Kyle Montanaro

Awesome :) I'll give it a look. (but I'm on the other side of the planet). Well... since I plan on having a career in aircraft maintenance, I don't see why I won't fix a Strut on a 2 seater 450kg microlight, when in a couple of years, I'll be signing off huge airliners with bigger problems... But of course, I'll have a blueprint sent to Thruster, the local Authority, and I'll have it checked by someone who's already qualified for this stuff. In any case, I can build a sample and test it to destruction. Yes taildraggers are awesome... but they're pretty dangerous on concerete.. :/ and that's all we're allowed here :(

@Pud: I forgot to take my camera with me on my inspection, but I'll take some tomorrow. it's not pretty but it's simple.They're broken in a line perpendicular to the strut passing through the bolt-holes. Take a plastic straw, bend it and it'll crack from the weakest point. It's as simple as that. If you want, here's a picture of it when it was still the pride of the club: http://www.islandmicrolightclub.com/gallery/data/media/9/9H-UMC-landingrwy24-RBenettiR.jpg @BobT: Haha of course we have runways, and they've been there since the 1930's. In WW2 the Brits used to call us "an unsinkable aircraft carrier" and at that time we had like 4 airstrips with 2 runways each operating hurricanes, spitfires, and later on vampires, nimrods and meteors. Unfortunately, when the government of that time wanted to have our "independance", we lost all that and all but one have been built upon :( The only one used as Malta International Airport is at Luqa and it's almost 5 miles long with another 3-mile runway at 90 degrees to it and that's all that's left for us. The local authorities aren't too microlight friendly neither, we have to endure the busy airspace everywhere we fly over here and we're not allowed to use the longer runway not even when the shorter one is (and quite frequently too) closed. Anyways back to the Thruster: Well, yes all I need is the tube but these ones are Aerofoil section types. I don't think it's just about any kind of aluminum tube neither. I'm studying to become an EASA Category B1 Engineer and I know a repair scheme I can implement where I put a folded Aluminum plate over the bent part and just blind-rivet it at both ends and I could use aircraft-material and rivets (as used on Airbus and Boeing) and I can bet it will hold. But because of our Authorities, they won't really like that too much especially because I'm not a certified LAME yet. (Even if theoretically, a microlight does not require a certified LAME to work on it. )

Hey guys, Nice to read you first of all. I'm working on a T600n Sprint which was abandoned at the hangar. It has everything except for the wing struts which have been used to tie the aircraft to the ground. Problem was when the wind blew, the struts broke in half (where the solid black rod struts are bolted) . I've contacted Thruster UK but they don't make them anymore and I haven't found any second hand. Does anyone know of an approved repair scheme for them? I know it's not usual to do a repair scheme for a structural component like that but I think that's the only way if we want this baby to take to the Maltese Skies again.... Best regards, Kyle.