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Successful annual!!


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I replaced all 3 tires and tubes, because they were worn out.  Other than that, the only part we replaced was gascolator gaskets.  

My last annual was $7,000.  I did all the labor on this one, the IA just followed up and inspected my work.  I spent under $1500 total for the whole shebang.  

And, stuff actually got done.  The folks who did my $7,000 annual did not do about half of the things they were supposed to.  

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The first annual after I bought my plane was owner assisted.

I thought that all the panel screws that had to be zizzed off were just part of the annual.  Now I realize that most of those panels hadn't been removed in many years by the professionals that had maintained the plane.

An owner has the luxury of working without the time pressure of a shop clock.  All the time consumming little jobs can be done and done right by an owner.  The IA can spend his time doing what he does best:  inspecting.

I'm presently doing my 20th owner assisted annual.

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1 hour ago, ragedracer1977 said:

I replaced all 3 tires and tubes, because they were worn out.  Other than that, the only part we replaced was gascolator gaskets.  

My last annual was $7,000.  I did all the labor on this one, the IA just followed up and inspected my work.  I spent under $1500 total for the whole shebang.  

And, stuff actually got done.  The folks who did my $7,000 annual did not do about half of the things they were supposed to.  

pretty similar for me.  My last annual was $7k, and my current one is running $1700 or so.  My plane is definitely better than it was 24 months ago.  

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2 hours ago, gsxrpilot said:

I'm looking forward to having the time to do my own annuals. One day when I can quit the day job...

 

2 hours ago, ragedracer1977 said:

That's the nice thing about being the boss.  I'm still making money even when I'm not there. ;)

Owner assisted annual is a lot easier when you and the IA both live with the planes.  You can wander out for a couple of hours "whenever".  The annual is really just a compilation of many small tasks.

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5 minutes ago, Mooneymite said:

Owner assisted annual is a lot easier when you and the IA both live with the planes.  You can wander out for a couple of hours "whenever".  The annual is really just a compilation of many small tasks.

Yeah... another issue I hope to address one day.  It's nearly an hour each way now.

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47 minutes ago, Mooneymite said:

 

Owner assisted annual is a lot easier when you and the IA both live with the planes.  You can wander out for a couple of hours "whenever".  The annual is really just a compilation of many small tasks.

Yeah, my shop is 10 minutes from the field.  The working part of the annual took me about a week after work and a Saturday. After it was all apart and the servicing done, the IA came by yesterday and spent about 6 hours inspecting everything and helping me put it back together.  And paper work.  He took the logs with him a couple days ago and went through all the ADs.  I was down 2 weeks all together, but mostly due to me not being in a hurry.  If you don't count all the tires tubes, grease, disposables, etc- the annual cost me $405.97, and that includes what I paid the IA.

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The nice thing about owner assist is you can focus on different areas of the plane each year and upgrade or overhaul.   Instead of doing the whole plane half way, you go though one or two systems and rebuild or overhaul so they are better than new.

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2 hours ago, Yetti said:

The nice thing about owner assist is you can focus on different areas of the plane each year and upgrade or overhaul.   Instead of doing the whole plane half way, you go though one or two systems and rebuild or overhaul so they are better than new.

Absolutely!

Actually, I'd really be pissed if I caught an A&P on the clock doing some of the laborious stuff I find time to do.  Today, I spent a half hour cleaning the insides of inspection panels.  (Is that OCD?).  A shop half hour is one thing, but my time is essentially free.

@gsxrpilot, you need to get your SWA brother involved.  He's got lots of time off!  ;) :lol:

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8 minutes ago, Mooneymite said:

Absolutely!

Actually, I'd really be pissed if I caught an A&P on the clock doing some of the laborious stuff I find time to do.  Today, I spent a half hour cleaning the insides of inspection panels.  (Is that OCD?).  A shop half hour is one thing, but my time is essentially free.

@gsxrpilot

When I got the plane the entire inside of the cowl and everything in there was wiped down.   There is absolutely no way I would pay someone to do that, but I was happy to spend my time.  Same with scraping the rocker cover gaskets off.   I got them way cleaner than any mechanic, but would never pay someone to do that.

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For those of us without the time, aptitude or common sense to execute an owner assisted annual, has anyone compiled a checklist for a Post-Annual inspection?   

Background:   My IA has been in the guts of this aircraft for 20+ years (several owners) but I'm new to the aircraft and would like to formalize the Post-Annual inspection before I fly.   My partner typically removes panels and peeks, but since this is an expanded pre-flight we'd like a checklist to be more meticulous.   

Thanks!

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Time, and a willingness to learn...

Even an engineering degree or two may not be of any help, compared to the experience that is gained by doing the work...

Kind of like a science lab...

A post Annual checklist....

Touch everything... make sure every nut and bolt that was touched during the annual has been put back...

Hard to do if you don’t know what a mag looks like... 

One of the weirdest maintenance induced failures is the re-use of star washers that help holding the mags in place. They are lock washers... the bolts loosen up over time... leaving the mag hanging, and dripping oil...

Other things are nearly technical... everyone has an experience of something that was left incomplete...  

It doesn’t take a technical person to find a battery box not bolted down....

It helps if you can be there for a few minutes prior to then closing everything back up... take a lot of pictures for review and self education later... Ask the mechanic to review the work he did... yes, expect to pay for his time if he needs to be there with you....

In the end, you will know what a mag looks like, where it is, and recognize when it isn’t tightened down....

When you do two annuals you start to recognize things that are dripping that shouldn’t be... like hydraulic fluid... cleaning it is a pain... doing it again the next year you start looking for the cause... the third year you are in their ready with tools, materials, and every thing needed to get the hydraulic return lines swapped out...

Or... you can have a fully educated background in your Mooney, where you can point to things and discuss with your mechanic what you want to get done...

With some MS background, you might get some details that you want to have when installing something... grab the pics, show your mechanic what you want, the way you want it... See if it is something you can get done...

Building a relationship with your maintenance people makes great sense...

”here comes carusoam... and his million questions...”  :)

The more you know....

Best regards,

-a-

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3 hours ago, Seymour said:

For those of us without the time, aptitude or common sense to execute an owner assisted annual, has anyone compiled a checklist for a Post-Annual inspection?   

Background:   My IA has been in the guts of this aircraft for 20+ years (several owners) but I'm new to the aircraft and would like to formalize the Post-Annual inspection before I fly.   My partner typically removes panels and peeks, but since this is an expanded pre-flight we'd like a checklist to be more meticulous.   

Thanks!

Try this:

Mooney annual checklist

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5 hours ago, Mooneymite said:

Absolutely!

Actually, I'd really be pissed if I caught an A&P on the clock doing some of the laborious stuff I find time to do.  Today, I spent a half hour cleaning the insides of inspection panels.  (Is that OCD?).  A shop half hour is one thing, but my time is essentially free.

@gsxrpilot, you need to get your SWA brother involved.  He's got lots of time off!  ;) :lol:

Very true.  I took every inspection panel, the entire cowl, etc down to my shop and scrubbed them inside and out.  Not something I would pay someone to do, but needs to be done now and again.

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5 hours ago, Seymour said:

For those of us without the time, aptitude or common sense to execute an owner assisted annual, has anyone compiled a checklist for a Post-Annual inspection?   

Background:   My IA has been in the guts of this aircraft for 20+ years (several owners) but I'm new to the aircraft and would like to formalize the Post-Annual inspection before I fly.   My partner typically removes panels and peeks, but since this is an expanded pre-flight we'd like a checklist to be more meticulous.   

Thanks!

An Annual inspection is just a really through walk around.   I would decowl top and side.  Use a flashlight and trace each wire and hose and make sure they connect to something and they are tight on both ends.   Nothing should be rubbing, everything should be secured.  One of the Mooney experts had the bottom plugs spit out of the engine.  So put a hand on all the plugs and make sure they are tight and caps are tight. Same with all control surfaces checking bolts and such.   Check for loose screws and covers.   Lift the tail to check for play.     Do several fast taxis.  Then do a flight above the airport, come back and check for leaks and loose stuff.   Ask the IA if he wants to go for a flight.

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Owner assisted annuals are the way to go if you have even the slightest bit of mechanical capability and an IA who will allow it and work with you.   Don't forget to pay the IA well for his time too.  Owner assisted annual with inspection only by the IA should fall in the $1000 to $1500 IMHO.  My former mechanic would always ask at some point during the annual what she was there for.  I would always tell her because you can sign the logbook.

Yes annuals do take time.  I generally take a day off on a weekend to open up the plane.  I start cleaning and greasing, change the oil and filter and everything else that needs it.  I will let the IA know the plane is ready.  Once the inspection is complete we discuss what needs attention.  Generally I already know that by the time I have finished cleaning and tell him what I'm going to be doing to get his buy in.

 

 

 

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9 hours ago, ragedracer1977 said:

Very true.  I took every inspection panel, the entire cowl, etc down to my shop and scrubbed them inside and out.  Not something I would pay someone to do, but needs to be done now and again.

I do that and I wipe the inside of the wings down with a rag soaked in corrosion X and mineral spirits.  You would be surprised the amount of gunk you get out of there even doing it almost every year.

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I'm assisting with the annual inspection the week after next.  I watched last year as the annual was part of pre-buy inspection.  This year I plan to be more engaged.  Does anyone have instructions for checking the landing gear pre-load?  I'd like to study that procedure before hand so I understand how it is done and what it accomplishes.

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