What's the deal on SBs vs. ADs?

[DaV8or]

I get the Airworthiness Directive. The Feds say you have to comply or the plane can't be flown. However, I'm totally fuzzy on Service Bulletins. I guess the manufacturer puts them out based on problems that have happened in the fleet, but is there a regulatory side to it? Like SB 208B, the steel frame inspection. Is it reasonable to expect every single M20 built before 1976 to have had this inspection by now and then corrective action if needed? Do you have to comply or is it just suggested? As an owner, do you have a choice in the matter? How reasonable is it to expect that the seller of an aircraft have complied with every single one in a pretty long list like the one for the M20E? Sorry for all the questions. I'm just trying to figure out what to expect as a buyer. I'm sure it's a compromise between what I would like and what it is.

[KSMooniac]

A good owner will comply with all of the SB items.  Some of them can be argued away perhaps, but generally I would expect all of them to be completed, especially the SB208B and insulation replacement since that damage can essentially total an airframe.  If an owner skimps on stuff like this, you can bet they've skimped elsewhere hoping that the bill won't come due under their watch.

[danb35]

If you are only using your airplane in Part 91 operations, there is no such thing as a mandatory service bulletin, even though manufacturers often use that terminology.  Sometimes ADs will be issued to enforce an SB, but in that case, it's the AD that's mandatory.

So, it's up to the owner whether or not to comply with SBs.  Sometimes an SB is pretty bogus; other times it really is very important.  SB 208B is one of the latter cases--if you're looking at a plane that hasn't fully complied with 208B (both the inspection and the insulation replacement), I'd suggest you walk away, or at least require complete compliance as a condition of your purchase of the plane.

Now, if you're using your plane in commercial operations, then service bulletins do become mandatory.

[Tom_Veatch]

From the AOPA website, http://www.aopa.org/whatsnew/newsitems/2006/060614sb.html :

"But SBs can't be made mandatory for aircraft owners flying their aircraft in noncommercial operations. In a letter of interpretation AOPA requested in 2001, the FAA's Small Airplane Directorate said, "Small airplane design approval holders cannot unilaterally impose mandatory compliance with manufacturers' SBs."

 

[Alan Fox]

Serevice bulletins are there for a reason , Enough said???