Microlighters

Please can some-one assist me on this??

This is hypothetical but may have relevance depending on the answers

Say I damage my trike and undertake to repair it myself. In doing the repairs I find that a slight modification in the undercarriage, which was damaged, will improve on the current design. Can I do this and what is the procedure to follow? What are the repercussions if I don't follow this procedure?

Things that come to mind are:-
- Mod approval
- AP signing of approval
- Proving flights with approval
- New ATF

etc. etc....

Wart wrote:Please can some-one assist me on this??

This is hypothetical but may have relevance depending on the answers

Say I damage my trike and undertake to repair it myself. In doing the repairs I find that a slight modification in the undercarriage, which was damaged, will improve on the current design. Can I do this and what is the procedure to follow? What are the repercussions if I don't follow this procedure?

Things that come to mind are:-
- Mod approval
- AP signing of approval
- Proving flights with approval
- New ATF

etc. etc....

Hi Warren,

It's called owner supervised maintenance. There are many mods that take place on trikes, for example -

1. Fitting tundra tyres
2. Fitting disc brakes all round
3. Various boom tube inserts
4. Swopping one manufacturer's safety rings for another
5. Putting colour coded tape on safety rings
6. Fitting in-line fuel facet pumps
7. Installing radio / comms power supplies
8. Fitting Solo Wings wide tyres to Safari's
9. Additional fuel tanks
10. Breaker switches
11. Removing / installing oil injection
12. Upgrading suspension
13. Reversing and lengthening suspension bolts to accommodate a tow bar
14. Installing fuel management systems
15. Swopping one manufacturer's foot pedal rubbers for another
16. Etc.

The key lies in discussing it fully with your AP before commencement of a mod, having your AP check your work during and specifically signing out the mod in the plane's log book before the next flight. These mods will not affect ATF's etc. Because I believe that I am extra pedantic, I choose to orbit above the airfield for 30 minutes or so after any mod / work done on my trike.

To work without owner supervised maintenance and properly signed out work could impact on life and plane insurance. Only a fool would tread this path.

Certain mods would affect the flying characteristics of the trike for example in flight speed trim. Consequently these kind of mods may require a different sign-off process.

Glad that I could help you.

Regards
John ZU-sEXY

John,

Referring to your point 9, ie. Additional fuel tanks

What is deemed as 'adding', ie. if I strap an additional 30l tank to the bottom of the existing tank is a mod 'not' required ?? On the other hand if I replace the existing 50l with a 100l tank do I then need to do a mod report ??

In my view the second option is much 'safer' and a better option

Regards
Deon