Hartmut Beil

I seem to remember the comment the other day about 5/6 accidents in the last 60 years due to perceived aileron flutter. At the very most they should be sending a Service Bulletin out to check these items instead of a full blown AD. The number of in-flight break ups don't correspond to the required AD. The suggested action should be and can be only as per recommendation. The accident that the AD responds of is by no means clearly identified as a failure of the control system. All the suggested action are something that every aircraft owner should have in his mind, but by making it mandatory with unclear definitions, and a mandatory report - findings or not the FAA puts a financial burden onto the owners with little to no gain for safety. The Maintainance manual and SB's for Ercoupes already gives clear limits for the control system. The only thing to make mandatory is to have it check during an annual inspection. That alone would give the desired gain in safety. Hartmut