Good Evening,
Been browsing the forums for a while, first time posting. My '62C has been going strong since I bought it five years ago, but my mechanic and I just discovered an approximately 1.5 inch section of exfoliating corrosion on the right wing aft spar, inside the wheel well. Photo attached, looking outboard and aft from inside the right wheel well. It's also developing corrosion in the left fuel tank between the root rib and lower skin- one of the rivet heads on the lower surface under the rib popped off, discovered on preflight which led to me crawling over the plane and finding the spar corrosion. I should have caught the spar corrosion on an earlier preflight, no idea how long I was flying with it. Plane was hangared when I bought it and first two years of ownership, but moving for work it's been tied down in Oxnard, CA and St. Mary's Co, MD since 2017, so being outside in coastal locations the past three years definitely sped up the damage.
I can't imagine this is something repairable short of replacing the left rib and right aft spar cap, which my mechanic probably doesn't want to take on. My engine is strong but getting up there with 1470 SMOH, and panel is basic VFR with a garmin 345 ADS-B transponder, so unfortunately with a $20K+ or worse repair, repairing the damage or replacing the wing doesn't look to make economic sense on a plane hardly worth more than that.
I hate to be the last owner in 58 years, but can any of you recommend a salvage company in the mid-atlantic that may be interested in buying it? I'm based at St. Mary's Co, MD (2W6). My mechanic pointed out that airplanes are worth more as parts than as airplanes, but I don't have a great location to store the airframe should I part it out. How does one determine if it's safe to ferry a plane with this kind of damage? Or is there another idea you all recommend before selling it to salvage?
Mostly just looking for advice or ideas at this point. This is my first plane, and definitely won't be my last- if I sell this plane I'll be searching for a Mooney in better shape ASAP!
Thanks for your input,
Ben