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Stabilator Nick: Cosmetic?


Andy

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While washing the CT, I discovered a V-shaped nick on the underside of the horizontal stabilator, pilot's side.  Photo is attached.  It measures about 1/4" from one end font the "V" to the other and 1/8" at its widest point.  After looking closely at it, it doesn't appear to completely penetrate the composite.  For the moment, I'm assessing this as "cosmetic" as long as I don't see any further degradation or stress crack growth.  Is there any reason anyone has for considering this more serious than that? If not, I intend to wait until the next "annual" in Mar 16 to go after a repair, assuming I don't see any change.  Also, if anyone thinks I need to get my A&P here to do any kind of temp repair until then, I'd appreciate hearing about it, and any specifics you can give me would be very helpful.  Thanks.post-393-0-11055400-1442185790_thumb.jpg

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Thanks, Bill.  I did see that and will respond this evening.  Thanks to everyone else who also responded.

 

The chip is mainly gelcoat loss, though I do think there has been some penetration of the carbon fibre, maybe 20%-30%.  It doesn't go all the way through and you can tell a huge difference between this nick and the water drain holes mentioned earlier.  I'm not terribly worried about this but will see if there is some inexpensive way to get it repaired around here as able; my closest "composite repair specialist" (if you mean FD approved facility) is 3 hrs away by CT; while I do my annuals there, I'm not convinced this warrants the kind of time and expense going there takes.  (We used to have a shop on the field that did composite work but they closed recently; not sure about the other shops here but have one or two I want to talk to plus a Rotax certified A&P plugged into the CT community on the west side of Houston I'll chat with this morning.) Frankly, I've covered the area with "go fast" tape for now to help do some "load shedding", keep the dirt and water out, and protect it from further "debris".

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I would think the biggest problem would be crack propagation at the corners, only a problem if it penetrates as Roger mentioned.  You could stop drill the ends or just drill it out to a single round hole if it's small, but probably best to let a composite specialist look at it in that case. 

 

If it's SLSA you should not modify by drilling any part of the plane yourself.  Take it to an A&P if you have concern and just get it repaired.  Why wait?  You said you are gonna do it anyway at annual time.

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If it's SLSA you should not modify by drilling any part of the plane yourself.  Take it to an A&P if you have concern and just get it repaired.  Why wait?  You said you are gonna do it anyway at annual time.

 

I guess I wasn't clear.  I wasn't saying he should try a repair himself.  I was just outlining a potential way to mitigate crack formation.  As I said, a composite specialist needs to be consulted if there is significant damage to the fiber.

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If it's SLSA you should not modify by drilling any part of the plane yourself.  Take it to an A&P if you have concern and just get it repaired.  Why wait?  You said you are gonna do it anyway at annual time.

 

While this should be a simple repair, I'm going to be a bit picky about what A&P does the work.  A botched job could result in a more extensive repair, one that might have to be done at an Flight Design approved service center.  So, I've got to have some confidence that the A&P knows what he's doing and is plugged into the FD community before going there.  My nearest FD approved center is two plus hours away by air; so it isn't something I'm going to just jump into, especially when there's no hurry to get it done.  I have my annuals done there, so waiting may save me more than just an extra trip.

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While this should be a simple repair, I'm going to be a bit picky about what A&P does the work.  A botched job could result in a more extensive repair, one that might have to be done at an Flight Design approved service center.  So, I've got to have some confidence that the A&P knows what he's doing and is plugged into the FD community before going there.  My nearest FD approved center is two plus hours away by air; so it isn't something I'm going to just jump into, especially when there's no hurry to get it done.  I have my annuals done there, so waiting may save me more than just an extra trip.

 

By A&P I mean one with experience repairing carbon fiber and fiberglass hulls.  Lone Mountain in Vegas has such mechanics.  But you should not modify the aircraft yourself unless you want to tangle with safety, insurance and the manufacturer warranty.

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