This notice of a Service Bulletin came to our club from COPA National. It concerns possible defective materials in aileron hinges that may be on your Cessna aircraft.
Here is the notification as sent from COPA:
If you’ve had the aileron hinges replaced on your high-wing Cessna in the last year they likely need to be inspected and possibly replaced. McFarlane Aviation Products has issued a Service Bulletin for hinges made between Feb. 22, 2019 and Jan. 3, 2020. Material defects have been discovered in some hinges made during that period and the job lots of the affected hinges are listed in the MSB. Because the numbers are on the inside of the hinge when installed, the job lots of the installed parts are best sourced from the maintenance logs.
If your airplane has the affected hinges, they must be disassembled and inspected within 25 hours or before July 7, 2020. If there are any extrusion cracks noted, the hinges have to be replaced. It’s a one-time inspection and no recurring inspections are required. The affected models are 150, 152, 170, 172, 175, 180, 182, 185, 205, and 210.
Further details in this article:
Replacement Cessna Hinges Could Be Defective: McFarlane
McFarlane Aviation, which provides a host of replacement parts for Cessna aircraft, has released Service Bulletin SB-10, Revision A, warning that there might be “material defects” in the extruded-aluminum hinges the company sells for Cessna ailerons. These defects could lead to cracking of the hinge. McFarlane says the hinges were produced between Feb. 22, 2019, and Jan. 2, 2020, and isolated to job lots JO55493, JO55519, JO56823, JO57775 and JO60003. (The number is stamped on the part.)
According to the company, “Disassembly and inspection of the McFarlane aileron hinge is mandatory and must be completed within the next 25 hours time-in-service (TIS) after February 7, 2020, or within the next 6 months after February 7, 2020, whichever comes first if the aileron hinge is one of the lots listed in section IV of this service bulletin. If the inspection identifies extrusion cracks or delamination of the hinge bulb, immediate replacement of the hinge is required prior to further flight.”
Inspection requires removal of the hinge pins and partial separation of the control surface from the airplane. A 10X magnifier can be used to detect the cracks. McFarlane is crediting customers with $50 for each aileron inspected and another $40 per aileron hinge for replacement of cracked parts.