Maintenance

Club policy to communicate equipment issues

Installed in each aircraft is a zippered pouch that contains important items for each club glider. Inside of the pouch you will find aircraft manuals, weight and balance information, the maintenance items notebook, a red “maintenance issue” flag and the aircraft flight log. You may also find other useful items such as a tire pressure gauge, a valve stem extension and a pen.

Please use the maintenance notebook to identify any items you find amiss with the aircraft. Write clearly and legibly. Enter the date and your name as well as the item of concern.  After you make an entry in the notebook, place the red flag from the pouch on the front seat control stick. Notify the maintenance chairman or maintenance designee.  Also contact the local glider steward. Pass on information about the item you have entered in the maintenance notebook.

If the airworthiness of the glider is in doubt, you must consult the maintenance chairman or designee prior to flying the aircraft. They are responsible for controlling the standards of maintenance within our club. During our operations it may be difficult to get clearance from a one of them but it is important to do so prior to continuing the use of the glider. Damage which must be discussed and possibly inspected to determine airworthiness includes any damage where the fiberglass structure is severed, punctured, or cracked, or is suspected to be, and any new cracking observed in a canopy.  

It’s difficult to make the decision to suspend operations when it’s a great soaring day or there are many people scheduled to fly. Every club member should understand that if they make the tough decision to ground an aircraft while getting more information from one of the individuals on the list above, they will have the full support of everyone. It’s the right thing to do.

Documented in Flight Operating Rules, Section 3