Gidday,
Today I received a notification from the Australian CAA, that those of you
owning a Skyforce GPS in the UK may already know about, but anyone else may
not. To that end I have copied it below. Hope it helps someone.
SKYFORCE AVIONICS SKYMAP AND TRACKER II UNITS
INTRODUCTION
The Civil Aviation Authority of the United Kingdom has advised the Civil
Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) that a potentially unsafe condition may
exist in some Skyforce Avionics Skymap and Tracker II units with part
numbers SM2000 and TR2000 respectively. CASA has issued Airworhiness
Directive AD/RAD/67 which addresses this potentially unsafe condition.
However, because these units may be hand-held and are often removed from
the aricraft after use, and the Airworthiness Directive, when ussued
normally, may not be readily accessible to all owners/users of the units,
this AIC is issued to alert owners/users of the potentially unsafe condition.
AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVE
AD/RAD/67 requires that each unit be inspected in accordance with Skyforce
Avionics Alert Service Bulletin TRSY037C to detect the fitment of Nickel
Metal Hydride rechargeable batteries or Lithium batteries. If Nickel Metal
Hydride or Lithium batteries are fitted, they must be removed and replaced
with Nickel Cadmium rechargeable batteries or Alkaline batteries. The
removal of Nickel Metal Hydride rechargeable batteries is required because
certain types of these batteries when exposed to temperatures inexcess of
forty degrees Celsius may reverse polarity and produce a high voltage
capable of generating high temperatuees. This can, in some instances,
result in fracture of the reatining case of the battery and/or rapid
discharge in reverse through the electrical circuit to which it is
connected. Lithium batteries are also required to be removed from the units
as they constitute a hazard to the aircraft and its occupants. The
directive also requires the operational configuration of the units to be
checked if Nickel Cadmium rechargeable batteries of Alkaline batteries are
used.
Web reference is
<http://www.casa.gov.au/aw_std/AD/EQUIPMENT/RAD/Rad-067.htm>
Reg
Tony Renshaw
Reg
Tony Renshaw
Builder No.236
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