Hangar Debrief
A weekly email for builders and pilots of experimental, light-sport and general aviation aircraft.
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Powerplant
The Rotax gearbox AD covers 180 airplanes. The bulletin behind it covers a lot more.AD 2026-16-11 orders a propeller gearbox inspection on certified Rotax 912 and 914 engines after one left the factory missing an oil spray nozzle and bearing screws. The 912 iS Sport in the RV-12iS isn't named in the FAA's directive, but Rotax's own alert bulletin covers it, and Van's has posted it.
Powerplant
The Lycoming connecting-rod AD doesn't name homebuilts. The bushings don't know that.AD 2026-04-11 expands the Lycoming connecting-rod bushing directive to engines assembled through September 2021. Its wording reaches only engines in type-certificated aircraft, so it doesn't legally bind an amateur-built. The oil-filter check it calls for is cheap, and the failure it guards against is an engine coming apart.
Inspections
Who can sign off a homebuilt's condition inspection? The list just got longerA light-sport repairman can now do the condition inspection on an amateur-built airplane, and an owner can earn that rating in a 16-hour course. But most airplanes' operating limitations don't allow it yet, and the owner has to ask the FAA to amend them.
