SERVICE BULLETIN - Vashon Aircraft
VASHON RANGER R7 · Service Bulletins
Overview
This service bulletin from Vashon Aircraft addresses a material defect in the nose landing gear leg of the Ranger R7 model. It outlines the required inspection process to determine if the side brace tubes are made from non-conforming material and provides instructions for compliance.
- Inspection required for nose landing gear leg.
- Focus on 810401 side brace tubes for hardness testing.
- Non-conforming material can lead to propeller strikes.
- Inspection must be completed within the next 10 hours.
- Owner certification is the minimum required for compliance.
- Materials needed include sandpaper and a hardness testing device.
- Logbook entry required after inspection.
- Contact Vashon Aircraft for parts if replacement is necessary.
Document
Source
Originally published by vashonaircraft.com. Sprinkle hosts a reference copy with an added summary, specifications and searchable full text.
Document details
- Type ·
- Service Bulletins
- Year ·
- 2024
- File size ·
- 810 KB
- Publisher ·
- vashonaircraft.com
- Language ·
- en
Specifications & performance
Extracted from this document.
Specifications
- Serial numbers ·
- 10196-10228
What is the SERVICE BULLETIN - Vashon Aircraft?
The SERVICE BULLETIN - Vashon Aircraft is a service bulletins for the VASHON RANGER R7, dated 2024.
Where does the SERVICE BULLETIN - Vashon Aircraft come from?
This copy of the SERVICE BULLETIN - Vashon Aircraft was originally published by vashonaircraft.com and is hosted on Sprinkle as a free, searchable reference copy.
What year was the SERVICE BULLETIN - Vashon Aircraft published?
The SERVICE BULLETIN - Vashon Aircraft — the VASHON RANGER R7 service bulletins on file — is dated 2024.
Most owners only have the POH. Here's the essential set for the VASHON RANGER R7.
- Pilot's Operating Handbook / AFM
- Checklist
- Maintenance Manual
- Parts Catalog (IPC)
- Systems & Wiring
- Service Bulletins on file
- Type Certificate (TCDS)
More VASHON RANGER R7manuals & documents
In this document
Subject
Nose landing gear leg vendor material defect.
Required Action
Inspect the nose landing gear leg by following the instructions laid out in the 'Method of Compliance' section.
Method of Compliance
Detailed steps for inspecting the 810401 side brace tubes, including sanding, testing hardness, and determining conformity.
Labor Required
0.5 hours for inspection; 7 hours for nose landing gear replacement if necessary.
Materials Required
Sandpaper, hardness testing device, and high gloss spray paint.
Effectivity
Model-R7, serial numbers 10196-10228.
Safety notes
- Non-conforming material may lead to airframe damage.
- Ensure the hardness testing device is stable during testing.
- If hardness does not register, retest to confirm results.
- Contact Vashon Aircraft for parts procurement if replacement is needed.
Full document text
Light Sport Aircraft SERVICE BULLETIN VASHON AIRCRAFT 14929 141st PL NE Woodinville, WA 98072 425.527.9944 SB-R7-07-01-24-1.Docx SUPPORT@VASHONAIRCRAFT.COM Page 1 of 4 SB-R7-07-01-24-1.docx DATE RELEASED 07-09-24 DATE EFFECTIVE 07-01-24 SUBJECT Nose landing gear leg vendor material defect EFFECTIVITY MODEL-R7 REQUIRED ACTION Inspect the nose landing gear leg by following the instructions laid out in the “Method of Compliance” section. This inspection tests the 810401 side brace tubes for Rockwell C hardness (HRC). The hardness metric is proportional to heat treatment strength, so if the 810401 side brace tube does not register on the HRC scale (i.e. not heat-treated), then it is clear that the part is made from the non-conforming material. • If either one of the 810401 tubes do NOT register on the HRC scale, then the part is non-conforming and the nose landing gear weldment needs to be replaced. • If both 810401 tubes register on the HRC scale, then the part is conforming and does not need to be replaced. SERIAL NO: 10196-10228 Synopsis: Vashon Aircraft has found that our vendor supplied a non-conforming material for the side brace tubes that make up the 812601 nose landing gear weldment. This finding has been realized after receiving several field reports of bent nose landing gear legs, following landings below the limit landing acceleration loads that the Ranger was substantiated to. If not corrected, this could lead to a propeller strike and possible airframe damage. The portion of the weldment in question is the shorter, 810401 side brace tubes shown in Figure 2 (not the 810403 main strut tube). The 810401 tubes are supplied to Vashon Aircraft from a third party that performs the cope cut operation. Vashon Aircraft has discovered that the third party fulfilled an order with an unconfirmed percentage of parts made from material that does not conform to the 810401 drawing. The non-conforming material does not exhibit the necessary allowable strength requirements and is not heat treatable. While a certification of conformance and material certifications were supplied from the third party, non-conforming parts still entered our inventory. The weldments passed the heat treat quality check because the strength validation gets performed on the 810403 main strut tube. Light Sport Aircraft SERVICE BULLETIN VASHON AIRCRAFT 14929 141st PL NE Woodinville, WA 98072 425.527.9944 SB-R7-07-01-24-1.Docx SUPPORT@VASHONAIRCRAFT.COM Page 2 of 4 TYPE OF MAINTENANCE: Low MINIMUM LEVEL OF CERTIFICATION: Owner TIME OF COMPLIANCE: Within next 10 hours MATERIALS REQUIRED: • Sandpaper • Hardness Testing Device (supplied by Vashon aircraft—please return) • High Gloss Spray Paint, White METHOD OF COMPLIANCE Step 1: Locate the 810401 side brace tubes on the nose landing gear leg weldment under the belly of the aircraft and near the exhaust collector. Figure 1: Belly View Figure 2: 812601 Nose Landing Gear Weldment Step 2: Using a piece of sandpaper, sand off the white powder coat until roughly a ¼ inch circle of bare metal is visible in an accessible spot on the 810401 side brace tube. (see Figure 3). Figure 3: Detail A Light Sport Aircraft SERVICE BULLETIN VASHON AIRCRAFT 14929 141st PL NE Woodinville, WA 98072 425.527.9944 SB-R7-07-01-24-1.Docx SUPPORT@VASHONAIRCRAFT.COM Page 3 of 4 Step 3: Plug in the impact device into the display, set the hardness test device to measure “Steel & Cast Steel”, and to set the metric to “HRC”. (see Figure 4 below) Figure 4: Hardness Tester Display Step 4: On the impact device, slide the sleeve all the way down to load the impact body. At this point, the impact device is ready to be triggered. Figure 5: Impact Device Sleeve Figure 6: Loading Impact Device Light Sport Aircraft SERVICE BULLETIN VASHON AIRCRAFT 14929 141st PL NE Woodinville, WA 98072 425.527.9944 SB-R7-07-01-24-1.Docx SUPPORT@VASHONAIRCRAFT.COM Page 4 of 4 Step 5: Place the impact device base directly on top of the bare metal that was sanded. NOTE: It is important that the axis of the device is placed perpendicular to the tube and that you and the device are stable during the test. Push the release button on the top of the device. You will hear the plunger impact the tube and bounce back a few times. The display will then show the hardness reading. If it registers on the HRC scale, a number will be present. If it does not register, then a downwards arrow will be present with no number (see Figure 8). *If a hardness value does not show on the display, test a few more times to make sure the device is mounted firmly on the surface of the tube and not pointing at an angle. (Each impact test requires the device to be triggered by sliding the sleeve down, as described in Step 4). Figure 7: HRC Test on Tube Figure 8: Non-registered hardness Step 6: If the test registers on the HRC scale, then that tube can be considered conforming, and this process must be repeated for the adjacent 810401 tube on the weldment. If either one of the 810401 tubes do not register on the HRC scale after testing multiple times, then the nose landing gear leg needs to be replaced. Contact Vashon Aircraft for parts procurement and install per the aircraft maintenance manual. Step 7: Coat the exposed, bare metal with a high gloss, white paint (Only applicable if both 810401 tubes are conforming and the weldment does not need to be replaced). Step 8: Make a logbook entry indicating compliance to this service bulletin and notify Vashon Aircraft of the results. LABOR REQUIRED: 0.5 hrs for Inspection only 7 hrs for nose landing gear replacement (if applicable)