In 2014 Van’s Aircraft put out a service bulletin for potential cracking in the horizontal stabilizers of the RV-6, RV-7 and RV-8 series of aircraft. While the service bulletin calls for annual inspections in this area, I recommend more frequent checks for those aircraft that are regularly performing aerobatics. The crack shown in the photo was discovered two months after a condition inspection.
In Case You Missed it
Ask the DAR
DAR Mel Asberry clarifies what notification the FAA expects when a prop has been changed. His advice? Treat it like a major mod.
A Futuristic Anachronism
Ultimate experimenter Paul Lipps has used his own homebuilt, a Lancair 320, as a test bed for his many innovations, which include reflexed flaps, an ultra-long pitot tube for more accurate readings, a solar-powered fan for the cockpit, a cowl scoop for ultra cooling of the magneto, extremely close clearances between the spinner and the prop, and a one-of-a-kind propeller.
Whats New
ZuluLog offers a pilot logbook for Android devices, Zenith and UL Power announce a firewall-forward kit for the CH 650, and Garmin introduces the aera 796, its new flagship portable navigator.