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Thread: SA0009 progress

  1. #21
    Senior Member randylervold's Avatar
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    Default Re: SA0009 progress

    UPDATE from Yakima:

    This afternoon we reviewed the DER's analysis of last week's flight test data then moved on to a review of the practical considerations (ease of installation, manufacturability, cost, etc.) of the final two designs. We chose the preferred design all things considered and set the remainder of the process in motion.

    The chosen design will look much like the prototype pictured above but will have a spherical bearing pressed into the stainless steel fitting thus allowing the wire freedom to move in any direction. You won't really see it when viewed from the outside, and the stainless steel clevis and brass wire fittings will look essentially the same as pictured. Below is recap of what we know and what we don't as of today:

    • Retrofit design locked as of today
    • Most of the parts will be manufactured here at CC, internal drawings will be completed by the end of the week and manufacturing of parts will begin. A swing shift will be added in the machine shop for this purpose.
    • The flying wires are sourced from an outside vendor. The wire order will be released tomorrow once a bit more fine tuning is done on the exact length spec. The first release of 100 ship sets has a lead time of approximately 2-3 weeks.
    • Retrofit instructions are being written and photographed currently, and I believe a video of the process is even being shot.
    • Though we don't have a final price I can commit that the parts kit will be under $400. That will be our internal cost on the kit and will not include any of the engineering costs which have totaled well into six figures.
    • I don't yet have a date when we'll be able to start shipping, but I would estimate the first sets to ship later this month. I know that's vague, it's the best estimate we can make at this point.


    I will try to get some accurate drawings of the final design posted to this forum by the end of the week so you can at least see what the final solution looks like, and will certainly post other info such as exact cost and ship dates as we have it.

    There's no question we won't be able to ship nearly 300 kits simultaneously. As relayed previously we'll be using our new web store for fulfillment in a first-ordered-first-shipped manner. HERE is a link to the item if you haven't yet entered your order. As mentioned in the initial Service Alert, aircraft under warranty will be covered fully by CC. Jeff Glab, our Customer Support manager, and David Bingham, our Parts and Accessories Manager, will be managing the fulfillment process.

    I am making this post with only partial information to hopefully reduce at least some of the anxiety this issue has caused with the idea that some information is better than none. Please bear with us, we'll get there!
    Randy Lervold

  2. #22
    Senior Member turbopilot's Avatar
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    Default Re: SA0009 progress

    Quote Originally Posted by randylervold View Post
    UPDATE from Yakima:

    The chosen design will look much like the prototype pictured above but will have a spherical bearing pressed into the stainless steel fitting thus allowing the wire freedom to move in any direction.
    Thanks for the update Randy. Glad to see the addition of a spherical bearing. Makes a lot of sense given the design.
    Bob Anderson, CC11-00435, N94RA

  3. #23
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    phoenix,az
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    Default Re: SA0009 progress

    Randy - thanks for your update, great to hear the progress. Apologizes if this has already been answered. I understand the re-design was caused by a failure of the flying wire. However I am not really clear of the root cause. Is it that a particular flight condition over stresses the current flying wires past their design limits or was their a design issue with the current wires that meant they failed below their design limits, or something completely different. From the flight test results I would really like to understand if there are particular maneuvers which cause higher loads and should be avoided ?

    As for the cost, of course no one likes paying but I appreciate your stance of passing on the material costs only and not the R&D costs. I was a Cirrus owner from new for 10 years and saw a similar number of SBs. There were bad feeling amongst the owners that the R&D costs of improving the designs were past on in the SBs kits. I think your approach is very fair.

    Robert

  4. #24
    Junior Member
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    Hillsboro Oregon
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    Default Re: SA0009 progress

    Randy, Jim, Eric & Cub Crafters crew, Thanks for the update, as a FBO I know how cost continue on, and the sooner the fix is completed the sooner we all can go on, with a great aircraft.

    Bob @ Twin Oaks Airpark Inc.

  5. #25
    Junior Member
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    Fruitland ID
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    Default Re: SA0009 progress

    I am presuming that the two known failures were on the top side of the stabilizer. I also presume that the fix will create a new attachment for the underside wires. What about the airframe (tail) connectors? I am curious about the condition of the stabilizers on the aircraft that had wire failures. Was there any damage, distortion, immobilization of stabilizer and or elevator?

  6. #26
    Senior Member Centmont's Avatar
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    Default Re: SA0009 progress

    Well done guys. R
    Ralph Rogers
    Owner: TheCubWorks
    www.TheCubWorks.com
    CCSS #142 N123MR
    I have always felt the supercub is one thing mankind got right the first time but that there were better materials and methods to build them. CubCrafters products are proof I was right.

  7. #27
    Senior Member carlconti's Avatar
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    Default Re: SA0009 progress

    Randy,

    Thanks for the update. Thanks to the entire crew working on this problem.

    I admire the process and the commitment to excellence that is so typical of Cubcrafters. There is no doubt in my mind that this issue will soon be behind us (pun intended).

    Great job!

    regards, Carl

  8. #28
    Senior Member
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    Default Re: SA0009 progress

    +1 for Carl, especially the pun!
    Made my morning.
    Bill

  9. #29
    Senior Member Springloaded's Avatar
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    jupiter FL.
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    Default Re: SA0009 progress

    "Though we don't have a final price I can commit that the parts kit will be under $400. That will be our internal cost on the kit and will not include any of the engineering costs which have totaled well into six figures."

    Thanks Jim/Randy
    Cubcrafters has been very generous to me with parts in the past. That's sounds more than reasonable to me.
    Chuck

  10. #30
    Senior Member cityrancher's Avatar
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    Apr 2013
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    Walla Walla
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    Default Re: SA0009 progress

    Fair enough. Standing by for the video and pictures. Thanks to all the team for the hard work.

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