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New SB issued 6 May 2016 (SB16-03-28)

RV-7 with 390 hours. 5 years young. No cracks.

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flyboy1963 said:
so...............questions, before I just stick my arm in there with my cellphone.

#1 - is this assembly completed in a quickbuild wing?

#2 - Is there a 'construction quality' that we should also be looking for?....poorly set rivets, holes not deburred....( not visible tho')

.......or is the crack only possible from heavy repeated loads....whether air or hangar induced!
Click to expand...

This is the aileron bracket, and was not part of the QB wing in my 9. Cellphone photos in mine show no cracks after 7.5 years and 750 hours. But my rivets don't look nearly as nice as some of the others posted here, so I'm keeping my photos to myself (remember, the internet is forever.....).

Greg
 
RV4 kit #1150, been flying her since 1989. 2700hrs of hard use to include acro, formation acro and dogfighting. She loves the back country and raced a time or two as well. No cracks found on this go around or the one addressing the vertical stab some time ago. I'm coming up on 69 and she'll probably outlast me :)

Cheers, Hans
 
SB

We Inspected two RV8's at KLKR and both OK! one with 154 hours and the othee with 180...Only crack noticed came from mechanic pants running low in the back!
 
A quick note for those with wings under construction:

I emailed Van's, told them I was just starting on the rear spar, and asked for advice. They answered "new kits will have the fix included. You can do it, too."

So I ordered the SB kit for a whopping $10. For those of us under construction, it's just a matter of putting two doublers on the forward side of the rear spar, opposite the aileron bracket. No reason not to do it.
 
The dissemination of this SB through the VAF is just another reason to support this fine website.

Thanks DR for all that you do and for facilitating the knowledge base on all things VANS.
 
No crack on a 230 hrs RV-7

I have been doing condition inspection in the past week, the SB is coming in time. No cracks found, 230 hrs with only mild acro

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No Cracks

850 hours RV7a, best advice was to do the picture taking thing and look at it on the computer.
 
No cracks 7a.....210 hrs.

Always flown 'gently'. As expected, no cracks.

Jim diehl 7A
Lock haven, pa
 
RV9. 503 hours. No cracks!!!

Used my bore scope - easy peasy. Just like Jesse said. Thanks for the heads up Jesse.
 
My 1988 RV4...no cracks!

...But a friend from Houston called me yesterday and his 1999 RV4 has cracks on both spars. Bummer.

Tom
San Antonio
 
No cracks

Inspected a friends RV8......... 11 years old....mild acro...slow build kit....750 hours..........NO CRACKS!:)
 
378 hours in 1.5 years...

Ham handed, unskilled and clearly incompetent pilot is unable to crack the rear spar in this amount of time.

:cool: CJ
 
no cracks at 120 hrs....but

anyone else think this thread will become...... 'unwieldy'
when it hits 10,000 posts!?!??! :D
 
I don't understand the purpose of this thread...what are you trying to learn? Multiple pages of random data with no info on flight regimes...is that going to tell us anything? Is someone going to do some datareduction and statistical analyses on this info?
 
RV7A Flyer said:
I don't understand the purpose of this thread...what are you trying to learn? Multiple pages of random data with no info on flight regimes...is that going to tell us anything? Is someone going to do some datareduction and statistical analyses on this info?
Click to expand...
Well, we already have four reports of cracks in ~100 posts. That could suggest that 4% of the fleet is affected. A poll would have shown this clearer. I hope someone is keeping better track than my rough estimate, and looking at use histories as well. As everyone will have to go to Van's for a fix, I suspect Van's will ask for the most relevant data and would be best able to compile the results into something statistically significant. Sadly, I doubt the data will be published to the community for review.
 
Snowflake said:
Well, we already have four reports of cracks in ~100 posts. That could suggest that 4% of the fleet is affected. A poll would have shown this clearer. I hope someone is keeping better track than my rough estimate, and looking at use histories as well. As everyone will have to go to Van's for a fix, I suspect Van's will ask for the most relevant data and would be best able to compile the results into something statistically significant. Sadly, I doubt the data will be published to the community for review.
Click to expand...

I don't know why you think Van's would do this. What would be the point?


As mentioned already...... A potential for cracks has been found. A fix was developed. It was recommended that people inspect and if they find cracks, install the fix that was developed.
There is zero value in knowing how many have cracks. If it was 1% or 50%, the same solution would still be recommended.

BTW, if a lot of people end up discovering cracks only because of the issuance of the SB, the thing we should be the most concerned about is that it shows is that the level of detail that people are using when doing condition inspections is lacking. This type of crack will likely be rather slow in growth rate. If cracks are found, particularly large ones, they have been probably overlooked for quite a while.
 
Rv10 800hrs...crack just starting

So I am one of the lucky winners. I got a crack just starting in the rivet just below the aileron pushrods opening. The spar has scuffs on it near the rivet that likely increased the chances of this happening. Not sure though, the scuffs are 90 degrees from the crack. This is a quick build wing. I will post pics when I get home. Glad it is found early but still frustrating. No sign of any issues with the rivet on the aft side. Right wing is fine.
 
No cracks

RV-8, no significant acro, ~850 hrs. No cracks. The original pictures were very helpful to me to look at the normal/abnormal. The smartphone with the ability to magnify the pictures were very helpful as well.

John
 
RV-6

Ref: SB16-03-28 - May 6
Rear Wing Spar Web and related area
at the inboard Aileron Hinge.

Report from an RV-6 - Houston area
Builder No: 21735, Slow Build Kit

22 yrs. old
1800+ hrs
Modest Aerobatics.

All concerned areas in the SB - (Rear Spar Web, Aileron
Bracket/Hinge, all related rivets, general area, etc.) are free from any
Cracks or Distortions. On the inside of the wing, a small
HD Camera provided excellent view of the area.
Time: about 1.5 hrs
 
RV-9A - looked like a crack but wasn't

Was troubled to discover what appeared to be a crack, though around a middle rivet (rather than top or bottom) and oriented vertically instead of laterally:

208fbpe.jpg


A builder friend came to look. From the image, he remarked that he thought the black line was wider than what he might expect in the case of a crack. With a borescope, we were able to see what looks like tool mark scratches in the lighter patch to the right, and reaching back to feel around the area confirmed a little ridge of metal apparently collecting dirt.

He was able to get a Dremel on the ridge to abrade it a little, and it appears there is no crack. It seems the tool mark predates the rivet.

It's condition inspection time for us now; we're going to keep an eye on the spot and reinspect periodically.
 
No Crack

RV7, 116 tach hrs and no acro yet. No cracks. The riveting job sure isn't pretty though and I'm wondering, does this bracket come installed on quick build wings? Either the factory or the previous builder did some ugly riveting on my QB wings! No, no pics!
 
...There is zero value in knowing how many have cracks. If it was 1% or 50%, the same solution would still be recommended....
Click to expand...

I'm afraid I don't totally agree. It might be the the value of N for cracks wouldn't dictate any engineering changes, but it sure does seem to me to be valuable to get the individual insights. (Especially the photos.)

I do support the notion of a poll for the next one of these that comes around.

Dan
 
I am happy to report that I found no cracks in my -4. Mine is 15 years old, 769 hrs total time.

I have been following this thread with great interest. I feel it is useful to know how prevalent this issue is across the fleet. With enough folks sharing, we may even learn if specific models, ages, or use scenarios affect the likelihood of cracking. Thanks to all those that took the time to report on their findings.
 
RV9 flying since 2008 530 hrs TTAF. 0320 no aerobatics. Inspected today no indications found . Still looked like new on rear spar.
 
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