Oregon Aero Update Eliminates Seat Replacement Requirement for Cessna Owners

SCAPPOOSE, Ore. (March 26, 2014) o Thanks to extensive funding, research and development on the part of Oregon Aero, Inc., owners of Cessna (formerly known as Lancair or Columbia) aircraft outfitted with Oregon Aero High-G Safety Seats no longer have to replace the seat cushions every five years or 2,500 hours as formerly mandated by the FAA. Owners can now conduct annual inspections and one more detailed inspection every three years to assess the cushions. We know this has been very important to a lot of our customers, which is why weive worked so hard to make this happen, said Tony Erickson, Chief Operating Officer for Oregon Aero. iThis change makes it easier on owners and cuts out aircraft downtime while maintaining Oregon Aerois renowned commitment to safety and quality. Before the update, which was completed in conjunction with the Seattle Aircraft Certification Office, owners of specified Cessna models faced an FAA-imposed life limitation on their Oregon AeroAE High-G Safety Seat cushions of five years or 2,500 hours. To accommodate customers, Oregon Aero and Cessna have shared the costs of replacing cushions affected by the life limitation since 2011, though customers had to remove the seat cushions themselves and keep their aircraft out of service in the interim. To improve the customer experience while also maintaining quality, safety and value, Oregon Aero funded the research and development behind the recent update. The new FAA-approved Instructions for Continued Airworthiness include mandatory owner inspections of the seat cushions in Cessna aircraft models LC40-550FG (300), LC41- 550FG (400), LC42-550FG (350), and T240. The updated ICAs require annual visual inspection of the seat cushions; they also require a seat thickness measurement for the front and rear seat bottom cushions every three years to detect breakdown or distortion of the foam core. Cushions no longer within the stated tolerance need to be replaced. iWe are really pleased with the way this has worked out, and we are confident that our customers will be, too, Erickson said. iThis update will not only help them keep their aircraft properly maintained, but it cuts out a lot of downtime, too. That means theyill be able to keep flying in comfort, which is exactly what we all want. The complete ICAs for the High-G Safety Seats can be found at http://www.oregonaero.com/sites/oregonaero.com/files/webform/EM-01-01-Rev-F.pdf For more information, contact Oregon Aero at 1-800-888-6910.