DHC-6 Maintenance

[Slingshot]

Briefly, one of the Twin Otters that we will lease purchase is getting refurbished at the moment, but they are not replacing the spar but replacing the flight controls and doing the 39,000 hr heavy maintenance check. As it will be a lease purchase arrangement, I am a little concerned about the number of airframe hours ( i.e at the moment around 38,000 ).

Can someone please provide information about what extra maintenance is involved in the future for such a high airframe ?

Thanks

[captain2captain]

The dhc-6 does not have a spar the wings are bolted on to the fuselage. 2 bolts in the top of the fuselage and a strut to the bottom.

[Saint Jack]

Although the DHC-6 does not have through spars in the wings it does have spars, two in each wing – main and secondary (rear). As ‘captain2captain’ rightly says, these are where the wing/fuselage/strut attachment points are, plus of the attachments for each engine.

With any high-time aircraft it’s essential to ensure that all applicable AD’s and structure-related SB’s are complied with. The MM will detail any supplementary maintenance for the wing spares plus an aging-aircraft structural integrity programme (or equivalent). As far as practical, insist that this is carried out – particularly if you’re taking the aircraft to a remote area (where most Twin Otters are to be found). If you have any lingering doubts, contact the manufacturers product support organization for advice.