The FAA has issued its final rule on the controversial airworthiness directive that will require the replacement of cylinders on 6,200 high-displacement Continental engines. It takes effect on Sept. 15. The AD, which scraps thousands of aftermarket cylinders made by ECi, was initially proposed in 2013 for 520, 550 and some 470 model Continentals that had ECi cylinders installed. The agency said there were too many reports of cracks and cylinder head separations involving the cylinders and wanted all of them sold between September of 2002 and June of 2009 replaced.
The AD caused a storm of protest from owners, engine shops and manufacturers and prompted a long consultation process by the FAA. Even the NTSB opposed the scope and breadth of the AD. In the end, after several modifications, the agency has determined that the 6,200 engines will need all their cylinders replaced at a total cost of $88.5 million for U.S. owners, or about $11,520 per engine. It determined that a manufacturing defect is the root cause of the issues and that adding engine monitors or schooling pilots in correct operation of the engines won’t be enough. There are also thousands of affected engines in other countries and normal practice is for other jurisdictions to adopt ADs like this.
There is a range of application for the AD, but in general no one with the cylinders will be able to fly more than 320 hours before they have to be replaced and no one will be able get more than 1,160 hours out of them. The cylinders cannot be overhauled or installed in other engines. They have to be scrapped. AOPA, which has fought the AD on the grounds that the number of failures (82) is not enough to warrant such widespread pain, says that now that the rule has been finalized, it will concentrate on pressing alternative means of compliance.
Continental Motors had a beef with the wording in the AD. Continental bought the parent company of ECi (Danbury Aerospace) last year, six years after the last affected cylinder was made, but the FAA references Continental in the AD. “Continental Motors was never involved in the design, production, or distribution of the cylinders affected by this AD,” Continental said in a news release. “After the acquisition of the assets of Danbury Aerospace, Continental Motors terminated the production of ECi style cylinders for Continental Motors engines, offering its customers genuine Continental Motors Cylinders from its Mobile factory.”
