Gulfstream Fall 2007

• Corrosion in Gulfstream Winglet Fitting Bores
• Protect Gear With Proper Aircraft Washing Technique
• Magnastar ARTU Reprogramming Deadline

Corrosion in Gulfstream Winglet Fitting Bores

— James Overheul

Several recent winglet attach hardware inspections have identified some moderate to severe corrosion in the winglet attach fitting bores.

In all cases the aircraft had been modified with the Cres hardware and sleeves. Corrosion had to be removed and multiple bores per aircraft had to be taken to their maximum repair drawing limitations. On one occasion an engineering disposition was required to address the corrosion remaining after the bore was taken to the maximum diameter. In all cases the corrosion was identified in the area between the opposing sleeves. To verify complete corrosion removal, we recommend an NDT of the area following corrosion removal.

The current Gulfstream Maintenance Manual chapter 5 inspection requirement for the GIIB, GIII, and GIV aircraft both on the Manufacturer’s Recommended Inspection Program (MRIP) and aircraft utilizing the MSG-3 MRB Report program is as follows: 144 months for the aircraft with Cres hardware installed; and 24 months for aircraft with Moly steel hardware installed. If your aircraft is utilizing the MSG-3 inspection program there may be more stringent repair limitations.

There may be several cases where a reduced inspection may be necessary to reduce the likelihood of extensive repairs/component replacement. For more details please contact me at 269.969.8477.

Protect Gear With Proper Aircraft Washing Technique

— James Overheul

Several recent expensive landing gear inspections can be partly contributed to improper cleaning of the aircraft landing gear.

Pressure washing of the landing gear is not recommended due to the adverse effects on aircraft components. Moisture and cleaning agents can be forced into areas resulting in increased maintenance cost.

The Gulfstream Maintenance Manual has an Aircraft Washing procedure in chapter 12. Even after following these procedures it may not be enough to protect from getting moisture and cleaning agents in areas of concern. There are several additional steps you can take to minimize this, such as:

1. Lubricate gear prior to cleaning in addition to after as defined in chapter 12.
2. Verify integrity of sealant in key locations prior to cleaning.
3. Verify all moisture and cleaning agents are not present in areas not protected by CIC, grease and sealants.

For more details please contact me at 269.969.8477.

Magnastar ARTU Reprogramming Deadline

— Jim Wheaton

Teledyne has released information stating the Magnastar ARTU will need to be reprogrammed from a 3 MHz bandwidth transceiver to a 1 MHz transceiver by end of December 2007. Dealers are instructed to reference Magnastar Service Bulletin #15. This bandwidth change can be accomplished with software obtained from Teledyne utilizing the same MMTI software program and the Magnastar tester MMT cable as all previous software updates. The cost to perform the software update is $1500, the same as all previous software loads to the ARTU.

For more information on this procedure, please contact me at 269.968.8150.

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