Owner-assisted annual--the way to go!

[OR75]

I put the Annual Inspection items into 3 buckets:

1) things like removing / reinstalling pannels, seats / cleaning, etc ... IMHO, those are best done by a caring owner provided he can read a parts catalog. I personnaly like to use the right screws, nuts and bolts rather than force a larger screew to make things hold together till next annual

2) things that any competent A&P / IA can do. When you think about it all the engines and inspections are same whether in a Mooney or a Cessna or Beech ... what is specific to Mooneys in compressions or spark plugs ?

3) things that are best left to an MSC or a Mooney knowledgeable shop. Main items here is the rigging.

Probably a good safety things for an owner/pilot to know how his aircraft is doing before picking between an owner's assist with the closest filed IA and the MSC a 1000 miles away  

 

 

 

[Wildhorsesracing]

I spent 4 hours today vacuuming and cleaning each wing bay of my M20C which had become mouse "condos".  I was attracted to this plane because it was housed in a hangar for most of it's life.  Apparently mice love the great indoors especially in the wing of a Mooney! 

I doubt anyone really wants to pay A&P shop rates to clean what amounted to approx 5 lbs of mouse poo and nest materials out of each wing! (although after finishing one wing I was ready to pay ANYONE else to do it!)  Some would argue that I should pay someone to do it, but I don't think anyone would do as good a job cleaning it as an owner would.

[PilotDerek]

Jim, 

You just gained 10lbs useful load for 4 hrs of work, not bad!

[N9453V]

Quote: Wildhorsesracing

I spent 4 hours today vacuuming and cleaning each wing bay of my M20C which had become mouse "condos".  I was attracted to this plane because it was housed in a hangar for most of it's life.  Apparently mice love the great indoors especially in the wing of a Mooney! 

I doubt anyone really wants to pay A&P shop rates to clean what amounted to approx 5 lbs of mouse poo and nest materials out of each wing! (although after finishing one wing I was ready to pay ANYONE else to do it!)  Some would argue that I should pay someone to do it, but I don't think anyone would do as good a job cleaning it as an owner would.

[M20F-1968]

If there were that many mouse droppings over a long time of hangar storage, I would also start seriously looking for corrosion somewhere.

John Breda

[Wildhorsesracing]

Quote: M20F-1968

If there were that many mouse droppings over a long time of hangar storage, I would also start seriously looking for corrosion somewhere.

John Breda

[Jeff_S]

Not to cause undue concern, but rodent droppings, especially those that have been around for awhile, are a very common source for the hantavirus which can be extremely nasty and sometimes fatal. Were you wearing a mask and eye protection? If not, please be cautious with any flu-like symptoms you may experience.

[Hank]

Quote: Wildhorsesracing

I am in the process of an owner assisted annual.  I am doing it to learn more about my new (to me) airplane.  The shop where my plane is at is very busy and I know it would take 2-3 times as long if I didn't help out.  I love the fact that I am getting very intimate with all of the working details of my M20C.  I want to fully understand all of the subsystems of the plane in case I have any issues in the future. 

[DaV8or]

Just finished my owner assisted annual at LASAR. Great experience. Turns out my last annual wasn't so great. Don't think it saved me much money, it saved a lot of time and I learned a lot about Mooney's. I highly recommend this to all Mooney owners at least once.

[danb35]

Quote: Hank

I've always changed my oil every 50 hours, and he doesn't do it at annual unless it's close to needing it.

[BigTex]

I've always thought that doing owner assisted annuals was the way to go until I went through a pre-buy of my latest plane that just went through an owner assisted annual prior to the pre-buy inspection.  Even though my plane had a fresh annual I stilled wanted Don Maxwell to look it over.  Don created a squawk list that would chock a horse with over $6k of airworthy items with most being items the A&I should of caught.  Luckly the sales agreement had the owner covering those items and I ended up with a great plane.

I'm not sure what happen in my case if the A&I doesn't know Mooney's or what but this now has me leaning to using MSC's for my annuals or at least every other one.  For the one's I'm not using MSC's for the annual, having an A&I that's really good and will watch me like a hawk.

[1964-M20E]

Well I finished up my first annual on my new to me plane earlier this week.  It took just over two weeks and that included fixing items as well.

 

1. Replaced nose retraction truss
2. Replaced nose retraction link
3. Replaced nose gear landing shock disc link
4. Replace main gear shock disc link
5. Replaced all three tires and tubes
6. Replace some control rod ends
7. Replaced inboard elevator hinge
8. Re-rigged landing gear preloads
9. Verified control rigging
10. Dynamic balance of the prop (it feels much smoother now)
11. Covered all normal annual inspection items
12. Compressions 77 to 79psi

 

I invested over 80 hours of my own time in removing inspection covers, replacing inspection covers, cleaning, lubing and I turned all the wrenches removing and installing parts under the supervision of the IA.  I even helped the IA out on another F in for annual at the same time.   Is everything taken care of well not really we have our list of items we plan on doing throughout the year and items we want to tackle on the next annual.

 

I have been building my inventory of Mooney specific tools and with a few more I will have all the major required tools to work on my Mooney under my MX’s supervision.

 

The other Mooney in for an annual had a number of issues nothing too serious but some things, normally checked and done at annual,  that supposedly were done during the previous but obviously were not.  I even had a few of these myself.

 

At the end of the day I know what was done, how it was done, why it was done and that it was done right. 

[Hector]

I'm in the middle of my first annual a well. I'm doing most of the work in my hangar with my A&P inspecting my work. I wanted to look at everything so all access panels/doors as well as all the interior came out. The previous owner took good care of the aircraft so thankfully my squawk list is not very long.

[tomn]

I think its extremely important to know as much as possible about your own plane wether you do the work or not. You can never assume that everything has been done right by a mechanic even if they are highly qualified - they are human too.

One item to add to these lists - check the age of you hoses - especially oil lines to the oil cooler. I had one break in flight last year after a new alternator was installed. The oil cooler had to be removed from the cowling and flexing the lines caused an undetected crack. I was able to get it back on the ground after loosing all the oil but lost the crank and the no. 4 rod - not to mention the money to fix. I had felt comfortable with the annuals that had been done on the plane previously by the same mechanic before and after I purchased it. Turns out the oil lines were 14 years old with a bad rub point under the heat sheild just below the exhaust. Check you logs - dont assume things like this are OK just because someone else said everything looks fine. Understand the age of the components and their life expactancy. It just might make all the difference one day.

[N201MKTurbo]

Well, tomorrow I start my 29th annual. I have done all but two and I don't look forward to it.

They have all been owner assisted (owner done). I got my A&P license in 2005, but it didn't really change things much, I still do all the work and have to find an IA to sign it off. If the IA finds a squawk, I don't have to pay him to fix it or even inspect the work, I can sign off the work.

[HRM]

Just finished the annual on '48Q yesterday.  Like the last two, I helped out, and this year there were only a couple of very minor squawks.  My bill?  $525.  If you're reasonably handy with a wrench and a screwdriver, this is a good way to learn more about your plane and save some money.  That one-piece belly pan would sure be nice, though...

 

When I saw the topic title and started reading your post my first thought was: I wonder if he has a 1-piece belly on the plane?

 

I do not have the time to do annuals, but I will when I retire in a few years and I am greatly looking forward to it. I recently purchased a 1-piece off the same model year as my E and will have it installed next annual in preparation for the day I pull it. I enjoy working on my plane as much as I enjoy flying it. Can't wait to grab that gold watch and head for the hangar 

[danb35]

No 1-piece belly on '48Q.  I'd like to have one, but can't even come close to justifying the cost to install it.  Maybe if I gear up...

[AmigOne]

Funny, I do not believe in owner assisted annuals but I do a lot of work in the airplane throughout the year, the kind allowed by the FARs. I'm constantly looking everywhere in the airplane for signs that something is wrong so I get almost no surprises at annual time and this is how I save money. For example I can legally replace the landing light but if I let the mechanic do it then it is 1/2 hr or more of labor. Oil changes I do myself, they are nor difficult to do but changing the oil filter can be messy. I manufactured a contraption from a 2" PVC tube and not single drop falls into the engine compartment when I remove the filter. BTW if an oil change is not needed at annual time I don't believe that the FAR Part 43-D specifically mandates that the oil filter be inspected. However I read a version of 43-D in Avweb and may not be a complete one. Forgot to mention, in the past when an important issue was discovered (very few times) I want to be informed, maybe go to inspect the problem and discuss the alternatives in person. In one opportunity reagrding an AD the mechanics had not reviewed the logbooks/AD properly and it did not apply to my airplane. It can happen. I have owned 3 Mooneys so far and of course over these many years I have learned a few things about the airplane.

[HRM]

Funny, I do not believe in owner assisted annuals but I do a lot of work in the airplane throughout the year, the kind allowed by the FARs. 

 

Actually, you are already doing an owner-assisted annual, and a good one at that. Once the owner gets involved it all comes down to how much he does.

[Marauder]

I think the benefit of owner assisted annuals is just gaining the knowledge of how everything is put together and how the systems work. I wish my current mechanic supported it. I did a fair amount of owner assisted work beyond just the access panel pulling

[BigTex]

There's some real value doing owner assisted annual.  But I also feel it pretty important that every few annual, you take your plane to one of the major MSC shops that work on Mooneys every day.  Over time as the planes rigging, shock discs, etc. change you as a pilot that flys the plane get accustom to how the plane flys so you really don't know when items changed to the point of needing maintenance.  This is where the value of a MSC that flys different Mooneys every day.  They know how the play should fly.

 

When I bought my plane, there were a number of items that the owner was shocked needed fixing.  The shock discs were shot and the flaps didn't deploy evenly.  The owner over time just adjusted to how the plane flew and road.  After those items were repaired, the prior owner commented that this plane didn't fly anything like it used to... made it easier for him to part with it.

[DaV8or]

There's some real value doing owner assisted annual.  But I also feel it pretty important that every few annual, you take your plane to one of the major MSC shops that work on Mooneys every day.

 

You can do both if you take your plane to LASAR. I'm going again next month... cross my fingers! They allow owner assist and they are one of the countries premier MSCs. Only thing is, it's not cheap. If you're doing the owner assist to save money, this won't.