Aaargh, all at once - expen$$$ive

Chrisgoesflying

Chrisgoesflying

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Chrisgoesflying
The Comanche has been a great plane. Other than routine maintenance and the upgrades I voluntarily installed it has been great. This year however, it'll be an expensive plane :-( Three major items are due:

1. 1,000 hour gear ad: Quoted at $4,000 - $5,000.
2. 5 year stab horn ad: Quoted at $4,000 - $5,000.
3. 10 year prop overhaul: Quoted at $4,000.

The prop overhaul is the dumbest. All shops ask me, why don't I just IRAN the prop for less than half the cost - but I can't. It's a Canadian mandate and since the plane is still C-registered, I have to do it. Oh, and then on top of the above mandated items, I will also have to fly 6 hours one way to get the annual done because a U.S. mechanic is not allowed to sign off on an annual for a Canadian registered plane and I have not found a licensed Canadian mechanic in the U.S. yet (and doubt I will). I was considering to just go through the import process this year while taking care of the above items, which would also eliminate the mandatory prop overhaul but from what I've heard, that's a loooong process and I don't want the plane being grounded for that long. At least the above items won't take long (at least not estimated). The shop that's doing the gear and stab horn said I should be in and out within a week. The prop shop said 1-2 weeks and my annuals usually take 3 days.
 
Ouch.

Sadly a combination of maintenance events can practically total an aircraft. It happened to a jet we used to operate. I think it was a C or D check came due at the same time as both engines. It was a perfectly good jet, well maintained, but was old and worth less than $1M. The estimate for the maintenance was about $600-700k, and the plane would still only be worth $1M afterwards. The plane ended up going to a scrapper to be parted out.
 
midwestpa24 said:
Ouch.

Sadly a combination of maintenance events can practically total an aircraft. It happened to a jet we used to operate. I think it was a C or D check came due at the same time as both engines. It was a perfectly good jet, well maintained, but was old and worth less than $1M. The estimate for the maintenance was about $600-700k, and the plane would still only be worth $1M afterwards. The plane ended up going to a scrapper to be parted out.
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Well, looking at it from that perspective it's not that bad. $14,000 max wouldn't total the plane :)
 
ArrowFlyer86 said:
A recurring item every 5y that's 4-5k? Is there a way out of that one?

Sorry, sounds like some mx items are lining up to make it a rough year!
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There is what is known as an Aussie horn conversion, replaces the AD part altogether. They have quite a lead time though.
 
midwestpa24 said:
There is what is known as an Aussie horn conversion, replaces the AD part altogether. They have quite a lead time though.
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Yeah, I'll get this one installed this year. I'm going directly to Webco in Kansas for the two ADs and they have them readily available.
 
I would be happy with the 5k prop overhaul. My last MT prop overhaul was 5 figures.
 
Chrisgoesflying said:
but from what I've heard, that's a loooong process and I don't want the plane being grounded for that long.
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Have you talked to a DAR about importing an aircraft? Since you will be having a TCCA annual signed off soon, perhaps talk to a DAR who handles imports to discuss your options? Not seeing where your aircraft would take a long process unless there is some weird TCCA history to it. But definitely worth a call IMO.
 
Has the shop done a stab horn before? If the horn has been inspected since the AD, it should all come apart very easily. A reinspection should be 4-6 hours labor max. Don't know what the Aussie horns are going for these days, but $5k sounds real high. The tubes, now there's an availability problem if yours fails. Maybe they factored that in.
 
those estimates seem low. I was told to expect 10 to 12 for the gear and 10 for the elevator horn if you're going with the Aussie swap
 
Chip Sylverne said:
Has the shop done a stab horn before? If the horn has been inspected since the AD, it should all come apart very easily. A reinspection should be 4-6 hours labor max. Don't know what the Aussie horns are going for these days, but $5k sounds real high. The tubes, now there's an availability problem if yours fails. Maybe they factored that in.
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They definitely have.

SixPapaCharlie said:
those estimates seem low. I was told to expect 10 to 12 for the gear and 10 for the elevator horn if you're going with the Aussie swap
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Really? By Webco? I asked them when I booked and I asked them again yesterday to make sure and that's what they said. "Expect $4,000 - $5,000 for each AD".
 
midwestpa24 said:
Ouch.

Sadly a combination of maintenance events can practically total an aircraft. It happened to a jet we used to operate. I think it was a C or D check came due at the same time as both engines. It was a perfectly good jet, well maintained, but was old and worth less than $1M. The estimate for the maintenance was about $600-700k, and the plane would still only be worth $1M afterwards. The plane ended up going to a scrapper to be parted out.
Click to expand...

I thought the goal was to flip the plane well before those came due and depreciated, the a/c value!
Unless we are talking about surprise ADs or unexpected findings.
 
Chrisgoesflying said:
They definitely have.



Really? By Webco? I asked them when I booked and I asked them again yesterday to make sure and that's what they said. "Expect $4,000 - $5,000 for each AD".
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Trust them. They are the experts.
I have a friend with a 250 that spent 15k on the gear AD (But that included getting them repainted) and he spent 9k on the aussie horn.

I would trust Webco though. They are the experts. My friend is just a dude. Dudes may exaggerate.
I want to hear your numbers in the end because I need the gear and elev. horn. If your quotes are accurate, I am going to fly up to webco and get them knocked out.
I am TERRIFIED of the elevator horn even though mine looks immaculate. If it fails, you are done. I don't think they really fail but people have scared me about it.

@eman1200 , @EdFred , @Jim K , @masloki Thanks for flying with me
 
Chrisgoesflying said:
I will also have to fly 6 hours one way to get the annual done because a U.S. mechanic is not allowed to sign off on an annual for a Canadian registered plane and I have not found a licensed Canadian mechanic in the U.S. yet (and doubt I will).
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Some FAA Repair Stations have the documentation and training that qualify them to certify the work on Canadian airplanes. You just need to find one of those closer than Saskatchewan.

From CAR 571:

Persons Who May Sign a Maintenance Release​

  • 571.11 (1) Except as provided in subsections (2) and (7), no person other than the holder of an aircraft maintenance engineer (AME) licence issued under Part IV, specifying a rating appropriate to the aeronautical product being maintained, shall sign a maintenance release as required by section 571.10.
  • (2) A person other than a person described in subsection (1) may sign a maintenance release if
    • (a) in the case of maintenance performed outside Canada,
      • (i) the person is authorized to sign under the laws of a state that is party to an agreement or a technical arrangement with Canada and the agreement or technical arrangement provides for such certification, or
      • (ii) if no agreement or technical arrangement provides for such certification, the person holds qualifications that the Minister determines to be equivalent to those of a person described in subsection (1);
Dan (a retired AME in Saskatchewan)
 
Chrisgoesflying said:
The Comanche has been a great plane. Other than routine maintenance and the upgrades I voluntarily installed it has been great. This year however, it'll be an expensive plane :-( Three major items are due:

1. 1,000 hour gear ad: Quoted at $4,000 - $5,000.
2. 5 year stab horn ad: Quoted at $4,000 - $5,000.
3. 10 year prop overhaul: Quoted at $4,000.

The prop overhaul is the dumbest. All shops ask me, why don't I just IRAN the prop for less than half the cost - but I can't. It's a Canadian mandate and since the plane is still C-registered, I have to do it. Oh, and then on top of the above mandated items, I will also have to fly 6 hours one way to get the annual done because a U.S. mechanic is not allowed to sign off on an annual for a Canadian registered plane and I have not found a licensed Canadian mechanic in the U.S. yet (and doubt I will). I was considering to just go through the import process this year while taking care of the above items, which would also eliminate the mandatory prop overhaul but from what I've heard, that's a loooong process and I don't want the plane being grounded for that long. At least the above items won't take long (at least not estimated). The shop that's doing the gear and stab horn said I should be in and out within a week. The prop shop said 1-2 weeks and my annuals usually take 3 days.
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I am not a big fan or IRAN on props. If you were to have an insurance claim involving requiring a prop replacement, an adjuster will likely deduct the cost of the overhaul you did not have done from the insurance claim because TBO is not based on IRAN time.
 
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