Issued: June 2017
ATA 27 – Control Column Bearing Support Inspection
A recent field report has come into the technical support group that stated an out of tolerance gap was found on the control column support bearing. Technical support would like to encourage operators to carefully inspect this area when performing the third phase inspection. This inspection will ensure that the bearing assembly has not worked loose from the associated mounting rivets.
ATA 31 – Fusion Equipped King Airs with Collins AFD 3700 Adaptive Flight Displays (AFD) USB port usage to charge mobile devices
We have received several inquiries concerning the use of the Collins AFD USB ports to charge mobile devices in flight. These ports are designed solely for updating data within the AFDs and were not designed to provide the current most devices can draw when charging. Utilizing the AFD USB port for this purpose can cause damage to the AFD and prevent the port from functioning at a later time when it is needed to update the display. Textron recommends that these USB ports are only used for their intended purpose and not to charge any other devices.
ATA 31 – Fusion Equipped B200GT and B350i King Air Phase 2 Update for Software and Databases
Textron Aviation recently began deliveries of B200GT and B350i Pro Line Fusion phase 2 aircraft. The serial effectively for factory production is BY-285 and after; BZ-2 and after; FL-1077, FL-1080 and after; and FM-71 and after. The effectivity of the C90GTx will be set at a later date.
This update primarily provides new special mission equipment capability but also adds a surface management system, allows installed equipment options to be selected through the MFD instead of a loadable APM file, updates the electronic standby system remote sensor unit (RSU) software, and on the B350i moves the cabin altitude alert from a physical annunciator to the CAS system.
There are changes to software, databases, and manuals with this release that should be noted. The introduction of Phase 2, the Rockwell Collins Pilot’s Operating Guide 523-0820001; Pro Line Fusion Aircraft Maintenance Manual 523-0821905; FMS Quick Ref Guide 523-0823290; Fusion Quick Ref Guide 523-0822518 and Fault Isolation Manual 523-0821906 all roll to Edition 2 of each manual. Edition 1 of these manuals should still be used on all phase 1 Fusion aircraft. Additional software files and databases have changed from the list provided for phase 1 of Fusion in King Air Communiqué 2016-04. The list for production phase 2 aircraft is shown in this referenced Communiqué on the web site. The field loadable software files will be made available on the txtavsupport.com web site. The phase 2 AFD software, like phase 1 software is bundled into a load set as the part number 434-310011-0005 file at txtavsupport.com.
ATA 33 – King Air LED Cabin Lighting Upgrade
Textron Aviation Service Centers are announcing the availability of Precision Windings Inc. (PWI) King Air cabin lighting LED Upgrades. These cabin lighting upgrades replace the existing fluorescent or incandescent lighting with LEDs. PWI’s LEDs last far longer – thus reducing or even eliminating related maintenance costs, and are easy to install due to the “plug ‘n play” feature, which also greatly reduces downtime. The total downtime for installation of any of our King Air upgrade kits is less than a day, allowing the airplane to be back in the air as soon as possible! To request more information on applicability and cost, please contact a regional Textron Aviation sales representative or log on to www.txtavsupport.com and click on the Aftermarket Catalog.
ATA 56 – King Air Windshield Haze Removal Procedure
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Technical Support has received reports that some King Air windshields have developed a visible haze on the glass panes. PPG Aerospace Transparencies, the manufacturer of the windshield, investigated this condition and provided the following explanation and a procedure to correct this condition:
A uniform haze can be experienced as the result of an interaction between the different interlayers under a certain limited condition, which is the long-term exposure (two-plus days) to temperatures between 5-20 degrees F.
This condition can often be treated by operating the window heating system for several hours. It is possible to utilize other heat treatments for the same affect, such as PPG Surface Seal curing kits (heating blankets), which operate at a controlled temperature range.
Please contact PPG directly to purchase the blanket kit at aerospacetransparencies@ppg.com.
The above information is abbreviated for space purposes. For the entire communication, go to www.txtavsupport.com.
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