I was just about to post asking Paul Traina “WHAT Garmin SBs?”, when today’s mail brought an envelope from Cirrus with a few Service Advisories, including references to the Garmin Service Bulletins.
[Paul - I haven’t checked yet, but it seems to me that this upgrade will have to be done by an avionics shop.]
The SA that got my attention was the one on Glareshield Deformation, because of the last paragraph:
Caution:
Under elevated ambient temperatures, the aircraft should be hangared or a suitable sunshield be used to protect the glareshield. If the airplane must be parked in the open without a sunshield, cover the glareshield with a white or light colored cloth or paper and park the airplane so that the windshield is away from the sun.
Well, this sounds reasonable, and as far as I know, it is good advice for any airplane. However, in the Cirrus Design Maintenance Manual, Section 12-20, Page 10, you will find the following:
CAUTION:
Never use… household window cleaning sprays… to clean windows or windshields… (yada yada yada) * Never use sun shades or allow sunvisors to remain in the lowered position when the airplane is parked in direct sunlight or crazing and the formation of bubbles may occur.*
OK… it took me a while, but eventually I realized that this is not necessarily a contradiction. The SA Caution does not say to put the sunshield on the window - it says to put it on the glareshield. HOWEVER, I am now the proud owner of $180 worth of apparently taboo Kennon sunshields. Is anyone else in the same boat?
As long as I’m warning… be careful with your Bruce’s Cover. Some have a problem with color fastness, and will stain the paint on your baby if it gets rained on while the cover is in place. It hasn’t happened to me, but I know someone who had to go through a lot to get the stains out. As far as I know, Bruce did all the right things, offering to shoulder the cost of correcting the situation, providing a new cover, and (I think) even crediting the entire cost of the original cover; but if you’re in doubt, check with Bruce before you tie-dye your Cirrus.
I was just about to post asking Paul Traina “WHAT Garmin SBs?”, when today’s mail brought an envelope from Cirrus with a few Service Advisories, including references to the Garmin Service Bulletins.
[Paul - I haven’t checked yet, but it seems to me that this upgrade will have to be done by an avionics shop.]
The SA that got my attention was the one on Glareshield Deformation, because of the last paragraph:
*Caution:
Under elevated ambient temperatures, the aircraft should be hangared or a suitable sunshield be used to protect the glareshield. If the airplane must be parked in the open without a sunshield, cover the glareshield with a white or light colored cloth or paper and park the airplane so that the windshield is away from the sun.*
Well, this sounds reasonable, and as far as I know, it is good advice for any airplane. However, in the Cirrus Design Maintenance Manual, Section 12-20, Page 10, you will find the following:
*CAUTION:
Never use… household window cleaning sprays… to clean windows or windshields…* (yada yada yada) * Never use sun shades or allow sunvisors to remain in the lowered position when the airplane is parked in direct sunlight or crazing and the formation of bubbles may occur.*
OK… it took me a while, but eventually I realized that this is not necessarily a contradiction. The SA Caution does not say to put the sunshield on the window - it says to put it on the glareshield. HOWEVER, I am now the proud owner of $180 worth of apparently taboo Kennon sunshields. Is anyone else in the same boat?
As long as I’m warning… be careful with your
Bruce’s Cover. Some have a problem with color fastness, and will stain the paint on your baby if it gets rained on while the cover is in place. It hasn’t happened to me, but I know someone who had to go through a lot to get the stains out. As far as I know, Bruce did all the right things, offering to shoulder the cost of correcting the situation, providing a new cover, and (I think) even crediting the entire cost of the original cover; but if you’re in doubt, check with Bruce before you tie-dye your Cirrus.
I had one of the covers that stained the airplane. I called Bruce’s and they told me that the vendor that supplied the black material on the inside of the cover was at fault for the problem. They offered to pay for cleaning the plane and send me a new cover. I was able to clean it myself and they made a new cover, with my N number on it. I received the new cover in 4 days. No problem with the new cover. This is the way to run a company. I wouldn’t hesitate to buy from them again.
First, apparently Bruce had a finite batch of covers which were made with material that was defective when provided by the manufacturer. Further, by all accounts, he has been bending over backwards to replace defective covers and pay for cleaning when necessary. Give him a call and he will also tell you immediately whether your cover is affected by the problem.
Second, for another view on the sunshield issue - will it really harm the acrylic windows? - as well as all about keeping the cockpit cool, look at http://www.avweb.com/sponsors/kennon/keepcool.html Kennon’s Comments.
Ditto the good experience from Bruce. Same thing happened to me, they’re making a new cover, paid to get the plane buffed out.
Bruce is a great guy, good business.