McFarlane Aviation, Inc. has partnered with QMI, Inc. to now offer QMI’s STC’d Tail Cone Angle Replacement Kit and their STC’d Trim Wheel kit.

The Tail Cone Angle replacement kit addresses the repair of the tail cone reinforcement angle issue found in Cessna Owner Advisory: SEL-55-01 and is in AD2020-21-22.

Tail Cone Angle Kit: https://www.mcfarlaneaviation.com/produ ... E%2520KIT/
• Extend the inspection time from 500 flight hours/5 years to 1500 flight hours/10 years
• Save thousands on parts and labor
• Short installation time
• Kit includes everything needed for installation on both sides

Trim Wheel Replacement Kit:
https://www.mcfarlaneaviation.com/produ ... L%2520KIT/

• Hard anodized aluminum for durability
• Take the load off the roll pin
• Eliminate shearing

See Bushwheel Bill’s videos on these products here: https://www.youtube.com/user/McFarlaneAviation


“With McFarlane’s reputation for high-quality parts, superior customer service, and their expansive reach in the aviation community, it was an ideal fit for QMI to come on board.” said Bill Duncan, President of QMI. “With McFarlane’s one-stop-shop, general aviation enthusiasts can always find premium aviation products at an affordable price.”

Located in the Heartland, at the Vinland Aerodrome in Baldwin City, Kansas, McFarlane is a diversified manufacturing company that has been providing affordable, high-quality aircraft components for over 50 years. McFarlane believes in high-quality products at affordable prices; with over 30,000 FAA-PMA parts available, along with being the largest distributor of MT propellers in the world, McFarlane is proud to be a part of the commercial and general aviation markets.

Awesome to see McFarlane pick these up - the QMI website was not the most user friendly. I so appreciate McFarlane's role in helping all of us maintain these old airframes we are so attached to.

Hmmm, suddenly the tail cone kit comes up "page unavailable"...

Worked yesterday.


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McFarlane Aviation wrote:.....Tail Cone Angle Kit: https://www.mcfarlaneaviation.com/produ ... E%2520KIT/
• Extend the inspection time from 500 flight hours/5 years to 1500 flight hours/10 years......

The AD & service bulletin say 5 years or 500 hours for re-inspection,
while the ICA for the STC'd repair kit call out the first re-inspection at 10 years or 1500 hours.
But its my understanding that QMI did not obtain official AMOC (alternate means of compliance) for this,
so AFAIK the 5 years / 500 hour inspection requirement is still applicable.

Hotrod,

Thats what I read as well.

MW

@Mcfarlane Aviation

Would be great to hear why you pulled the tail wheel kit - rumor is it has something to do with the FAA..

corefile wrote:@Mcfarlane Aviation

Would be great to hear why you pulled the tail wheel kit - rumor is it has something to do with the FAA..

They just announced handling the QMI repair kit 4 days ago.
Have they actually pulled it from sale,
or is it just a case of the new webpage not working?

hotrod180 wrote:

corefile wrote:@Mcfarlane Aviation

Would be great to hear why you pulled the tail wheel kit - rumor is it has something to do with the FAA..

They just announced handling the QMI repair kit 4 days ago.
Have they actually pulled it from sale,
or is it just a case of the new webpage not working?

No they pulled it completely - will not sell it over the phone either.

This is off topic but applicable to McFarlane, I'd also like to hear more about the new shimmy dampeners that were announced on the most recent newsletter. I emailed customer service, three weeks later (after a couple of follow up emails asking for status) I finally got a response that it was "pushed back" and they were "pretty sure" a shimmy dampener would be available for my 182F. I would sure like to get a more timely and knowledgeable response from customer service. My dampener is in poor condition and right now the only option is an exorbitantly priced Cessna unit, an aftermarket option would be much appreciated.

I sent a BCP.org PM to McFarlane asking them to clarify what was up with the QMI repair kit.
Ditto sending an email to their sales department.
No response so far.

hotrod180 wrote:I sent a BCP.org PM to McFarlane asking them to clarify what was up with the QMI repair kit.
Ditto sending an email to their sales department.
No response so far.

To be honest, the PM to McFarlane was a few days ago,
but I just emailed them this morning.
They promptly responded:

"It will be back on the website shortly. I can take an order and place it on backorder until they are back in stock.
Thank you,
Kim Johnson

Sales Customer Service Rep
Office: 800-544-8594 ext. 332

Fax: 785-594-3922
www.mcfarlaneaviation.com "

After making this post I learned that some questions arose on the need for an AMOC to install the Tail Cone Angel Replacement Kit. McFarlane Aviation’s web site removed information and advertisements for the Tail Cone Angle Replacement Kit while clarification was obtained.
In review of the kit documentation, it was noted that the kit did not include an AMOC*. In short, an AMOC is an FAA Approved Alternate Method of Compliance pertaining to the requirements of an Airworthiness Directive. The FAA was contacted and McFarlane was told that an AMOC was not needed to install the kit because the AD doesn’t call for the installation or replacement of a particular part number, with a particular part number.
However, the ICA that accompanies the kit states an initial inspection time for the affected area, which does not agree with inspection intervals within the applicable AD. The FAA clarified that the inspection intervals within the AD are applicable regardless of the ICA and, any change in the inspection intervals, as required by the AD, would require an AMOC.
The kit has the necessary parts, instructions and STC approval to remove and replace the section of angle often found cracked in the tail cones of affected aircraft. Installation of the kit increases the strength of the horizontal stabilizer attachment and is the most cost-effective solution available.
McFarlane Aviation believe the kits offer value in their cost savings as compared to other repairs and add value and safety to the affected aircraft. The Kits will return to the website when available again at McFarlane.

Thank you for clarifying.

One does not want to run afoul of 14 CFR 3 Subpart A....

McFarlane, thanks for clearing up why the QMI kit was "missing in action".
I think most people figured they were good for 10 years / 1500 hours due to the kit's ICA,
so thanks for also clarifying the AD AMOC issue.

To clarify, I can use the QMI kit to effect needed repairs discovered in complying with the AD, but I have to do follow up inspections per the AD, not per the ICA from QMI? Just to add one more abbreviation, is there a plan to make an AMOC out of the QMI kit? If they did that, it’d be A-OK.

Indeed, according to the FAA, inspection intervals per AD.

As a side note, they told me last week no intentions for any sort of changes to the document.

You can appeal for an AMOC yourself, based on the inspection interval of the approved STC. From the sound of it, probably going to be denied, but it's not hard. We got an AMOC approved with an ADS-B issue, just needed a difference GPS system approved as the position source. Took a couple weeks to get the PPW sorted.