Wing Life Spans and Service Intervals????

[hammertime]

Just wondering how long people like to keep their wings for, before they think they are unflyable, unusable etc.

Also, I was wondering what people use as a rule of thumb for service intervals on their wing. I've not flown many hours in the last 12 months, but was wondering about sending the wing to Aerofix for a service anyway. I obviously carry out my own checks but the last time it went for a service, they found a couple of small holes that I would never have found myself. I suppose it gives peace of mind if nothing else. So, what do you do?

On another subject, my Doberman ran away yesterday. After 5 hours of searching on the ground, I decided to get my trusty flying machine out. Took off and after 5 minutes I found him charging round a field half a mile away. Contacted the mrs who went and found the stupid mutt. So, I've found another good use for a paramotor!!!

Chris

[Radical]

Hi there

I bought a new Swing Arcus 4 in January 2006.

My rule of thumb was to have it tested for the first time after 2.5 years, then again after 1.5 years. Both times they found something, minor things but I was glad to have had it done.

I now plan to have it done annually until it fails on porosity or needs enough new lines to make it uneconomic.

So my basic philosophy was to have a sliding scale of inspections which increases with age.

Not sure if this is the right thing to do but I thought it made sense.

Looking forward to other answers to see what I can learn.

Cheers

Steve