geoffb Posted February 23 Report Share Posted February 23 On 2/5/2024 at 6:28 AM, alextstone said: Good Morning All, I have an update that is mildly encouraging. I spoke with John Paul at GAMI and he confirmed that GAMI is working with a machine shop and the FAA to manufacture v-band clamps under an STC. He seemed to think that it could be as little as two months before production starts, provided the process continues to flow without issues. That probably means more like 6 months but, hey, it's somewhat encouraging. but what's the status of the STC? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alextstone Posted February 26 Author Report Share Posted February 26 On 2/23/2024 at 3:00 PM, geoffb said: but what's the status of the STC? The rep at GAMI said "it could be a matter of weeks or a matter of months, the FAA is in control of that" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N201MKTurbo Posted February 26 Report Share Posted February 26 7 minutes ago, alextstone said: The rep at GAMI said "it could be a matter of weeks or a matter of months, the FAA is in control of that" Send doughnuts to the FAA every Friday. It couldn’t hurt. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starlifter27 Posted March 2 Report Share Posted March 2 I'm in the same boat (crack found in the exhaust so the v-band clamp had to come off and it already has had two re-torques) and I, along with the shop doing my annual right now, have come up empty on finding them without a crazy ridiculous lead time that renders my airplane a very expensive paperweight for much longer than it should. I'll be following if anyone comes up with anything! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fritz1 Posted March 2 Report Share Posted March 2 Sorry to hear, hope somebody makes some clamps soon, since the exhaust crack is a potentially serious issue, could you post a pic? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LANCECASPER Posted March 2 Report Share Posted March 2 @DVA did start a good thread on this subject a few years back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LANCECASPER Posted March 2 Report Share Posted March 2 While I'm not a fan of overreach by the FAA, these clamps have been failing for many years. https://www.ntsb.gov/safety/safety-recs/RecLetters/A88_147_152.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amekler Posted March 27 Report Share Posted March 27 My 2000 bravo has the riveted v band clamp does this mean the AD doesn’t apply? alan 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LANCECASPER Posted March 27 Report Share Posted March 27 (edited) On 3/27/2024 at 6:27 AM, amekler said: My 2000 bravo has the riveted v band clamp does this mean the AD doesn’t apply? alan (Of course you have the riveted clamp - if you look through your logs it was mandatory that the older clamps had to be replaced somewhere around 20 years ago.) Mooney says you get two documented retorques on the riveted clamp. These retorques should be logged. The part of the AD that does apply is that if you haven't exceeded the number of retorques, rather than replacing it by time in service only, it can be inspected by an IA. But only the riveted version can be used on a Bravo not the spot-welded version. Edited April 16 by LANCECASPER 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amekler Posted March 27 Report Share Posted March 27 looked through the log books and don't see it has been retorqued Alan 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airterrys Posted April 15 Report Share Posted April 15 Any updates? My shop was just told me their supplier has pushed back to October for the vband clamp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LANCECASPER Posted April 24 Report Share Posted April 24 26 minutes ago, MDMooney said: Count me in this camp. Any leads? My band appears fine but my mechanic wants it replaced since there’s no documentation of number of re-torques including after the last overhaul per “amendment of the chapter 4 airworthiness limitations” This is a good way of keeping track of it: https://www.mooney.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/FORM_QA1027M.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alextstone Posted May 14 Author Report Share Posted May 14 Just for grins, anyone hear an update on the ETA of these clamps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LANCECASPER Posted May 14 Report Share Posted May 14 I've heard that if you have a Cessna Turbo 182 that is AOG because of the clamp that Textron Parts moves you up to the top of the list. They would probably want an N-number that didn't fly this morning though on FlightAware . . lol 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alextstone Posted May 14 Author Report Share Posted May 14 33 minutes ago, LANCECASPER said: I've heard that if you have a Cessna Turbo 182 that is AOG because of the clamp that Textron Parts moves you up to the top of the list. They would probably want an N-number that didn't fly this morning though on FlightAware . . lol Do you know of anyone I could "collude" with? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fritz1 Posted May 14 Report Share Posted May 14 Any news on the GAMI clamp? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alextstone Posted May 14 Author Report Share Posted May 14 18 minutes ago, Fritz1 said: Any news on the GAMI clamp? I called John Paul at GAMI just now. They are a long way off in that they are developing the smaller diameter of the two clamps they will offer (ours will be the larger one) first. They will have a prototype of ours soon. Then they must clear FAA approval, THEN they will start working on the AML one aircraft at a time. He said EOY at the earliest but I would not hold my breath. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alextstone Posted July 15 Author Report Share Posted July 15 Just to update those who are interested, Textron just shipped the new 40D23255-340M coupling I ordered in January. Current ship date if ordered today is October. Price is $1947.98 retail (shops are able to order at a modest discount). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amekler Posted July 16 Report Share Posted July 16 who did you order through? Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LANCECASPER Posted July 16 Report Share Posted July 16 who did you order through? Alan He mentioned Textron. (txtav.com) Dealer cost is $1558.07 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinecone Posted July 16 Report Share Posted July 16 They must be making the new ones out of gold. Crazy. A clamp that a couple of years ago was under $300 is now over $1500. And can be found in the car world for under $30. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amekler Posted July 16 Report Share Posted July 16 $2433 if you want to order through laser! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LANCECASPER Posted July 16 Report Share Posted July 16 3 hours ago, Pinecone said: They must be making the new ones out of gold. Crazy. A clamp that a couple of years ago was under $300 is now over $1500. And can be found in the car world for under $30. These ones for the Bravo were about $600 the last time I bought one in 2017, but still that’s crazy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinecone Posted July 21 Report Share Posted July 21 Maybe GAMI will have an update on their clamp at Oshkosh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alextstone Posted July 21 Author Report Share Posted July 21 3 minutes ago, Pinecone said: Maybe GAMI will have an update on their clamp at Oshkosh Hope springs eternal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.