A service bulletin regarding the TruTrak autopilot was added to the maintenance page. Click here to see the service bulletin on the TruTrak website.

CTSW service bulletin concerning Stablilizer Rear Wall Stiffening
SB-ASTM-CTSW-07

CTLS Rudder Centering Fork – Control Stop Replacement
SB-ASTM-CTLS-02
SB-ASTM-CTLS-03

Click here to download packing instructions for creating a crate to ship the stabilizer to one of our service centers for the work of SB-ASTM-CTSW-07 to be done if you are not close enough to fly for doing the work.

On the CTsw and CTLS we use several methods to determine fuel levels for proper pre-flight planning and in-flight management.

On the CTsw in Classic configuration we use the aluminum dipstick as the basic method for checking fuel, with the clear plastic sight gauges as an in-flight back up for determining fuel remaining in the tanks.

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An official factory Service Notification been issued today on the subject of Information on the usage of Ethanol blended fuel. It provides specific directions to follow if you are using or have used Ethanol blended fuel. Much of what is stated duplicates the earlier Ethanol notice posted here in the FDUSA Owners section but it is formalized and now has recommendations that must be followed.

The Service Notification is in a new format that is soon to be described in detail on the maintenance support page. The format may look familiar to those of you who have seen the revised Rotax notices for the 912S engines. The idea is to make it easier for an owner or repairman to make certain that a specific model of Flight Design aircraft is in compliance with the factory maintenance and airworthiness notices. It may look a little confusing at first glance, but it is really quite simple. If you own a CTsw you will only need to look at notices for the CTsw and not notices for the original CT and older CT2K.

We will be updating the older notices to the new format and removing some that are no longer needed in the near future.

Ethanol has been in the news a lot lately and, as the result of phase separation, is believed to have contributed to the failure of a fuel filter installed in a CTSW.

Ethanol absorbs water and blends well with gasoline. However, too much water will overwhelm the ethanol’s ability to remain blended with the gasoline. Because ethanol mixes easier with water than gasoline, it will separate from gasoline and accumulate with the water at the lowest point of a system. The product in the tank will no longer be a homogeneous blend of ethanol and gasoline, but two layers of product; a layer of gasoline on top and an ethanol/water layer on the bottom. This is referred to as “phase separation.”

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On CTLS aircraft, the metal spring damper in the nose gear assembly was replaced by a polyurethane element. What it does is reduce re-bound after a drop in on the nose wheel. It also stops the nose wheel suspension from bottoming out (going clunk). It is standard on the LS and was drop tested and certified.

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As many of you may be aware, one of the production changes requested on newer CT’s distributed in North America was the addition of a firewall blanket and oil hose sleeving in the engine compartment in order to provide additional fire protection and reduced cabin noise. These changes were implemented in late 2006. The original firewall is carbon fiber coated with fireproof epoxy resin.

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