To: Rachael Bara From: Stephen Barr Subject: PIPER AIRCRAFT SERVICE BULLETIN No.

1199 MAIN LANDING GEAR TORQUE LINK INSPECTION Date: January 20, 2012 Summary The purpose of this memo is to analyze the effectiveness of Piper Aircrafts Service Bulletin No. 1199 (SB 1199) in terms of principles of good technical communication. Service Bulletin No. 1199 is meant to present the new inspection procedures for torque links on the Piper Cherokee aircraft. Service Bulletin No. 1199 serves as a replacement to Service Letter 600, and as mentioned in the bulletin, supersedes Service Letter 600 in its entirety. Piper Aircraft deemed it necessary to replace Service Letter 600 after a service history review of the main landing gear torque links showed premature cracks in the torque links of the main landing gears of many Piper Cherokee aircraft. It essentially acts as an "extra procedure" to be followed by the owner during maintenance. The document communicates not only a very technical topic, but also a safety critical one. For this reason it is imperative that Piper Aircraft use proper technical communication techniques, and I believe they have. I have concluded the report is clear, concise, and well-organized. Analysis The first section of the bulletin, Part I, describes the identification process of the torque links. This is an essential step in SB 1199. The originally installed torque links on the Piper Cherokee are described as the old style torque links in the bulletin. These torque links have an oval cross-section and part number 656951-000. The new style torque links, part number 78033-000, have a rectangular cross-section with longitudinal grooves. The bulletin tells the reader that the only way to identify which style of torque links they have is to visually examine the cross-section. This is a very critical part of the bulletin. Piper aircraft tells the reader that it is not adequate to identify the part by the numbers on the torque link itself, and the only adequate inspection method is to visually inspect the cross-section of the part. The numbers on the torque links may simply be a product of the part fabrication and not a part number. Part II describes the inspection process of the main landing gear torque links. This part can be skipped if the owner found that the new style torque link is installed on their aircraft in Part I. If the old style torque links are installed on the aircraft and they have been through 100 hours of service, the torque links must be replaced with a new style torque link. Otherwise, they must be inspected using the nine step instructions listed in Part II. Part III shows the reader a three-dimensional illustration of the main landing gear assembly. It shows the torque links in relation to the assembly and where the cracks would most likely be located on the torque links. It also gives an illustration of the new style torque link which includes an actual photograph of the part, and a 2-D cross section. Part III also directs the owner to make a logbook entry when the inspection is completed. The final section of the bulletin gives the materials required, which is simply two new style torque links, two washers, and two torque link bolts. These parts are available at a Piper Service Facility. It also tells the reader that SB 1199 is effective upon receipt.

Rachael Bara Page 2 of 2 January 24, 2012 Audience Analysis The audience of this document is assumed to be either the owners of a Piper Cherokee aircraft, or someone trusted with the maintenance of the aircraft. The bulletin is written to be clear and comprehensive. The bulletin does not assume the reader is a mechanic, although it does assume the reader is familiar with the maintenance practices and procedures of the Piper Cherokee. It also assumes the reader is in possession of the Aircraft Maintenance Manual. For instance, it tells the reader to remove the main landing gear assembly, but instead of describing that process, it simply tells the reader to refer to the Aircraft Maintenance Manuel. Comprehensiveness The bulletin is very comprehensive in both the identification and inspection of the part. Parts of SB 1199 are extremely precise and particular. For instance, the reader is instructed to remove the paint from the torque link by chemical processes only. Also, once the inspection for cracks is complete, the bulletin instructs the reader to repaint the part with "Dupont White Imron 5000-Texture A (smooth finish)." The two types of torque links are mentioned many times in the bulletin. They are mainly referred to as the old style and new style torque links. To further clarify what style is being talked about, the bulletin also frequently mentions the part number along with the type of style. I believe this adds to the clarity of the document. Criticisms Overall, I believe this document is set up and organized in a logical way; although, I believe a few small changes would make this document more effective. The first change would be to include an illustration of the old style torque link, ideally a picture of its cross-section. The cross-section and side view of the new style torque link is included in the document, but there is only a verbal description of the old style. I think an illustration would make the identification process clearer and easier for the reader. Another area that could be improved would be in Part II in the set of instructions, particularly instruction number four. Instruction number four reads, Perform fluorescent penetrant inspection of the areas identified in Figure 1 per AC 43.13-1B. This process may be described in the Aircraft Maintenance Manuel. I do not have access to this document, so I do not know if it is described there. It should be noted that the bulletin does not direct the reader to that document. I believe a clarification of this process would be helpful to the reader. Finally, the last section gives what is labeled as a Summary, although it is not a summary of the document. It simply tells the owner to contact their Factory Authorized Piper Service Facility to comply with SB 1199. I think it would be helpful to rename this from Summary to something like Compliance to avoid confusion. Conclusion Service Bulletin 1199 is a clear, concise, and comprehensive document describing the identification and inspection process of the torque links installed on the Piper Cherokee. I believe this is an effective document in that any owner of a Piper Cherokee will be able to read, understand, and carry out the necessary steps to ensure their torque links are safe and operational. The comprehensive ness and clarity of this document demonstrates just how important aircraft safety is to Piper Aircraft.