Marc Fries

The proposed AD would affect 808 Thrush aircraft. A large portion of these would need to address a spar replacement within a very short period of time, overwhelming a limited number of repair facilities. Most have a short "down time" during their season in which to do this type of repair. Many operators will run out of flying hours before a repair facility can do the work, or even get the kits from the factory. An extension to the replacement time (with continued inspections) needs to be incorporated into the AD if an operator is "waiting in line" to have the work done on his aircraft.