Manufacture or repair of a composite cowling

What is the procedure for this, in legal and physical terms?

Replacement fibreglass cowlings for most SEPs cost best part of 10k, and it would seem possible to get replicas made by a classic car body restoration facility. But how would you legalise it?

Under FAA Part 91 you could do it under the owner manufactured parts concession. One article is here. However, what data is needed to support this? Presumably, provably identical materials.

This company is selling Socata wingtips, which AIUI are installed “with a 337” which obviously means a Major Alteration and, absent STC, is likely to be a Field Approval. But then you are buying a finished item which is a different thing in paperwork terms. A PMA is the traditional route for this sort of thing.

What about under EASA?

Warmest air ever and coldest air ever

Today I saw -4C at FL170.

A few years ago I saw -37C at FL190.

Almost the same time of the year.

Is the Jetprop finished / doomed in the long term, due to the G1000?

One owner told me that the STC covers only the Avidyne version, so as the G1000 population displaces the Avidyne population, there will eventually not be any airframes left in a reasonable condition and with supported avionics.

Is there some fundamental reason why the STC cannot cover the G1000 version? Or is it Garmin refusing to allow the G1000 to be used on the Jetprop-converted airframe and, if so, can they even do that? I recall reading of a G600 STC for some turboprop which was done totally without Garmin co-operation.

How is the conversion business going? Is it a steady business, with new conversions still being done?

Also are the more recent airframes stronger? One persistent thing about the Jetprop, especially coming from Piper Meridian and TBM dealers , is that the rivets in the tail keep falling out, etc, etc…

Avionics work during the virus shutdown

Has anyone been getting anything done.

It seems an idea opportunity because

• “maintenance” flights have been allowed more or less everywhere
• avionics installers usually work alone on a plane
• the customer is not usually around at all during the job (actually that’s a BAD idea, but that’s how it usually works out, due to distance)

Fuel efficiency in cruise

No, not what you might think. Following achimha’s apparent surprise at the Meridian’s fuel burn, I thought the following is an interesting exercise.

Type:
Fuel burn at normal cruise:
Burn/nm at cruise TAS:

I’ll start.

P46T
276PPH/152lph
0.563 l/nm