Tamarack ATLAS Winglets On Citations Served AD By EASA The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has come down on a selection of Citation Jets fitted with Tamarack's ATLAS winglets by issuing an emergency AD (Airworthiness Directive). The ATLAS or Active Load Alleviation System by Tamarack Aerospace fitted to Citation CJ1/CJ1+, CJ2, and CJ3 has been hit with the AD. In recent times these category of aircraft carrying the aforementioned winglets experienced anomalies in flight where some pilots reportedly had issues in recovering the aircraft to 'safe flight'. In these cases the ATLAS malfunctioned.
With EASA issuing this AD, we can expect the United States based Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to follow on with a similar AD. The idea of how the ATLAS works is that ATLAS utilizes what is called active load-alleviation tabs and not the typical structural reinforcement to counteract excess aerodynamic loading on the winglets during turbulence and turns. TACS (Tamarack Active Camber Surface) is positioned outboard of each aileron and are not tied into the main control surfaces...they move independent of the main surfaces. If the system fails it could present pilots with dangerous scenarios. According to Tamarack's founder Nick Guida, "with ATLAS you can climb faster, fly farther and burn less fuel." For more information: Tamarack Aerospace 2021 Industrial Drive Sandpoint, ID 83864, USA www.tamarackaero.com ***
