7A was safe and serviceable too.

Since the improved parts started shipping in October of last year, the work on a redesign had to start well before that. A heads up to those of us building RV-10's could have been provided prior to February.

[Machsandy]

Hello Greg

First of all thank you for posting on the VAF forum it is very useful.

I am afraid I find the wording on the SB a wee bit ambiguous. If you read the method of compliance section it requires removal of the nose gear leg.

However is the method of compliance section only relevant if a crack is found?

Is a visual inspection, with the nose gear installed, sufficient at the annual condition inspection? If the visual inspection finds no cracks is that the SB complied with until the next condition inspection?

Thanks again for posting. Should I, as an RV10 owner have received an email notification? I submitted a notarised form when we bought the aeroplane 7 years ago but I have never received any of the SBs by email or letter.