West Star Aviation’s Challenger Team is always looking for ways to keep operators informed with useful information, tips, and areas of interest for their specific airframe. One such relevant topic is Pylon Chafing.

96-month inspections on Challenger 604 and 605 aircraft require specific inspection to the right and left side engine pylon areas where they meet the fuselage. This portion of the inspection looks for potential chafing to the fuselage skin from the pylon itself.  

Our Specialists have encountered and helped correct at least 9 occurrences of this problem over the last two years. The key is early detection and correction. If left unchecked, the chafing can cause significant enough damage to the fuselage skin to require skin replacement.

If pylon chafing is detected, it is repaired per a recent addition to the Challenger Structural Repair Manual (SRM) in section 53-32-00. The specified repair does not require engine removal, and effectively repairs and prevents recurrence of the chafing. The process does require some paint work, per the SRM, only in the pylon area.  

The cost of the repair is approximately $15,000 per side, which is significantly less than having to replace damaged fuselage skin completely.  

As mentioned, the Challenger 96-month inspection requires review of this area, and West Star has recently added inspection of the area as an option in their Technical Evaluations (Pre-purchase Inspections). Due to the downtime required for the repair, it is recommended to address any problems in this area during these events. Chafing repair downtime is approximately 13 days when both sides are repaired simultaneously. 

West Star can complete your next Challenger inspection, maintenance, or modification, including this repair, at our East Alton, IL (ALN), Grand Junction, CO (GJT), or Chattanooga, TN (CHA) full-service facilities.