In February, Embraer sent a letter to all Phenom owners concerning wheel and tire replacement/overhaul as part of the EEC warranty coverage program starting in March 2021.
After reading through the several documents on this subject and due to linguistics concerns, we felt it would be beneficial to provide an overview.
Embraer has a slightly different outlook on the subject of wheel and tire replacement than other manufacturers. Embraer has chosen to provide a wheel and tire assembly to be installed as a customer convenience when only a tire should have been installed due the tire being worn to limits.
The concept behind this program is that if maintenance downtime allows, it will be possible to keep the original wheel assembly and simply replace the worn tire as is normally done; however, if maintenance requires more down-time time than operations would normally allow, then the EASC (Embraer Approved Service Center) may be able to provide the benefit of an exchange wheel and tire assembly to expedite returning the aircraft to service.
To simplify tracking of these rotable assemblies and increase wheel and tire availability, in accordance with the EEC contracts, EEC customers will be required to track wheel cycles and/or tire replacement events with all maintenance performed updated during the rotable component lifetime. In other words, the aircraft owner/operator is required to track cycles/events on these rotable components.
For this program to work (core returns for wheel maintenance) as planned, it is necessary to inform the EASC about the wheel’s condition — basically how many cycles/landings and tire changes since it was last installed on the aircraft.
There are several ways the life of the wheels can be tracked. Below are the three suggestions from Embraer and how to choose those options to support operational decisions.
- Control by Airworthiness Certificate –Embraer will provide, together with an exchange order, the last maintenance performed by repair stations on wheel assemblies as described on an FAA 8130-3 document.
- Control using CAMP services –Based on provided documentation with wheels exchange (8130-3 certificate) and registered by CAMP services on A/C documentation, during core return or maintenance this information together with current cycles flown or number of replacements should be provided to Embraer and/or Service Centers. Embraer can accept CAMP report instead of Airworthiness certificate together with current status.
- Control using Log Card –The Log Card, correctly filled out, is accepted by Embraer (Core return or Service Center with Repair authorized capability) to define the wheel maintenance work scope. In case of wheels exchange process, the official document to be provided by Embraer is the Airworthiness Certificate Form (ACF) only. A Log Card template is available on myTechCare.
This process is expected to begin in March 2021.
Regardless of the choice made for tracking a wheel’s life, it is very important to provide the log card (history) for that wheel. Not providing this required information (which may drive Embraer to an undue cost with wheel’s overhaul) will be the customers’ responsibility, who will need to pay for any extra fees to the Service Center network. Extra fee values will be provided according to the difference among tires replacement and wheels overhaul values, per the table below:
EXTRA FEE CHARGES FOR CUSTOMERS NOT PROVIDING REQUIRED DATA
| A/C Model | Nose | Main |
| Phenom 100 | $500.00 | $500.00 |
| Phenom 300 | $500.00 | $1,000.00 |
Note: Values presented in the table are subject to annual escalation according to Embraer’s sole discretion. The amount should be paid directly to the Service Center at the end of maintenance performed.
If operators request to return parts and cores on their own, the information will be required under Core Return process – Material authorization – and the invoice for missing documents will be provided at that time by Embraer’s Material repair team.
If you have any further questions related to this process, please contact the EEC Team for your region.
Mike Grabbe is Eagle Creek’s in-house Technical Advisor, Quality Assurance and Training Manager.
