My Love Affair with Flying… Annual

First Annual after Purchase: Day 1 — Tear down

When you buy an airplane, typically the first annual inspection after purchase is the most expensive annual you have for that airplane. The reason being, you have a new mechanic looking at it. Different eyes. Different experience. Different focus. As a result, things which the previous mechanics were used and got “over looked” or ignored, are going to be scrutinized. The scrutiny often leads to repairs... Which means more things to fix, which means more money. So, I expected, going in, that this was going to be an expensive annual.

Wing panels are opened up. Upper and lower cowl covers removed and inspection ports in rear the empennage are opened.

Then came the FAA AD about the carry-through spar for Cardinals and Centurions. An “AD” or air-worthiness directive is a document published by the FAA. It says, “to legally fly this airplane in the US, you must do … fill in the blank. It carries the weight of law. The carry-through spar AD is the result of the crash of a Cessna 210, Centurion, which had it’s spar fail in flight. The wing came off and the plane spiraled into the ground killing the air crew. Since the Cardinal and Centurion share cantilever wings (no struts) the AD included both models of airplane.

It’s a big deal for Cardinal owners since a failed inspection mean a VERY expensive repair of the plane, which can in many instances result in the permanent grounding of the plane and turning it into a parts bin for other more fortunate Cardinal owners.

So, after spending a day tearing into the guts of my plane and seeing what kind of condition the carry-through spar was in, I’m kind of sweating this out. That said, we worked today as if the spar will pass the inspection. It was a lot of work cleaning out the interior of the plane to get her ready for the inspection.

All seats, carpet, and headliner have been removed along with a lot of the interior plastics so the spar can be checked. There was a lot of grit from the very old carpet. If the spar passes, I’ll replace the carpet and paint the headliner on this inspection.

I spent the morning bore-scoping the engine after the mechanic performed mandatory compression checks. #1 was 80/80. #2 was 80/80. #3 was 78/80 and #4 was 78/80. The bore-scoping is not required, but I think tells a better story of the engine’s innards. I also pulled an oil sample for analysis. The filter, oil analysis, and bore-scope images will give me a good understanding of the engine’s health. It will change over time, as the engine ages through use. These first images and samples will become the baseline for future determination of the engine’s health.

This is a bore-scope image of the number four cylinder’s exhaust and intake valves.

As I’ve previously mentioned, I believe the engine will tell me when it needs to be replaced. My hope and plan is to take good care of it. I’m counting on the EDM-700 and all the analysis, to empower me flying the engine well beyond the 2000 hour TBO recommended by Lycombing. That was one of the surprises I’ve learned about general aviation piston engines. Their risk of mechanical failure is much higher when they are young than when they are old. The real killer of engines is corrosion. So flying it regularly and taking good care of it are the best way for me to preserve it.

This is the carry-through spar after having all the corrosion either cleaned off with scotch bright pads or being blended out.

So that’s where I am tonight. The spar has been cleaned up and readied for inspection. The engine has been prepared for inspection too and I’ve gotten the interior cleaned out. Now, it’s on the mechanic who will do the inspecting and the tester who will go over the spar.

Stay tuned…