Federal Aviation Administration March 16, 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Quartz Mountain Aerospace, Inc. Model 11E airplanes. This proposed AD would require you to clean and lubricate the aileron pushrod bearings. This proposed AD results from reports of the aileron control stick force increasing and of the controls being very noisy. We are proposing this AD to detect and correct insufficient lubrication and residual metallic paint particles in the pushrod end ball joints, which could result in difficulty actuating aileron controls sometime during flight after takeoff. This condition could lead to difficulty controlling the airplane in flight.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above. This AD results from mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) issued by an aviation authority of another country to identify and correct an unsafe condition on an aviation product. The MCAI describes the unsafe condition as:

This amendment supersedes an existing airworthiness directive (AD) for MD Helicopters, Inc. (MDHI) model MD-900 helicopters that currently requires applying serial numbers to certain parts, increasing the life limit for various parts, maintaining a previously established life limit for a certain vertical stabilizer control system (VSCS) bellcrank assembly and bellcrank arm, and correcting the part number for the VSCS bellcrank arm. This amendment requires the same actions as the existing AD, except it reduces the life limit of the swashplate spherical slider bearing (slider bearing). It further corrects what was described as a ``bellcrank arm'' life limit in the current AD and correctly describes it as another ``bellcrank assembly'' life limit. This amendment is prompted by two reports of cracks in the slider bearing that occurred well before the previously increased retirement life of 2,030 hours time-in-service (TIS) was reached. The actions specified by this AD are intended to establish appropriate life limits for various parts, and to prevent fatigue failure of those parts and subsequent loss of control of the helicopter.