In the frame of the yearly inspection of the LS4, SZT pointed out that there may be some repair needs on the airbrakes of our LS4 according to TN 4043. Decision was taken to postpone this repair by 6 month, which is in line with the TN.
I took the chance on a rainy day during my May flying camp in Bad Neustadt (there were lots of it) to let this be checked by another LTB (http://www.flugzeug-eichelsdoerfer.de/). They could not identify any problem with the airbrakes and I received an inspection certificate. It states that the LS4 successfully passed the checks mentioned in TN 4043 and that no further activity is needed. The bearings of the airbrakes were covered in grease by the inspector to protect them from corrosion and it was recommended to perform this work every year before putting the glider into winter storage.
It was also mentioned by the inspector that the airbrake lock is not very tight and might have to be adjusted in future. We shall check if the airbrakes unlock themself in high speed flying (250 km/h). If yes, the lock has to be adjusted, otherwise not. I did not have the chance to check this, so whenever you fly at high speed, just be prepared that the airbrakes may come out of the lock unintentionally. If this happens to you, please provide corrosponding feedback.
During the camp we also identified that the Mylar-band of the stabilizer is missing, which was not identified in the yearly inspection. It is not clear if it was removed by intention or just went off due to normal usage. Nevertheless it is not needed for save operation of the plane, but just increases the drag when it’s missing. Dieter agereed to have this fixed during his 2 weeks in Leibertingen.
Dirk