Annual is Done

Lawreston

Lawreston

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Feb 23, 2005
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4,573
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Georgetown, ME
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Display name:
Harley Reich
Just a basic annual; but $288.00 parts cost for the Cessna Seat-rail Pin AD?

Yeah; I know the wheel pants don't match. To get a nose wheel pant replacement for my cracked original I was able to buy a whole set(used). I think I'll have it painted silver or gold next winter, then put some graphics on it. (Anybody need pants for their mains?)

It's the first time she's sat outside in years. Now let's hope for better wx than the last two summers of rain, fog, high winds, and oppressive heat(last July and August).

HR(photos at Twitchell's Airport 3B5)

She has a nice neighbor in photo #2. During a slight breeze I got help from two guys to put on the cockpit cover. They were both from Germany and had come to Twitchell's to get their float plane ratings. Twitchell's Sea Plane base is well-known all over Europe, from where many come for the FP rating.
 

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Mine was $1300; included a new battery and a new flap switch.
Ready to fly.

HR
 
Are either of the $1700 and $1300 planes retracts? I'm looking at buying a Beech Deb and the last annual was $4400. It was $2400 flat fee on the first line, not including so much as the first drop of oil.

Those numbers give me pause.
 
ebacon said:
Are either of the $1700 and $1300 planes retracts? I'm looking at buying a Beech Deb and the last annual was $4400. It was $2400 flat fee on the first line, not including so much as the first drop of oil.

Those numbers give me pause.
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Nope, mine's a Cherokee. If I recall, the inspection runs $600 or $650. The rest is repairs and improvements. You should check with your mechanic as to what the inspection will run on a Deb. They should be able to give you a hard number. The mystery is what will need repair. A complex retractable is likely to need more repairs than an old Cherokee.

Of course, you can knock a lot of that off by doing some of the annual yourself. You're allowed to remove the interior, and you can probably remove cowlings and inspection panels under mechanic's supervision. I'd love to, but I already have a day job.
 
Mine is fixed gear(see photos in OP). Annual was $500; Labor for R & R Flap Switch was $60.00; Labor for R & R Seat Pin was $30.00; plus minor parts and oil, along with new battery and Flap Switch. No complaints.

HR
 
Guys, thanks for posting the actual dollar amounts. I read these threads with great interest.
 
My last annual cost me about $200 bux :happydance:




Wait, how much did A&P school cost?
How much more money would I have made if I hadden't been working on planes long enough to get my IA?


You guys gottem cheaper!:hairraise:
 
Lawreston said:
Mine is fixed gear(see photos in OP). Annual was $500; Labor for R & R Flap Switch was $60.00; Labor for R & R Seat Pin was $30.00; plus minor parts and oil, along with new battery and Flap Switch. No complaints.

HR
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Does Beale do yours?
 
ebacon said:
Are either of the $1700 and $1300 planes retracts? I'm looking at buying a Beech Deb and the last annual was $4400. It was $2400 flat fee on the first line, not including so much as the first drop of oil.

Those numbers give me pause.
Click to expand...
Not much to Debonair gear. I'd find someone else to do the inspection.
 
ebacon said:
Are either of the $1700 and $1300 planes retracts? I'm looking at buying a Beech Deb and the last annual was $4400. It was $2400 flat fee on the first line, not including so much as the first drop of oil.

Those numbers give me pause.
Click to expand...

Run of the mill annual should be 2-3k total on a Debby,


Keep in mind I have seen some as cheap as 1200 and as expensive as 15,000 on Bonanza's in general. I have never really seen anything "cost" a bunch of time or money related to the landing gear during inspections beyond the normal lubing etc.., if anything the gear doors win more attention there. However there are some gear components (such as the sector gear that connects to the motor) that can be a major pain to find, but that is a rare event.

$1k for the inspection itself is a reasonable price IMO, might have to work a little harder to find that though. A Beech SC for instance will charge $3500 for coming through the door.
 
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jesse said:
Not much to Debonair gear. I'd find someone else to do the inspection.
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The inspection was done by the seller's mechanic in CA. If I buy it I'd have to find someone at or near KPTK (Pontiac, MI).
 
bbchien said:
Does Beale do yours?
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Though I didn't visually observe any of the procedure, my assumption is that "Mike" did it, as he has for quite a few years. However, I don't know his last name. It was he who gave me verbal information about this and that, and that he had run some sort of wire/lead in anticipation for when Aircraft Spruce gets around to shipping my on-order "we'll ship it when we get it" 421 ELT.

HR
 
Fearless Tower said:
But was that $2400 you mentioned for the inspection only?
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I guess that's what it was for. Everything else that the mechanic touched was extra. Oil, spark plugs, air filter, lubricating cables, replacing some panel bulbs, lubricating alt air valve, lubricating a cable (throttle I think), adjusting aileron rigging, etc. The biggest replacement item was the battery.

Nothing major, just a page and a half of what I would consider routine maintenance. Anyone reading this that knows of a mechanic at KPTK that does owner-assisted annuals? I'd like to give him a call and see if he's willing to take on a new client.
 
$650, plus about $250 for battery, ELT battery, oil filter, and oil, for owner-assisted annual (plus maintenance items) on a cherokee 140.
 
Bob Noel said:
$650, plus about $250 for battery, ELT battery, oil filter, and oil, for owner-assisted annual (plus maintenance items) on a cherokee 140.
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How much work did you do? Last 140 I did wasn't much more than that with no owner assist.

Granted I'm working on an other 140 now and we are already north of 10k:hairraise:
 
skylanerg said:
'78 C82R 2.3k flat ++ here. Location has alot of influence. Located Long Island. Very reputable FBO. Great mechanics. Super satisfied. They're keeping her a cherry.
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Haven't worked on a R182 but have worked on the cessna retract system and have a working knowledge of 182s and that seems like a very fair price to me.
 
$1200 fix charge includes all AD research, required AD inspections, oil change, engine checks and clean gap spark plugs, and overall inspection of the aircraft. Add cost for oil, replacement parts, and labor + parts for any squawks that need to be fixed.

Fixed gear Pawnee, no interior, very basic, so inspections .. Every thing is visible!!
 
How many hours did you fly in the last year, I find that has a significant impact on the repairs and maintenance (which is often done at annual inspection time).
 
Skylane81E said:
How much work did you do? Last 140 I did wasn't much more than that with no owner assist.

Granted I'm working on an other 140 now and we are already north of 10k
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I opened the plane for the IA. Then I had some work conflicts so the IA did the oil change, etc. and had most of it closed up before I could get back to help.

wrt $10,000... cheer up. When I did the "annual" on my 140 back in 2002, I stopped counting when the non-labor stuff hit $23,000 (including the engine overhaul, etc). I put in a lot of hours July 2002 through Feb 2003 and had a whole lot of fun doing it.
 
Bob Noel said:
$650, plus about $250 for battery, ELT battery, oil filter, and oil, for owner-assisted annual (plus maintenance items) on a cherokee 140.
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Mine was about that, but I was in my lab the whole time writing papers. Maintenance prices can vary wildly depending on geography. Pretty reasonable too, mechanics have to eat and pay rent like the rest of us.

If the seller's mechanic did the annual I wouldn't touch it. Next time I buy and airplane its getting an annual from my mechanic. He's the guy doing the maintenance.

I have a guy claim my just out of annual Cessna 150 needed $7K worth of work to make it airworthy.
 
Bob Noel said:
I opened the plane for the IA. Then I had some work conflicts so the IA did the oil change, etc. and had most of it closed up before I could get back to help.

wrt $10,000... cheer up. When I did the "annual" on my 140 back in 2002, I stopped counting when the non-labor stuff hit $23,000 (including the engine overhaul, etc). I put in a lot of hours July 2002 through Feb 2003 and had a whole lot of fun doing it.
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This plane has a 47 hour engine on it, if you think flying your plane is expensive try not flying it. Our original estimate was 30,000 and I think by the time it's done it will be close.
 
I wonder how many of the posters here can actually separate maintenance and inspections.
 
Tom-D said:
I wonder how many of the posters here can actually separate maintenance and inspections.
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Sure, but from an owner POV, why does it matter?

I've going to pay for the maintenance items, I'm going to pay for the required inspections. It all gets logged.
 
Bob Noel said:
Sure, but from an owner POV, why does it matter?

I've going to pay for the maintenance items, I'm going to pay for the required inspections. It all gets logged.
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Because it allows the rip off FBOs to charge the whole repair as an annual, when it really isn't.

It also allows the owner to treat the annual as a 13 month maintenance period and believe it is required.

You can actually complete an annual and do no maintenance.
 
We give out both depending on the customer. Some guys just want a bill to pay at the end so they get it but everyone else gets first a call after the inspection to discuss what needs to be done and what can wait followed by an itemized invoice when done.
 
Tom-D said:
Because it allows the rip off FBOs to charge the whole repair as an annual, when it really isn't.

It also allows the owner to treat the annual as a 13 month maintenance period and believe it is required.

You can actually complete an annual and do no maintenance.
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You don't need to mix them together. All the rip-off FBO needs is an IA that is Dr. Death with a pen that never runs out of ink, if you know what I mean. Been there, done that, have the bloody t-shirt from a worthless rip-off IA. That guy may be the greatest mechanic on this planet, but I'll eat my airplane before I let him near my airplane ever again (do I sound bitter?)

And I respectivefully submit that "annual" and "annual inspection" are two different things. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the FARs lay out the requirements for an "annual inspection", not "annual." As a practical matter, owners include the "annual inspection" as part of the "annual."

So if someone tried to charge me for an "annual", it darn well better include the maintenance items described in the cherokee service list as well as the annual inspection items.

and yeah, I know the apparent confusion between "annual" and "annual inspection" is a pet-peeve of some.
 
ajstoner21 said:
Does anyone do an owner-assisted annual? How much money does it save?
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Since I bought my airplane in 1994, only one "annual" was not owner-assist. So it's hard to tell how much it saves, but that one "annual" that wasn't owner-assisted really screwed me. Anyway this year I spent 3 hours prepping the airplane for the IA (opening panels, carefully labelling screws, removing seats, ordering replacement parts, etc). In the past I've done the oil change, plug cleaning, air filter replacement... stuff that I usually have done concurrently with the "annual inspection"

So, how much is 5 or so hours of the mechanic's rate?
 
I think one of the biggest advantages is the intimate knowledge you get of your plane.


Cost savings are a bonus!
 
Just a reminder.....When you get your plane back from annual, do the
best pre-flight inspection of your life!
I speak from experience!
 
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