Well, the 172 went into annual this Monday. Only 35 hours on the clock
this year (criminal, I know). But I rationalized that number by figuring
there wouldn't be any surprises this week. Hehe. Boy was I wrong.

Yea, I knew going in that we'd have to pull the prop because our hub got
caught by a Hartzell AD. Courtesy of a blue light special from Hartzell
(bless their selfless hearts), the hub was 50% off for a limited time.
Add a reseal + shipping, and we're talking 2.2 AMUs for that alone.

Aside from a few minor issues we figured the annual inspection +
incidentals would run less than 2 AMUs as it usually does, or a bit over
4 AMUs.

And then I got the call.

Cracks in the spar of the horizontal stabilizer. Looks like we'll need
to send it out and have a new spar installed, which means a strip and
repaint so it doesn't look like garbage. He also found cracks in the
flap that, while not as critical, are best addressed at the same time
with new skins. Both parts can share the shipping crate and we'll be
mixing paint anyway...

The IA says the spar cracks are a fairly common issue with 172s. I knew
something like this plagued C150s (there was an AD on it), but regarding
the 172 this was news to me. Has anyone with a 172 or 182 been hit by
this?

If so, was there any means of compliance OTHER than a new spar?

Where did you have the work done?

What did it cost?

Thanks,

Doug
http://www.dvatp.com/