Van's Issues a new Service Letter 10/2005

[LifeofReiley]

FYI...

Service Letter: October, 2005

Subject: Filtered Bypass Kit

Read more here.

[LettersFromFlyoverCountry]

You know, there's an intersting line in that letter.

Pilots who foresee inadvertent flight into heavy snow, freezing rain, or icing conditions should consider equipping their filtered air box with a FILTER BYPASS.I

How can you inadvertently do something you foresaw?

[LifeofReiley]

I would bet Van's attorneys reviewed this Service Letter before it was released... enough said.

[robertahegy]

With all this commotion, having some builders experience possible injestion of this flapper, I'm going to remove mine and glass the hole shut. I do not plan on flying into any rain or snow. Seems just to troublesome for my comfort. I haven't noticed and problems, but I often wondered if that thing was sucking open. And if it does, it is more likely to get sucked up into the engine. Seems the likelihood of plugging the filter is far more remote than sucking errant parts into my nice new engine.

JMHO

Roberta

[sprucemoose]

Originally Posted by Bob Collins

Pilots who foresee inadvertent flight into heavy snow, freezing rain, or icing conditions should consider equipping their filtered air box with a FILTER BYPASS.I
How can you inadvertently do something you foresaw?

And you fly in the upper Midwest?

[LettersFromFlyoverCountry]

Originally Posted by sprucemoose

And you fly in the upper Midwest?

Heheheh...yeah, and usually when I forsee me flying into icing conditions, or snow, or locusts, I turn around.

But then again, I'm a tri-gear pilot so I'm a wussy boy.

[robertahegy]

I'm right behind ya, Bob!!!

Roberta

[N130WN]

I removed mine and glassed the hole shut during my first conditional inspection last month. I could tell by the wear that it was coming up occasionally.

[hngrflyr]

I live and do most of my flying in Western Oregon. There have been countless times when we have rain on the ground and It's been snowing hard at 2500'. In my nearly 50 years of flying, I've seen a lot of Pacific Northwest weather, and I can't always predict what I might encounter enroute to a destination. The thought of something choking off my engine's supply of air is not a happy one. In much of Oregon, there isn't much under you except mountains and trees. Inspection of that flapper at each 50 hour oil change doesn't seem like a big price to pay.

Bob Severns

[L.Adamson]

Originally Posted by hngrflyr

Inspection of that flapper at each 50 hour oil change doesn't seem like a big price to pay.

I made the airscoop removable, without having to remove the bottom cowl , as I've seen on a few other RV's, to make inspection easy. Since I also live in a rugged mountainous area, inspections along with the mod, will be my plan too.

I guess there is also that one in a million chance, of a prop chopped bird, stuffing the air intake closed.