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Europa-List: Outrigger leg failure

Subject: Europa-List: Outrigger leg failure
From: jim.naylor@talktalk.net
Date: Fri, 14 May 2010 07:51:03
=0A=0AWe have had a recent failure of the nylon outrigger le
gs on our mono. The material seems to have gone brittle an
d simply snapped, despite 14 years of service during which t
hey have been subject to quite sever bending on numerous occ
asions when landing and taxing on rough strips without inciden
t. They failed towards the end of a landing run on reasona
bly smooth grass after a smooth touchdown on a lightly loade
d aircraft, so they were not subjected to any abnormal loads
. There is no sign of previous cracks or damage, they have
 simply snapped like match sticks. =0AI recall reading about 
some failures in cold climates, but have not heard of any 
problems in warmer climes. As most people know we have had 
a quite severe winter in the UK as far as I can remember
 the coldest since our Europa has been flying. So the ques
tion is, has the properties of the material changed due to 
being exposed to sub zero temperatures, or has it work harde
ned or age hardened? On the day they failed the temperature 
was about 12C, so one would expect the material to have re
gained its flexibility.=0AAny one else had problems?=0AAlso any 
alternate material suggestions?=0AJim=0A=0A=0A


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