Air Tractor, Inc.

Repairs Page 1
AT-502A/502B/504 March 14, 2018

FUSELAGE FRAME REPAIRS

The most common cause of fuselage frame damage is a landing gear strike during spraying
operations, or hitting an obstruction during take-off. A severe drag load is placed on the main gear leg and
due to the leverage that exists, either the tubular structure is damaged or else the forward clamp block bolt
fails. If the tubular structure is severely damaged it is best to contact the factory with photos or sketches of
the damaged tubes, and a repair cluster can be constructed at the factory which can be spliced in a
convenient location with external sleeves.
It is seldom necessary to place the fuselage frame in the original jig, as shop aids can be sent with the
repair structure, and with careful measurements, the structure will be back to the original configuration.
Repair clusters are designed so that gas welding can usually be used to install the new cluster.

FORWARD CLAMP BLOCK BOLT FAILURE

If the wheel strike has caused the forward clamp block bolt to break, it is likely that the gear leg has
folded back under the aircraft and broken the large inboard attach bolt and the aft clamp bolt. When the large
inboard bolt fails, it usually damages the 1 3/8" OD bushing that it was attached to, and as the gear folds
back the sharp edge of the gear leg damages the 2 1/2" diameter tube that the bushing is welded to.
The broken bolts can be removed from the attach fitting by the conventional practice of drilling into the
broken off bolt shank and using an “Easy Out” tool to remove the bolt shank. Be careful not to damage the
threads, but if there appears to be slight thread damage, use a 3/4 - 16 bottoming tap with a generous
amount of cutting oil to re-work the threads, making sure that the tap is started exactly with the original
threads.
The damage to the 1 3/8"OD bushing is usually confined to the rear lower side, where the 1.0" bolt has
bent before failing. The factory practice is to use a heli-arc welding machine and with weld rod build back the
area on the inside of the bushing as shown on the enclosed drawing. Also, the damage to the 2 1/2"
diameter tube can be filled with welding rod, and the diamond shaped plate of .125 4130N can be welded in
place as shown. Since the 2 1/2" tube is 1/4" thick and the bushing is also heavy wall, conventional arc-
welding is permissible if the operator is skilled, and a high-test rod is used. Gas welding is possible, but due
to the very thick parts involved, a large torch at high flame settings will be required.
After welding, clean, sand, etch, prime and finish coat as described under “Painting Steel Parts” in the
maintenance section.

WING ATTACH ANGLE REPLACEMENT

Due to wing flexure during hard turns the wing attach angles have a tendency to crack in the radius on
the upper end, and once in a while on the lower end. This is not cause for alarm, because there are two
attach angles on each side of the fuselage tube, and either angle has sufficient strength to carry the design
loads. In addition, the crack will terminate after moving about one inch down the radius of the angle.

However, cracked attach angles should be replaced if found cracked at annual inspections. AT-502's
starting with s/n 0171 have thicker attach angles, and are less prone to cracking.

The following is a procedure that may be used to install new attach angles:
Repairs Page 2 Air Tractor, Inc.
March 14, 2018 AT-502A/502B/504

1. Wings are to be joined, with steel plate on the aircraft centerline attached to the fuselage frame,
with .88 thick blocks between the lower spar cap and the fuselage frame.

2. Use a ball point pen to mark a line down the small leg of the wing attach angle, 1/2" from the edge.
With the attach angles clamped in place inspect through the spar web bolt holes to assure that the
line is visible, and lined up with the center of the holes.

3. The top of the attach angle should be 1 1/16" above the top hole in the spar web.

4. Clamp the outboard attach angles in place. Take a 5/16" bolt and turn a point on it in a lathe. Cut
the head off to give it a length of 2.0". This is called a "bullet."

5. Insert the bullet into the fuselage bushings and tap the end to mark the attach angle. The upper
bushing requires that you install the bullet in the bushing before clamping the outboard wing attach
angle in place.

6. Repeat the process for the inboard attach angles. Take the attach angles to the drill press and
before drilling enlarge the bullet mark with a center punch. Lay the attach angle on a 2 x 4 and drill
No. 30 first. Then drill 19/64, then ream .310".

7. Bolt the attach angles to the fuselage frame. There should be no more than .010" gap between the
attach angle and the aft face of the spar web.

8. Before drilling the holes in the angle to attach to the spar, make a bushing 1.0" long x .312 OD x
15/64 ID. Install this bushing into each hole in the spar to drill the attach angle. This assures that
the smaller hole in the attach angle will be centered with the hole in the spar.

9. Remove the bushing and enlarge the hole in the attach angle to 19/64. Take the shank of the .310
reamer and insert it through the aft face of the attach angle, and chuck it to the drill motor on the
fwd face of the spar web. Turn on the motor at slow speed and pull the reamer through the hole in
the angle and out the front of the spar web.

10. Remove the wing attach angles and blow out all chips and shavings, and check for loose holes.

11. Install new bolts, nuts and washers. Bolts through the fuselage frame should be coated with anti-
seize lubricant (Permatex #133K) or equivalent.

12. Consult the OWNERS MANUAL for bolt torque.

The wing attach angles for s/n 0001 through 0171 are p/n 20158-1. For s/n 0171 and above use p/n
20693-1 attach angles.

Before installing the wing attach angles it is advisable to comply with Service Letter #92 which calls for
diamond-shaped gussets to be welded around the wing attach bushings. To do this requires removing the
wings, but with the hopper already removed, and the attach angles already removed, this is not a greatly
expanded task.