First Annual

[ScottM]

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.

 

[Let'sgoflying!]

Amortize it! Thats how my brain handles big expenses.
Let's see; if you keep that airplane for 10 years, that 10K expenditure is only a grand a year! A few years will pass and you won't even remember that you are spreading it out! There are always useful mind tricks to allow us to cope.

 

[Anthony]

There are always useful mind tricks to allow us to cope.

Its all a mind trick.

 

[RotaryWingBob]

Ahhh, welcome to the wonderful world of ownership.

I just found out that our R22 needs to have two cylinders reamed and that we have to replace the tail rotor chip detector!

 

[ScottM]

Beautiful CAVU no wind day to go fly and test out all the new stuff. I also decided to reinstall the wheel pants. Got that done and did a detailed preflight to ensure everyhting was put back together right after the annual.

When to start and ...NOTHING!!! AAAARRRRGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!! The darn starter would not engage. I could hear it spinning but the bendix drive would not engage it.

I fooled around with it but did not have silicon lube with me. No mechanics around either. I put the plane back into the hanger and noticed that a single dark cloud had formed just above my head. Muttering many thing that could not be posted here I got into the car and started to head home. But then I decided to stop and get some silicon spray and try to lube the starter gear myself. Got back to the hanger and took the cowl off, sprayed the starter drive gear up, pulled out the plane and it started right away. Woo Hoo! Over to the pumps I went to fill up. The second start after fueling, great again so I decided to go fly and test out everying. Found nothing else wrong and after 1.7 hours I headed back to the barn. Topped off on fuel and she started a third time with no problem. While putting her away I gave her another spray of silicon.

I think what happened is that when they cleaned up the engine and sprayed degreaser all over it that part of the starter was unlubed and jsut needed a squirt of lube to move again.

 

[ScottM]

Ahhh, welcome to the wonderful world of ownership.

I just found out that our R22 needs to have two cylinders reamed and that we have to replace the tail rotor chip detector!

Ouch, didn't you just get it back form an extended maintenance period??

 

[Let'sgoflying!]

I think what happened is that when they cleaned up the engine and sprayed degreaser all over it that part of the starter was unlubbed and jsut needed a squirt of lube to move again.

exactly what I was thinking as I read it, good troubleshooting (and fixing)!

 

[tom clark]

Scott, i don't know what kind of starter you're using, but I had routine trouble with my prestolite. i finally gave in and got the skytech and so far so good. just a year so this is hardy a testimonial! but we're keeping our fingers crossed! tc

 

[ScottM]

Scott, i don't know what kind of starter you're using, but I had routine trouble with my prestolite. i finally gave in and got the skytech and so far so good. just a year so this is hardy a testimonial! but we're keeping our fingers crossed! tc

I looked when we had the cowl all off doing the cylinders and I think it is a Chrysler or maybe that was the alternator. I'll have to check, Thanks for the input because I was thinking if the starter does go TU a skytech would be the way to go.

 

[PoAdeleted5]

deleted.

 

[tom clark]

Those Prestolite starters are pretty robust. Serviced properly, they should last a long time with just the occasional cleaning and lubing of the bendix shaft.

The Skytec are much lighter and generally do a good job, but they won't tolerate repeated starting attempts without a cooldown period. I have to look, but you get something like 30 seconds cranking time with a 5 minute cooldown required afterwards.

you bring up a good point about prestolite starter maintenance Larry. When i got my cherokee I had nothing but starter problems. The bendix would stick, we'd spray silicone on it, it'd work for a while and stick again. I actually thought that was "maintenance"! Then my mechanic told me you're supposed to remove the starter, take it apart, clean and tighten and lube something like every 50hrs? or maybe it was 100. Well, I started doing it each year at annual and that improved the reliability greatly. The last failure I had was a busted starter gear shaft(?) and it just wasn't that much more to upgrade to the skytech. Skytechs been good so far, but its only been about a year. We'll see how i'm doing in 5 before we give it my blessing. It sure does turn the prop fast! tc

 

[ScottM]

An old thread but applicable to this comment.

I eventually did replace the starter with a Skytec and have not had any problem whatsoever getting the plane started since then.

I still have the old starter sitting in my garage that I keep meaning to clean up and sell on eBay.

 

[Dan Thomas]

An old thread but applicable to this comment.

I eventually did replace the starter with a Skytec and have not had any problem whatsoever getting the plane started since then.

I still have the old starter sitting in my garage that I keep meaning to clean up and sell on eBay.

If it's on a Lycoming, the starter drive on the Skytec is the same as on the Prestolite. They all need silicone spray, but some mechanics and owners will erroneously use oil of some sort. The oil attracts dust and forms a rather dry and tough black gucky film that makes the drive stick. If the front crankshaft seal is leaking it'll also throw a little oil into the starter drive where it doesn't belong. If there's that much crud in it, the ony cure is to take the thing all apart, which is something of a pain. I wish the starter manufacturers would leave a decent access port on the drive housing. After all, they're the ones that demand that the drive be cleaned and lubed every 50 hours. If we took it apart every time to do that we'd wear the thing out just disassembling and reassembling it 40 times over the life of the engine. Silly.

Dan

 

[wabower]

I wish the starter manufacturers would leave a decent access port on the drive housing. After all, they're the ones that demand that the drive be cleaned and lubed every 50 hours. If we took it apart every time to do that we'd wear the thing out just disassembling and reassembling it 40 times over the life of the engine. Silly.

Dan

How many other parts of most airplanes get more wear and tear from being taken apart for inspections than by anything else that happens to them?

 

[Dan Thomas]

How many other parts of most airplanes get more wear and tear from being taken apart for inspections than by anything else that happens to them?

Oh, let's see: the interior panels and carpet. Seats. Cowling. Any structural metal that has sheet metal screws holding various fairings or panels; the holes get wallowed out so that the #6 screw gradually becomes a #12 screw. On fabric, the reinforcing rings get busted or torn off after so many inspection cover removals. Anchor nuts lose their grip when screws are taken out so often. On the other hand, machine screws that aren't taken off often enough will corrode in there and get the socket or slot torn out, the head busted off, the anchor nut torn loose. Sheet-metal screw anchor nuts get their little tabs snapped off.

Dan

 

[Stache]

From reading your posts I don’t know who you’re A&P/IA mechanic is, but I believe he or she did you good. The first annual for an unknown aircraft is the hardest not only for the owner, but also for us mechanic types.

It sounds like from your post your mechanic did a good job inspecting the aircraft and I am sure the next annual if you take it back to the same mechanic will cost a lot less. There is something about going back to the same mechanic once they have done all the research on your aircraft.

I have a FREE inspection checklist on my personal web site for annual inspections part 43 Appendix D, which you can down load. Many of the items a pilot can perform as preventive maintenance, but it will give you a good idea what to look for in the future.

The site is: http://www.stacheair.com click on Annual Checklist it is in a word document so you can tailor to your own aircraft.