CASA has set up a new project to look at the engineering assumptions and conditions that allow piston engines to run beyond a manufacturer's recommended overhaul period.
CASA says an assessment of the latest amendment of the Piston Engine Continuing Airworthiness Requirements directive shows some of the original engineering assumptions on which the directive is based are no longer valid.
“A number of these engineering assumptions date back to the 1940s,” the Regulator says in its latest newsletter. “The assessment was carried out in the light of 20 years of data from service difficulty reports, as well as an Australian Transport Safety Bureau report on aircraft engine failures.
“The project reviewing these issues will ensure new requirements clearly set out CASA’s position on piston engine overhauls. It will also look at where these requirements should be located, as it is no longer appropriate to set them out in an airworthiness directive. A better location for the requirements may be in the manual of standards for Civil Aviation Safety Regulation Part 90.”
To find out more about CASA’s piston engine overhaul project click here.
The six-cylinder Jabiru 3300cc engine. (Jabiru)
