astravierso Posted October 15, 2016 Report Posted October 15, 2016 All, Just finished up with my first annual on "Charlotte" and I have to say sometimes "it's better to be lucky than good". At least that's how I feel after reading some of the stories here on MS about first annuals after the purchase and with a shop which has only seen the plane when I did an oil change. The only thing found was a leaky (seaping) brake caliper. I did have the fuel pump replaced as it couldn't keep up on take off (which scared the crap out of the CFI who was doing my BFR when the "gripe" was discovered. I guess that's why we have two of them. But that's another story). Thanks go to Delta Airlines for overbooking flights and contributing to the annual fund which helped me pay for the pump and a few other parts to keep the cost down. The final tally is 2.5 Days and 1.3 AMU's. It probably would have been done quicker but it was an owner "assisted" annual. I guess it's a good thing I don't work flat rate anymore, I would starve. With that said I now have more confidence in Charlotte after seeing her from the inside out (save the jokes boy's). Cheers 2
Hank Posted October 15, 2016 Report Posted October 15, 2016 Congratulations! Up until this year, my owner-assisted annuals typically took 2-3 weeks. This year was a 3-day weekend at pretty much the same cost.
bradp Posted October 15, 2016 Report Posted October 15, 2016 Cool news. Great news for thrb100LL fund. also - what's the tail logo on Charlotte? Is that an Aerostar with a super fancy paint job in the background? -b
astravierso Posted October 15, 2016 Author Report Posted October 15, 2016 Hank, SK- Thanks and like I said sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. Don't get me wrong there are things which I am going to improve ( rebuild the engine doghouse, fix air stair, swap the oil screen for an oil filter adaptor, balance the prop, LASAR cowl mod, avionics upgrade as winter projects over many winters) and things which will need to be repaired when they effect airworthiness (nose wheel play and tank leaks) like every other 50+yr old AC but I was very lucky that there were no surprises tucked away behind the panels. I'm not sure if it helped but I had a long discussion with the AI's at the shop when I did my first oil change about my intentions for the plane (this is my A&P apprentice and IR rating/Comm Cert. training tool) and they seemed to be OK with that. For the Annual I brought my own tool box, rags, cleaning supplies, oil, gear rigging tools, Mooney 100 insp. check list etc... almost everything I would need to do all of the maintenance I'm allowed to do under part 43. I let the AI assignment what work he wanted me to do and didn't say anything when he assigned work I was competent, qualified and legally allowed to do to his helper. I worked with the helper and asked him to show me how to do some tasks. When I wasn't doing a directed task I worked on little things I wanted to improve, like "ringing out" all of my comm and nav antenna cables and labelling them, trying to take that UGLY A$$ decal off the tail. And finally I respected the shop by sweeping up and picking up when things got messy. I'm not sure how much all of that helped with the price but it did help with the conversations about the nose gear and tanks. Brad - the logo is from a defunct flying school out of Kingman AZ, they owned the plane last and it is a pain in the --- to get off without damaging the paint (welcoming any tips on this...please). Yes that is an Aerostar in the background. The shop is primarily an Aerostar shop, they had 4 or 5 in for various maintenance and have 2 for sale (if your interested, I know I am but that's too much plane for me at the moment and will always be too much money). Cheers
Yetti Posted October 16, 2016 Report Posted October 16, 2016 if it is vinyl... heat gun is the way to go... slowly... as it will take the paint off also... vinyl melts before the paint.. knowing when to stop heating is the key. Use plastic scrapers to keep from burning the fingers. 1
JKSmith Posted October 16, 2016 Report Posted October 16, 2016 I took the pin striping off my pickup truck without damaging the clear coat and couldn't tell it was there with this tool http://m.northerntool.com/products/shop~tools~product_200659890_200659890?hotline=false&cm_mmc=Google-pla&utm_source=Google_PLA&utm_medium=Automotive %26gt%3B Auto Body Repair&utm_campaign=Dent Fix&utm_content=52342&gclid=CJqvrqe_3s8CFVA2gQodt4kDBg if all else fails, heat gun and patience. -Jon Keith -N7122V 1
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