Marc Fries

The FAA is giving unwaranted favoritism to Taylorcraft Aviation of Brownsville, Texas by requiring (short of an AMOC) in Compliance paragraphs (e)(3)(i)(ii) that all repair schemes be "obtained" from them. Repairs to welded tube steel airframes is a simple task for many experienced IA's. Acceptable techniques are already given to us in AC43.13, which is FAA approved for major repairs when determined by the user to be appropriate, as in the case of a 1940's era aircraft. The aircraft manufacture (when and while they still exist) is a good source for repair procedures, but the FAA certainly shouldn't make them the only (by legal regulation) source on simple aircraft. The Compliance paragraph should read "(e)...do the following: (i) repair using acceptable methods and practices." or something similar. Furthermore, inspecting the attach fitting is already a requirement of an annual/100hr. inspection as in FAR 43 appendix D, and cracks or corrosion in a airframe is what any experienced IA is looking for, making this AD redundant.