Skip to main content

Getting it all fixed

I called up the shop today and put in a work order to get most of the outstanding issues taken care of. Most of these are minor, but a couple are relatively major. The plane is currently airworthy, or else I wouldn't have flown it a few times since purchasing it, but it's time to get the big ones taken care of. I might as well have the other items addressed as well.

The items I've asked them to work on include:

  • Investigating the issues I've experienced with the comms system. This is probably the most important as it most affects flight safety.
  • Replacing the left half of the stabilator trim tab. It has a crack in the underside near the outside end of the tab. It's been there a while, as it's been stop-drilled a couple times, but it has lengthened to the point where it should be replaced sooner rather than later.
  • Re-attaching the wing root seal on the right side. On the underside of the wing, the seal has come loose along part of its length. It's still attached at the front and rear, so it's not flopping around loose, and it doesn't appear to be coming out any more after flying it a couple times, but it should be re-attached. Depending on its condition, I may have the seal replaced altogether.
  • Re-attach a section of the honeycomb material that lines portions of the aft fuselage interior. I'm not sure what it's purpose is, but it's probably to reduce noise. A section has come partially loose and just needs to be glued back in place.
  • Fix the cabin interior light. This is the red-colored light for flying at night. We don't know if it just needs a new bulb or if the problem is with the potentiometer or something else in that circuit. Hopefully it's just a bulb.
  • Push the pilot's door hinge pin back into place. The door has a single, full-length hinge with a long metal rod acting as the pin. It has slipped down and protrudes from the bottom of the hinge by about an inch. Should be a simple fix. I tried tapping it back into place myself with a small hammer but it didn't move much, if at all, so I'll let the experts handle it.
  • Clean up a couple of the inspection panel covers. They have a bit of corrosion on them but all they need is to be cleaned up and repainted.

They're pretty backed up with work, which isn't surprising as they maintain the rental fleet, which is used by the flight school as well as regular renters. The manager did say he may have time to go over to the plane and do some investigation of the comms issue so hopefully that can be done soon. The rest of the stuff won't prevent me from flying, and even the comm problem can be worked around, especially when I get my handheld radio. But I'm hoping this can all be addressed within the next several weeks so it's all done before the spring and summer.

I knew going into this that this plane, given its age, would require this kind of maintenance work. That's one of the reasons why it was as relatively inexpensive as it was. But I've decided that this plane is worth the time and money, as long as the cost doesn't explode. But I don't think that will happen as it has been well maintained, and it's been well inspected. It's a risk, but it's a calculated one. This plane is special, at least to me, and I want to keep it in good condition. It's special not only because it's my first plane, but because it has a unique history and character and I want to preserve it.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Approaching the annual

I know I haven't been posting much, but that's mainly because nothing much of note has been happening. I've been flying, but not really going anywhere in particular. The engine continues to run very well, and the plane is still solid. I was hoping to do more "destination" flying this year but, for whatever reason(s), it didn't really happen. Next year, hopefully.... On the horizon, though, is the annual inspection. It's already scheduled for mid-December, since the last annual is good to the end of that month. I've also arranged for it to be an owner-assisted annual. I'm told that every airplane owner should do this at least once and I can certainly understand why that is the case, even before I do it. I will be learning about my airplane in a way that nothing else will match and, incidentally, save some money at the same time. I'm looking forward to it. Leading up to the annual, I have been compiling a list of squawks that I want to take care ...

First Oil Change

It's been a while since my last post here. I've been flying, but the flights have been intended simply to put time on the plane and most have been pretty uneventful. However, the last two flight have been particularly nice because my wife came with me. I had enough hours on the engine that I felt I could trust it enough to take a passenger. I've now put over 25 hours on the engine since the overhaul and it's time for its first oil change. That was just completed, and the Aeroshell mineral oil used for break-in has been replaced with Phillips XC ashless-dispersant oil. The plan is to run it another 25 hours, at which point we'll change the oil again. At that time, we'll send a sample to Blackstone for analysis, and I will also resume adding Camguard. I also had the shop take care of a few other squawks while they had it in. The biggest of these is its tendency to pull to the left in the air and on the ground. I suspected that it was due to the nosewheel centering...

Precipitation

The weather was rather nice yesterday and I was able to get up in the air in the afternoon. The flight was pretty uneventful, essentially another jaunt up to the north and back. There were two things that were a bit different from the norm. First, on the way back to Harvey Field, I ran at full power. I've done full power runs before; it's a part of the break-in process for an overhauled engine. And I did another good long one yesterday. I was doing a bit better than 110 knots on the airspeed indicator, and that's with the built-in calibrator for true airspeed set for the temperature and altitude so it should be pretty close to what I was actually doing. Yep, still not a fast plane, but I still think the roomy cabin and large fuel capacity make up for that. Second, as I was flying back to Harvey, I decided not to straight back but rather to take a quick detour off to the east to prolong my full-power run. I turned east, then headed back north for a bit. I saw a couple of clo...