2006 Annual -- My 8th "Owner-Assisted" Inspection

[Jay Honeck]

So, our '74 Pathfinder (Cherokee 235) is back in for annual -- its fifth one
with us -- and I spent the day working with my mechanic on my 8th
"owner-assisted" annual inspection. A few previously known squawks have
been addressed:

1. The ELT. It barely passed last year, and this year it didn't activate
when subjected to sudden deceleration. (It's the original Piper part, so I
think it has given its all...)

I've ordered a new Ameri-King model from Spruce, at a very attractive price
($175) -- but I've found (much to my dismay) that a remote switch must be
installed in the panel for ANY new ELT installed. The old one did not
require this, and I'm a bit mystified as to why the new ones require ripping
the panel apart to install yet another idiot light/switch, but oh, well.

Apparently the new 406 mhz ELTs aren't going to be required until 2010 (?)
now, so I've opted not to spend the $$$ on one right now. The folks at
Spruce said that deadline is "soft" anyway.

2. Fiberglass vertical stabilizer fairings. These two parts have been
getting obviously worse since we bought the plane in '02. My A&P let me
slide on it last year, but he said this year they must go. I bought the big
part from Jay Masino last summer (thanks, Jay!), but had to order the
smaller forward fairing from Lopresti. (They were the only ones with that
part in stock -- and their price was cheapest, too!)

Best of all -- the ONLY person we know who can fit into the tail cone to
buck the rivets for the new fairing is Mary -- so you can look forward to
more pictures and interesting stories to come... :-)

3. Prop RPM a Smidge Low. This has been a real gradual thing, and could be
the tach. Nonetheless, we've given the prop governor adjustment screw a
turn to the good.

And, of course, a couple of UNknown minor squawks have reared their ugly
heads:

1. Seat Adjustor Handle Springs. The little lever that allows you to
recline the seat is supposed to have two springs in it that make sure the
handle springs back. Both of my springs were broken -- something I had
never noticed, because the pilot-side seat never gets moved. (This was the
very first thing I touched in the annual, as I was removing the seats.)

At first I thought "who cares?" but my A&P pointed out that without that
spring return, the handle could be in the wrong position at take-off, and
allow the seat to recline -- a very bad thing, indeed, while climbing out.
We called Piper and -- incredibly -- the springs are just $2.50 apiece! Of
course, it took an hour of labor to dismantle the seat to get TO those
springs, but still -- that's pretty cheap for airplane parts.

2. Control Cables Loose. I asked how to check the tautness of the cables,
and my A&P whipped out his brand new (and newly calibrated) cable tension
tool. Lo and behold, all of the cables in the tailcone were loose. So,
I've now learned how to tension control surface cables. Both the rudder
and stabilator cables were 25% down from spec.

Otherwise, everything has gone swimmingly. Compressions were perfect (five
are 80/80, one is 79/80), timing is on the mark, our Iridium fine-wire spark
plugs still look like new, our tires and brakes are nearly new, the prop
looks good for another year, the mags and wiring harness are still a-okay,
and everything in the panel works.

I'm still keeping my fingers crossed, but this is looking like a good one.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Mike Spera]

>
> 2. Fiberglass vertical stabilizer fairings.
>
> Best of all -- the ONLY person we know who can fit into the tail cone to
> buck the rivets for the new fairing is Mary -- so you can look forward to
> more pictures and interesting stories to come... :-)
>

Structural rivets on a Cherokee fin fairing? Is your wrench requiring
this? That fairing is not a structural part and it is subject to almost
no wind load. You don't even need cherry rivets. My wrench and 3
different other local wrenches said that pop rivets are fine for that
application. Mine is still firmly attached 7 years later.

Good Luck
Mike

[Jay Honeck]

> Structural rivets on a Cherokee fin fairing? Is your wrench requiring
> this? That fairing is not a structural part and it is subject to almost no
> wind load. You don't even need cherry rivets. My wrench and 3 different
> other local wrenches said that pop rivets are fine for that application.
> Mine is still firmly attached 7 years later.

That's good to know! I'll mention it to my mechanic tomorrow. (I won't
tell Mary yet, though... :-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Tom McQuinn]

I'm into my first owner assisted annual right now with my Archer.
You're having a better year than I am. I have a Narco ELT 10 that has
gone toes up. My guy is trying pretty hard to steer me away from
anything other than dropping $900 on a direct replacement or getting the
current one fixed. And I already have a switch near the left armrest
with (from memory....) off/arm/test positions. Has anyone ever replaced
a set up like this with an ACK or an Ameri-King?

I did find an AOPA link claiming the SARSAT coverage will be dropped for
the 'old' units in 2009. -
http://www.aopa.org/whatsnew/regulatory/elt.html - They seem to think
the units will still be legal but won't have sat. coverage.

How about magnetos? Do you really just throw Slick mags. away after 5
calendar years????

Tom


Jay Honeck wrote:
> So, our '74 Pathfinder (Cherokee 235) is back in for annual -- its fifth one
> with us -- and I spent the day working with my mechanic on my 8th
> "owner-assisted" annual inspection. A few previously known squawks have
> been addressed:
>
> 1. The ELT. It barely passed last year, and this year it didn't activate
> when subjected to sudden deceleration. (It's the original Piper part, so I
> think it has given its all...)
>
> I've ordered a new Ameri-King model from Spruce, at a very attractive price
> ($175) -- but I've found (much to my dismay) that a remote switch must be
> installed in the panel for ANY new ELT installed. The old one did not
> require this, and I'm a bit mystified as to why the new ones require ripping
> the panel apart to install yet another idiot light/switch, but oh, well.
>
> Apparently the new 406 mhz ELTs aren't going to be required until 2010 (?)
> now, so I've opted not to spend the $$$ on one right now. The folks at
> Spruce said that deadline is "soft" anyway.
>
--
NewsGuy.Com 30Gb $9.95 Carry Forward and On Demand Bandwidth

[Doug]

I guess everyone knows to try and get the ELT"s that take standard
batteries. I have one of the ones that require the $60 batteries. What
a rip...

[[email protected]]

Tom McQuinn > wrote:
: I'm into my first owner assisted annual right now with my Archer.
: You're having a better year than I am. I have a Narco ELT 10 that has
: gone toes up. My guy is trying pretty hard to steer me away from
: anything other than dropping $900 on a direct replacement or getting the
: current one fixed. And I already have a switch near the left armrest
: with (from memory....) off/arm/test positions. Has anyone ever replaced
: a set up like this with an ACK or an Ameri-King?

I installed it on a friend's PA-24. IIRC, it's an RJ-11 (i.e. telephone
cord) between the ELT and the front panel. It's not tough... just figure out where
you want to mount the front panel unit, and tear the guts out of the plane until you
can route the cable where you need... :)

$900 for a direct replacement??? We thought hard about this on our moldy old
Sharc7 that's in our PA28 1.5 years ago. The batteries are required replacement every
2, and for $5 worth of D-cells soldered together they bend you over for $35 IIRC. I
was tempted to just go for an ACK at that time to prevent overpriced battery
replacement (and to get a newer unit). The rest of the annual ended costing more than
anticipated, so we deferered the upgrade cost and just bought a new battery. Next
time, we may go the other route.

Too bad the 406MHz ones are still too expensive.

: I did find an AOPA link claiming the SARSAT coverage will be dropped for
: the 'old' units in 2009. -
: http://www.aopa.org/whatsnew/regulatory/elt.html - They seem to think
: the units will still be legal but won't have sat. coverage.

That's what I remember as well.

: How about magnetos? Do you really just throw Slick mags. away after 5
: calendar years????

Apparently.... at least at the end-user/A&P level.

Bendix ones are big, old, and clunky, but at least they're rebuildable easily.

-Cory

: Jay Honeck wrote:
: > So, our '74 Pathfinder (Cherokee 235) is back in for annual -- its fifth one
: > with us -- and I spent the day working with my mechanic on my 8th
: > "owner-assisted" annual inspection. A few previously known squawks have
: > been addressed:
: >
: > 1. The ELT. It barely passed last year, and this year it didn't activate
: > when subjected to sudden deceleration. (It's the original Piper part, so I
: > think it has given its all...)
: >
: > I've ordered a new Ameri-King model from Spruce, at a very attractive price
: > ($175) -- but I've found (much to my dismay) that a remote switch must be
: > installed in the panel for ANY new ELT installed. The old one did not
: > require this, and I'm a bit mystified as to why the new ones require ripping
: > the panel apart to install yet another idiot light/switch, but oh, well.
: >
: > Apparently the new 406 mhz ELTs aren't going to be required until 2010 (?)
: > now, so I've opted not to spend the $$$ on one right now. The folks at
: > Spruce said that deadline is "soft" anyway.
: >
: --
: NewsGuy.Com 30Gb $9.95 Carry Forward and On Demand Bandwidth

--

************************************************** ***********************
* Cory Papenfuss *
* Electrical Engineering candidate Ph.D. graduate student *
* Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University *
************************************************** ***********************

[Jay Honeck]

>I guess everyone knows to try and get the ELT"s that take standard
> batteries. I have one of the ones that require the $60 batteries. What
> a rip...

Amen. My old Piper ELT batteries are about the same price.

My new Ameri-King will take regular alkaline batteries.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Ross Richardson]

I have an old Pointer with no panel switches. I believe that this new
remote requriement is to be sure you have an easy way to activitate the
ELT should it not go off when it should. I was surprised how easy it was
to set one off just by holding correctly and swinging it at arms length.
No force required.

Ross

Jay Honeck wrote:

> So, our '74 Pathfinder (Cherokee 235) is back in for annual -- its fifth one
> with us -- and I spent the day working with my mechanic on my 8th
> "owner-assisted" annual inspection. A few previously known squawks have
> been addressed:
>
> 1. The ELT. It barely passed last year, and this year it didn't activate
> when subjected to sudden deceleration. (It's the original Piper part, so I
> think it has given its all...)
>
> I've ordered a new Ameri-King model from Spruce, at a very attractive price
> ($175) -- but I've found (much to my dismay) that a remote switch must be
> installed in the panel for ANY new ELT installed. The old one did not
> require this, and I'm a bit mystified as to why the new ones require ripping
> the panel apart to install yet another idiot light/switch, but oh, well.
>

[Kyle Boatright]

"RST Engineering" > wrote in message
...
> Yeah, but...
>
> If you replace the Narco 10 with a Narco 10 the old switch and wiring will
> not have to be replaced. As Jay noted, this is a royal pain in the
> labonza. If you go with ACK or AK they have their own special cable you
> get to rip up and rerun.
>
> I'd hold my ground for the new unit(s). Whatever installation labor your
> greasy charges will be more than offset by being able to use D flashlight
> cells every 5 years.
>
> Jim

IIRC, replacement is more frequent than every 5 years (1 or 2 is my
recollection), but either way, it is still far cheaper and more convenient
to use D cells.

KB

[Dave Stadt]

"Kyle Boatright" > wrote in message
. ..
>
> "RST Engineering" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Yeah, but...
>>
>> If you replace the Narco 10 with a Narco 10 the old switch and wiring
>> will not have to be replaced. As Jay noted, this is a royal pain in the
>> labonza. If you go with ACK or AK they have their own special cable you
>> get to rip up and rerun.
>>
>> I'd hold my ground for the new unit(s). Whatever installation labor your
>> greasy charges will be more than offset by being able to use D flashlight
>> cells every 5 years.
>>
>> Jim
>
> IIRC, replacement is more frequent than every 5 years (1 or 2 is my
> recollection), but either way, it is still far cheaper and more convenient
> to use D cells.
>
> KB


The D cells must be replaced per the 'best used by' date on the cells
themselves. If you chose wisely and get very fresh stock that can be much
more than 5 years.

[Jeff Shirton]

"Ross Richardson" > wrote in message
...

> I have an old Pointer with no panel switches. I believe that this new
> remote requriement is to be sure you have an easy way to activitate the
> ELT should it not go off when it should. I was surprised how easy it was
> to set one off just by holding correctly and swinging it at arms length.
> No force required.

The ELT is a mass, and you are accelerating it by "swinging it at arms
length".
That is a force, by definition.

Perhaps you meant "no impact/jolt required"?

Jeff Shirton (PP-ASEL)

[nrp]

I recall the impact trigger spec for an ELT is 10 gs of acceleration
(for ? milliseconds?). It should take a very violent arm shake to hit
10 gs. I understand it is common to bounce the ELT onto an inflated
A/C tire to get the ~10g pulse. Anyone know the rest of the numbers?

[Jay Honeck]

> I'd hold my ground for the new unit(s). Whatever installation labor your
> greasy charges will be more than offset by being able to use D flashlight
> cells every 5 years.

Another thing: The Ameri-King ELT claims to have "voice capability" in
their ad. What the heck would one use that for?

I asked the sales rep at Spruce about this, and she really didn't have
an answer. I suppose we could visualize a crash where the panel radios
have been rendered inoperative, the ELT is still intact, you are
somehow still ambulatory enough to remove your microphone (the
Ameri-King doesn't come with a mike, that I can see), crawl to the back
of the plane and plug it into the Ameri-King unit, so that you could
yell for help? (It can't receive -- only transmit.)

Seems far-fetched to me.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[[email protected]]

Jay Honeck > wrote:
: Seems far-fetched to me.

Yeah, but it's a trivial mod to add to an already-existing transmitter. It
just bypasses the chirp generator and uses the mic as the modulation source. It's a
mod that costs nothing but the price of a mic jack and adds marketing value.

-Cory

--

************************************************** ***********************
* Cory Papenfuss *
* Electrical Engineering candidate Ph.D. graduate student *
* Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University *
************************************************** ***********************

[Javier]

Jay Honeck wrote:
>> I'd hold my ground for the new unit(s). Whatever installation labor your
>> greasy charges will be more than offset by being able to use D flashlight
>> cells every 5 years.
>
> Another thing: The Ameri-King ELT claims to have "voice capability" in
> their ad. What the heck would one use that for?
>
> I asked the sales rep at Spruce about this, and she really didn't have
> an answer. I suppose we could visualize a crash where the panel radios
> have been rendered inoperative, the ELT is still intact, you are
> somehow still ambulatory enough to remove your microphone (the
> Ameri-King doesn't come with a mike, that I can see), crawl to the back
> of the plane and plug it into the Ameri-King unit, so that you could
> yell for help? (It can't receive -- only transmit.)
>
> Seems far-fetched to me.

If you need to leave the plane for some reason, it's a lot easier to
carry your ELT with you than the panel mounted radio.

Personally, I'd rather just carry an HT, however.

-jav

[The Visitor]

Jay Honeck wrote:

> Another thing: The Ameri-King ELT claims to have "voice capability" in
> their ad. What the heck would one use that for?
>

To transmit in the blind to passing aircraft. Many in Northern Canada
keep a listening watch on 121.5. if you think about various situations
you can imagine it would be vary handy, even though it would be a one
sided converstion.

John

[Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe]

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
oups.com...

<...>

> Another thing: The Ameri-King ELT claims to have "voice capability" in
> their ad. What the heck would one use that for?
>
> I asked the sales rep at Spruce about this, and she really didn't have
> an answer. I suppose we could visualize a crash where the panel radios
> have been rendered inoperative, the ELT is still intact, you are
> somehow still ambulatory enough to remove your microphone (the
> Ameri-King doesn't come with a mike, that I can see), crawl to the back
> of the plane and plug it into the Ameri-King unit, so that you could
> yell for help? (It can't receive -- only transmit.)
>
> Seems far-fetched to me.
> --

A few years ago (thirty some), my brother and I were flying up the Alaska
highway in a Cessna 120 when we came up to a range of hills right at the
Canada - Alaska border that we couldn't get over due to low ceilings /bad
visibility so we decided to set down on a grass strip just short of the
border (I don't remember the name). Now, when I say grass strip, I mean
"grass strip". No buildings, no vehicles, nothing. Just a runway and a bit
of a clearing off to the side. After a while a Tri-Pacer drops in with a guy
and his young son who were on the way back home, but couldn't make it over
the hills either. We had a nice evening chatting in the tent pitched in the
mud. And, the next day things had cleared up some so we decided to try and
make it into Northway - just across the border. The Tri-Pacer got off first
and we followed. Now, Northway is a few miles off the highway, so once we
cleared the hills we "cut the corner" and headed directly to the airport at
a few hundred AGL over nothing but swamp and trees. About 5 miles or so
short of the airport, the guy in the Tri-Pacer announces that his engine has
failed. He sets up an approach to a bit of a clearing, sets it down very
nicely, rolls a short distance, then the mud took over and they flipped over
the nose and stopped upside down. After a short wait, both occupants
appeared outside the airplane and were sitting on the wing. They didn't look
too bad, but it was hard to be sure. So, someone got the idea to try and get
them to transmit with the ELT. So I grabbed our ELT out of the bracket
behind the seat and held it out the window with a microphone as my brother
made a low, slow, pass. They got the idea, got their ELT out, plugged in the
mike, and were able to tell us that they were pretty much OK. We couldn't
talk to them, but we answered their questions using the "wag the wings for
yes" technique. Except for a brief run into Northway for gas, we were able
to stay on station until they were picked up by a helicopter.


So, it's not so far-fetched as you might think. With the plane on it's back,
probably leaking fuel, turning on the master would not be the smartest thing
to do. And, the ELT worked fine as a transmitter.


--
Geoff
The Sea Hawk at Wow Way d0t Com
remove spaces and make the obvious substitutions to reply by mail
Spell checking is left as an excercise for the reader.

[Jay Honeck]

> So, it's not so far-fetched as you might think. With the plane on it's back,
> probably leaking fuel, turning on the master would not be the smartest thing
> to do. And, the ELT worked fine as a transmitter.

Cool story, Geoff. I stand corrected.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[NW_PILOT]

Sounds like fun Jay!


"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
news:USlUf.44595$oL.41488@attbi_s71...
> So, our '74 Pathfinder (Cherokee 235) is back in for annual -- its fifth
one
> with us -- and I spent the day working with my mechanic on my 8th
> "owner-assisted" annual inspection. A few previously known squawks have
> been addressed:
>
> 1. The ELT. It barely passed last year, and this year it didn't activate
> when subjected to sudden deceleration. (It's the original Piper part, so I
> think it has given its all...)
>
> I've ordered a new Ameri-King model from Spruce, at a very attractive
price
> ($175) -- but I've found (much to my dismay) that a remote switch must be
> installed in the panel for ANY new ELT installed. The old one did not
> require this, and I'm a bit mystified as to why the new ones require
ripping
> the panel apart to install yet another idiot light/switch, but oh, well.
>
> Apparently the new 406 mhz ELTs aren't going to be required until 2010 (?)
> now, so I've opted not to spend the $$$ on one right now. The folks at
> Spruce said that deadline is "soft" anyway.
>
> 2. Fiberglass vertical stabilizer fairings. These two parts have been
> getting obviously worse since we bought the plane in '02. My A&P let me
> slide on it last year, but he said this year they must go. I bought the
big
> part from Jay Masino last summer (thanks, Jay!), but had to order the
> smaller forward fairing from Lopresti. (They were the only ones with that
> part in stock -- and their price was cheapest, too!)
>
> Best of all -- the ONLY person we know who can fit into the tail cone to
> buck the rivets for the new fairing is Mary -- so you can look forward to
> more pictures and interesting stories to come... :-)
>
> 3. Prop RPM a Smidge Low. This has been a real gradual thing, and could
be
> the tach. Nonetheless, we've given the prop governor adjustment screw a
> turn to the good.
>
> And, of course, a couple of UNknown minor squawks have reared their ugly
> heads:
>
> 1. Seat Adjustor Handle Springs. The little lever that allows you to
> recline the seat is supposed to have two springs in it that make sure the
> handle springs back. Both of my springs were broken -- something I had
> never noticed, because the pilot-side seat never gets moved. (This was
the
> very first thing I touched in the annual, as I was removing the seats.)
>
> At first I thought "who cares?" but my A&P pointed out that without that
> spring return, the handle could be in the wrong position at take-off, and
> allow the seat to recline -- a very bad thing, indeed, while climbing out.
> We called Piper and -- incredibly -- the springs are just $2.50 apiece!
Of
> course, it took an hour of labor to dismantle the seat to get TO those
> springs, but still -- that's pretty cheap for airplane parts.
>
> 2. Control Cables Loose. I asked how to check the tautness of the
cables,
> and my A&P whipped out his brand new (and newly calibrated) cable tension
> tool. Lo and behold, all of the cables in the tailcone were loose. So,
> I've now learned how to tension control surface cables. Both the rudder
> and stabilator cables were 25% down from spec.
>
> Otherwise, everything has gone swimmingly. Compressions were perfect
(five
> are 80/80, one is 79/80), timing is on the mark, our Iridium fine-wire
spark
> plugs still look like new, our tires and brakes are nearly new, the prop
> looks good for another year, the mags and wiring harness are still a-okay,
> and everything in the panel works.
>
> I'm still keeping my fingers crossed, but this is looking like a good one.
> --
> Jay Honeck
> Iowa City, IA
> Pathfinder N56993
> www.AlexisParkInn.com
> "Your Aviation Destination"
>
>

[Jon Kraus]

For ours one good shake did the trick... No need to thow it against
anything...

nrp wrote:

> I recall the impact trigger spec for an ELT is 10 gs of acceleration
> (for ? milliseconds?). It should take a very violent arm shake to hit
> 10 gs. I understand it is common to bounce the ELT onto an inflated
> A/C tire to get the ~10g pulse. Anyone know the rest of the numbers?
>