SERVICE BULLETIN #50

DATE:                                    18 August 1997
SUBJECT:                              Main Wing Spars

APPLICABILITY:                     All Pulsar aircraft manufactured by Aero Designs, Inc. with composite wing spars

COMPLIANCE:                       Mandatory

FROM:                                   SkyStar Aircraft Engineering

It has recently come to our attention that some composite spars in Pulsars sold and manufactured by Aero Designs were incorrectly constructed at the factory and are not airworthy. Before continued op­eration, inspect your aircraft’s spars and do not operate the aircraft if it is found that the aircraft was built with defective spars. These defective spars could structurally fail in flight, resulting in injury and death.

If the spars were manufactured properly, the cap on the top of the spar will be thicker than the cap on the bottom, as shown in the illustration on the following page. On completed aircraft, the wings may need to be either partially or fully removed to permit adequate inspection. When the root end of the spar can be clearly seen, carefully measure the vertical thickness of the upper and lower spar caps. If the vertical thickness of the upper spar cap is less than that of the lower cap, the spar is defective and should not be considered airworthy. Under no circumstances should an aircraft be flown with a defective spar.

Through its participation in the broadcast and collection of information relating to the spar inspection issue, SkyStar is attempting to assist Aero Designs in the notification to all Aero Designs Pulsar owners on a safety-related matter and to facilitate communication between affected owners and the manufac­turer, Aero Designs. Please report any spars which appear to have been manufactured incorrectly to Frank Miller or David Snell at SkyStar immediately at 208-454-2444.

At the current time there is no recommended field fix for this problem. We are currently in contact with Aero Designs to learn what they determine is an appropriate course of action on affected spars.