ScottM
Taxi to Parking
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2005
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iBazinga!
Well it looks like the horror of my first annual is over. When I bought my plane last summer the thing I feared most was the first annual. I had heard horror stories of annuals that took months to complete and cost almost as much as the aircraft. So as I approached my annual date the anxiety built. Then at the end of January the hammer fell.
When I had bought the plane I was impressed by the condition of it. It had a lot of new things added that made it in very good condition. The previous owner had given it a lot of TLC and it was obvious it was a good plane. The decision to buy was an easy one. But still, one wonders what surprises are instore. Within weeks of buying it I had to replace a dead vacuum pump and strobe light. I felt bad but that was all that went wrong until.....AD Time!!!
In January the FAA issued an AD that affects ECI cylinders. My engine with 975SMOH had 4 of the affect cylinders. After talking with the mechanic we decided to start the replacement process and do the firewall forward part of the annual, fly for 10 hours, then do an oil change and the airframe part of the annual. This would have me back in annual and signed of one month prior to the current annual expiring.
In another thread I detailed what I went through with the cylinder replacement. To keep it short, with some help from ECI on the prices I got the new clyinders installed for around $4900. At the same time we changed out both mags and upgraded one to also have an inertial boost, Slick mags threw in 12 spak plugs with the upgrade, but we also added new spark plug cables, new exhaust and heating hoses, and a new fuel primer system. The total for all of this work including the new cylinders was $5700. At this point I am dreading the next bit on the airfram. I am thinking I will have a $10K annual and eat my entire maintenance savings.
I flew the plane and found an oil leak that was related to the gasket on the oil pan that would need to be fixed and I had some outstanding squawks. A new piece of plastic on the pax floor, replace a broken switch for the wingtip landing lights, new tires, and a sticky vacuum warning light transducer.
Last week they started on the airframe. Nothing was found outside of the squawks I knew about that had to be dealt with right away. There is an AD for my standby vacuum system I did not know about. But I have until later this year to comply with it. All in all an easy time and the cost should be well under $1000. Worst case my first annual just cost me under $7000. Whew!!
I know next year I will need new oil hoses and I would like to upgrade the strobe power supply to a dual unit so I can split the beacon form the strobes, plus my ELT battery will be due. But at least I can budget for all of that stuff.
When I had bought the plane I was impressed by the condition of it. It had a lot of new things added that made it in very good condition. The previous owner had given it a lot of TLC and it was obvious it was a good plane. The decision to buy was an easy one. But still, one wonders what surprises are instore. Within weeks of buying it I had to replace a dead vacuum pump and strobe light. I felt bad but that was all that went wrong until.....AD Time!!!
In January the FAA issued an AD that affects ECI cylinders. My engine with 975SMOH had 4 of the affect cylinders. After talking with the mechanic we decided to start the replacement process and do the firewall forward part of the annual, fly for 10 hours, then do an oil change and the airframe part of the annual. This would have me back in annual and signed of one month prior to the current annual expiring.
In another thread I detailed what I went through with the cylinder replacement. To keep it short, with some help from ECI on the prices I got the new clyinders installed for around $4900. At the same time we changed out both mags and upgraded one to also have an inertial boost, Slick mags threw in 12 spak plugs with the upgrade, but we also added new spark plug cables, new exhaust and heating hoses, and a new fuel primer system. The total for all of this work including the new cylinders was $5700. At this point I am dreading the next bit on the airfram. I am thinking I will have a $10K annual and eat my entire maintenance savings.
I flew the plane and found an oil leak that was related to the gasket on the oil pan that would need to be fixed and I had some outstanding squawks. A new piece of plastic on the pax floor, replace a broken switch for the wingtip landing lights, new tires, and a sticky vacuum warning light transducer.
Last week they started on the airframe. Nothing was found outside of the squawks I knew about that had to be dealt with right away. There is an AD for my standby vacuum system I did not know about. But I have until later this year to comply with it. All in all an easy time and the cost should be well under $1000. Worst case my first annual just cost me under $7000. Whew!!
I know next year I will need new oil hoses and I would like to upgrade the strobe power supply to a dual unit so I can split the beacon form the strobes, plus my ELT battery will be due. But at least I can budget for all of that stuff.