Discus CS grounded in France

French aviation authorities (DGAC) have just grounded the Discus CS,
because of an in-flight wing failure :
http://195.68.62.11/GSAC/ad_cns.nsf/...iques?OpenView

Apparently, it is not the case in Germany (nothing on the Schempp-Hirth
or LBA websites)

Has anyone got more news ?

Cheers

Marc TILL
Orsay, France
http://perso.club-internet.fr/mtill/
http://www.planeur-chartres.org/

Per the French Airworthiness Directive, "separation of the wing during
normal operating conditions, possibly the result of a manufacturing
defect."


Marc Till ] wrote in message ...
French aviation authorities (DGAC) have just grounded the Discus CS,
because of an in-flight wing failure :
http://195.68.62.11/GSAC/ad_cns.nsf/...iques?OpenView

Apparently, it is not the case in Germany (nothing on the Schempp-Hirth
or LBA websites)

Has anyone got more news ?

Cheers

Marc TILL
Orsay, France
http://perso.club-internet.fr/mtill/
http://www.planeur-chartres.org/

it looks a bit suspicious that the latest incidents
concerned gliders out of Schemp Hirth's Chechia
licence fabrication only.
CH

----- Original Message -----
From: "Chris OCallaghan"
Newsgroups: rec.aviation.soaring
Sent: Wednesday, September 10, 2003 12:29 AM
Subject: Discus CS grounded in France


Per the French Airworthiness Directive, "separation of the wing during
normal operating conditions, possibly the result of a manufacturing
defect."

My "suspicion" is that quality control broke down at the Chechia
factory. The quesiton on my mind is, "For how long and to what
degree?" Two gliders from the same factory breaking up in flight in a
single season deserves an explantion from the factory. Since we bet
our lives on these products, that's the least Schempp-Hirth can do.
Even a "We're looking into it" would be appreciated.

"CH" wrote in message ...
it looks a bit suspicious that the latest incidents
concerned gliders out of Schemp Hirth's Chechia
licence fabrication only.
CH

----- Original Message -----
From: "Chris OCallaghan"
Newsgroups: rec.aviation.soaring
Sent: Wednesday, September 10, 2003 12:29 AM
Subject: Discus CS grounded in France


Per the French Airworthiness Directive, "separation of the wing during
normal operating conditions, possibly the result of a manufacturing
defect."

Got this second hand info. The scenario goes something like this

Workers A, B & C don't spread enough glue (cabacil) onto the wing just before
the mating process.

Inspector D, didn't feel it was necessary to have a look, saying, "you guys
have been doing this long enough to know what your doing"

Pilot E, has a rude awakening. He may have just completed a loop when things
started shedding from his sailplane.
JJ Sinclair

I better check the spar splices in the 1-20 wing again! With a red line of
75mph, you can't be too careful.


Same happens as with a wooden glider.......

SF.

Same happens as with a wooden glider.......


JJ knows that...after all, wood and fiberglass are both composite aircraft;-)

Jim Vincent
CFIG
N483SZ

In article ,
TOPSPAM says...

Same happens as with a wooden glider.......


JJ knows that...after all, wood and fiberglass are both composite aircraft;-)

Not really. Wood is a material used "as is", while composite aircraft
mix at least two materials together; e.g., epoxy and fiberglass.
Gluing or bolting materials together doesn't qualify as "composite".

You probably knew that...
--
!Replace DECIMAL.POINT in my e-mail address with just a . to reply
directly

Eric Greenwell
Richland, WA (USA)

Ahhh, now that is a completely different question. The material will last a
long, long time but if they haven't put any in the structure then all bets
are off!

Ian


"JJ Sinclair" wrote in message
...
Ian wrote a lifespan of 50000 ( yes
fifty
thousand ) hours with a high
level of safety" so your 1000 hour Nimbus is hardly out of the running in
period!

But what if they didn't use enough glue?

JJ Sinclair

Eric,

Concrete and steel bonded together consitute a 'composite'
structure. Steel girders used for bridges have steel
studs welded on top flanges of the girders. The concrete
deck is poured and bonds to the girders with the help
of the numerous studs. The Portland cement in the
concrete is the glue which makes the bonding possible.
So, in a way, the concrete and the steel are 'glued'
to each other. Calculating the strength of the structure
takes the 'composite' structure into account.

Ray Lovinggood
Carrboro, North Carolina, USA

At 02:42 10 September 2003, Eric Greenwell wrote:
In article ,
says...

Same happens as with a wooden glider.......


JJ knows that...after all, wood and fiberglass are
both composite aircraft;-)

Not really. Wood is a material used 'as is', while
composite aircraft
mix at least two materials together; e.g., epoxy and
fiberglass.
Gluing or bolting materials together doesn't qualify
as 'composite'.

You probably knew that...
--
!Replace DECIMAL.POINT in my e-mail address with just
a . to reply
directly

Eric Greenwell
Richland, WA (USA)