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Aviation History
1994
1994 - 1003.PDF
LETTERS A European JAR leveller SIR — Europe's JAR 145 (Ap proved Maintenance Organ isations) closely follows the US FAR Part 145 - Repair Stations in both numbering and format; in fact JAR 145 is based almost verbatim on FAR Part 145. In the USA, some 400 cen tres have applied for JAR 145 approval. The inspection for approval will be carried out by the Federal Aviation Admini stration, which is, I under stand, working on a bilateral agreement to agree "mutual ac ceptability" without approval. As the FAA is responsible to the US Government, it is not possible to have a bilateral agreement with the European Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA), a non-government body. In the UK, companies which have JAR 145 approval find it difficult to obtain FAA Part 145 approval — although they are based on the same format. I note that a JAR 145 ap proved component-overhaul organisation in the UK over hauled a Shorts 360 undercar riage and shipped it to the USA. The FAA would not ac cept JAR-145 release documen- New rules should take the total propulsion system into account Take heed with SIR — I read the summary of the Australian CAA (ACAA) discussion paper on approv ing single-engine instrument- flight-rules/night passenger- operations (Flight Interna tional, 23-29 March, P26). The article does not quote any operator's arguments for the liberalisation of single- engine operating rules. Objec tive discussion is important for the correct decision in Australia and elsewhere. Un fortunately, statistics pre sented in the ACAA discus sion paper and in the infor mation paper from the Aus tralian Bureau of Air Safety Investigation (BASI) were ex cluded from the article. In particular, the ACAA paper indicates that "the 64,4062 Federal Express Cessna Caravan fleet hours" include seven "inflight engine shut-downs/failures". The BASI paper itemises Austra lian Army Pilatus Porter statistics, apparently kept only since 1980. It says that, from 1980 to retirement, 53,500 flying hours saw one single engines total engine failure and 24 partial power losses; in total, four accidents. As the Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 is a shaft- powered engine, a roller- bearing failure should reason ably be categorised as a core engine failure. The Transport Canada Safety Review Team identifies statistical discrepan cies and believes that not all information on engine mal functions has been reported to P&WC, or recorded by Cessna on the Caravan. The decision to proceed with single-engine opera tional liberalisation should be based upon a technical study into the reliability of the total propulsion system, and extrapolation of the cost- weighted all-accident-rate be cause of propulsion-system component failures, from a multi-engine to a mixed multi-/single-engine fleet. ANTHONY BROWN CHIEF TEST PILOT/AERODYNAMICIST Australian Flight Test Services Limited South Australia tation and insisted that the undercarriage was stripped and re-built under cover of FAA Part 145 approval before it could be released for fitment to a US-registered aircraft. It is interesting that this organisa tion applied for JAR 145 ap proval and, 18 months later, no progress has been made be cause the FAA does not have the staff to deal with it. We hear a lot these days about "level playing fields", but there is not one for European component overhaulers which wish to trade with the USA. JAR 145 would appear to work in favour of the USA. Companies applying for JAR 145 approval in the USA should be subject to a JAA- approved airworthiness inspec tion — not FAA inspection or approval — until such time as joint approval and acceptability of JAR 145 and FAA Part 145 is negotiated and agreed. Let us have a "level playing field" for European component overhaulers wishing to com pete with US companies — and ensure it remains level. CLIFFORD TONKIN, AMRAeS Hemel Hempstead, UK Just a bunch of eccentrics? SIR — Your report of an inci dent which involved the detachment of an engine from the wing of a Northwest Air lines Boeing 747 (Flight In ternational, 9-15 March, P8) highlighted a charming Eng lish eccentricity. The article refers to "...the port outboard engine..." when, to comply with international convention, it should have been referred to as the number one engine. Nobody uses those quaint nautical terms so beloved of Second World War movies and Roger Bacon. Life gets very complicated if you ask some one to change the starboard wing undercarriage on a 747, aft port wheel. It's much easier to say "change number fifteen". TIM WOOD Quality Assurance Department Royal Brunei Airlines Brunei WHAT'S ON Flight International Conference: Datalinking in Civil Aviation — What Happens Next? 5-6 May, Paris France. Contact: The Conference Desk, First Europe Communications; tel: +44 (71) 490 3318; fax: +44 (71) 490 3319. RAeS events: HUMS - Avionics Im plementation 14 April; History of Pilotless Aircraft 19 April, London UK. Contact: Conference Office, The Royal Aeronautical Society, 4 Hamil ton Place, London W1V 0BQ; tel: +44 (71) 499 3515; fax: +44 (70 493 1438. 50th Anniversary Benefit of the "Connie" (Lockheed Constellation) 17 April, Kansas City Downtown Airport, Missouri, USA. Contact: Save A Connie, 480 Richards Road, Kansas City, Missouri 64116, USA; tel: +1 (816) 421 3401. Standardising maintenance SIR —P Smith is right in pro posing that the manufacturer's recommended maintenance instructions should be adopted as the European Joint Aviation Authorities standard for light aircraft (Common schedule essential, Flight International, 16-22 March, P39). Implementation is never as straightforward, however. For current- and later-generation light aircraft, the manufac turer's recommendations reflect valid worldwide experience and may readily be approved for use by "average" operators. For "older" aircraft we could continue to use the UK Civil Aviation Authority-produced Light Aircraft Maintenance Schedule (LAMS). For aircraft whose usage is different from the "average", a schedule can be specifically compiled. Although there are some is sues which need to be ad dressed, the schedule, whether LAMS or the maker's recom mendations, is one aspect of light-aircraft maintenance which we can action now. A. DALTON Head of Aircraft Maintenance Approvals Safety Regulation Group CAA London, UK The opinions expressed in this page do not necessarily represent those of the Editor. Flight International cannot undertake to publish letters without name and address and reserves the right to select or edit letters. FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 13 - 19 April, 1994 49
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