Citation 680 & 750: Lint Causing Mayhem in the Cockpit

January 2018

I think it is always worth mentioning the importance of maintaining a clean cockpit, especially following the installation of new carpet or interior refurbishment when lint tends to be plentiful.

After any type of interior refurbishment is completed on an aircraft, lint can be found just about everywhere. If it is allowed to collect on the pedestal, it can find its way into the flap handle and mess with the inner workings.  

The flap handle in the pedestal has a slide type mechanism that can catch lint and dirt and pull it into the selector. The flap selector assembly uses a series of optical switches to operate the flaps and if lint or other debris gets into the area, it could interfere with the operation of these optical switches. This could cause a nuisance issue that is totally preventable, simple to correct, but completely inconvenient when you are trying to make a trip. 

Cessna has incorporated a cleaning procedure in the Citation 680 and 750 Maintenance Manuals. They would not do so if it were not necessary. 

My advice: Get out the duster after any interior project!