Cessna buyers in So. Cal. beware !

Stu Gotts
shared these priceless pearls of wisdom:

-I'd pay good money for tickets to see Berle kick that wining Jim
-Weir's ass at OSH. God knows he's had it coming for years. Would be
-great fodder for his next book, a best seller for sure. Maybe we can
-set it up as a charity event for the Poberesny benefit and award fund.
-The boys can never have enough personal funds nor awards for their
-work.



First of all, it is WHINING, not wining. Second, it is POBEREZNY, not
Poberesny. Third, my schedule will be posted in the EAA Convention Guide; you
know where to come find me.

Let's examine the facts:

Berle claimed that there were several "complex and expensive ADs" that had not
been complied with. Nowhere in the body of the text does he describe or list
these ADs. However, just to keep the record straight, here is my software's
printout of the applicable airframe ADs on a Cessna 175. Since Berle did not
specify 175, A, B, or C, I chose the earliest model to be sure I captured all of
the old ADs as well.

If anybody finds an AIRFRAME AD that my software missed, please post it here in
the spirit of safety and completeness. We can do engine, too, if you like, but
Berle's only squawks that I saw were airframe related.

Company
Manufacturer CESSNA AIRCRAFT CORP.
Model 175
Tail #
Serial #
Tach Time
A/C Cert. Date
Total Time
AD Number Description
62-22-01 VACUUM PUMP MODIFICATION/
*69-15-03 MUFFLER ASSEMBLY/
*71-22-02 CRACKS IN NOSE GEAR FORK/
73-17-01 FUEL TRANSFER PUMP PLACARD/
*74-06-02 AVCON MUFFLERS/
79-08-03 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM/
79-10-14 R1 FUEL TANK VENTING/
82-07-02 ENGINE CRANKCASE BREATHER/
86-26-04 SHOULDER HARNESS ADJUSTER/
*87-20-03 R2 SEAT TRACKS/
97-01-13 COLLAPSED HOSE/
99-27-02 FUEL SELECTOR VALVE/
* Indicates possible recurring inspections Page 1 of 1


He also complains of a major repair that he was not told about. With all of his
"experience", he didn't know that the first question out of the box on the phone
should have been "what is the major damage history?" I think not, nor does he
claim that the owner lied to him on the question that was not asked.

Let's take a look at the specific items that Berle was not pleased with:

Seat rails near or probably beyond the wear limit. Cessna did not
build seat

We do not deal in "probably" in this business. Nor can we demand that something
be replaced when it is "near" a limit. Limits are just that...the point at
which something has to be dealt with. The AD on seat tracks (*87-20-03-R2) is
very specific. If Berle had his precision pin set with him, he could have been
very specific that the rail was or was not within limits. Eyeball guessing
doesn't cut it.


Flap tracks worn to or beyond safe limits.
There is a big AD on this.

And Cessna's definition of safe limits is? You had the Cessna repair manual
with you that gave the limits? And the AD number you refer to is?


Frozen or over tightened aileron rod ball joints.

Frozen? Probably. An airplane sitting outside, even in San Diego, gathers a
bit of corrosion inside the mechanisms. That's why Mouse Milk and/or LPS-1 is a
staple of any mechanic's chemistry shelf. Why don't you explain to us how you
can overtighten a Cessna aileron ball joint and have it clamp down on the pivot
bolt? Without chucking the ball joint up in a lathe and cutting another inch or
so of threads on the ball joint, of course. If you are talking about tightening
up the pivot bolt, you'd have deformed the aileron attach bracket so severely
that it would have been obvious to the casual observer. Which was it?


By the way, speaking of primary flight controls,
I noticed that the pilot's
side control yoke could be moved up and down
a couple of inches in the
instrument panel bushing.

You may have one here, although I doubt (once more) you had a definitive answer
as to how loose is too loose from an authoritative source (like the Cessna fixit
manual). And, if you could move it UP and DOWN a couple of inches, you have a
four inch total travel. Somehow I think the case is overstated here -- you'd be
bumping the gyros going up and the radio stack going down with this much
mickeymotion.


The engine cowl was really shoddily repaired
, using hardware store pop rivets and scab patches.
Any decent repair would have used inside or
flush patches, and regardless of where the patch
is the FAR's REQUIRE the use of aircraft rivets.

Shoddy and unairworthy are two separate and distinct conditions. One is
subjective (eye of the beholder) and one is objective (written in precise
language). Cessna allows scab (outside) patches on pretty nearly the entire
sheet metal airframe, and who are you to say that a "decent" repair has to
follow your personal desires when the manufacturer says different? And there
ARE aircraft approved "pop rivets". Whether or not these are of that variety,
I'd either have to see for myself OR look what the person who did the repair put
in the logbook for materials used. I'd hardly call somebody a Bozo when you
appear to be the Bozee.


Finally, you decided that I didn't deserve to know
that the whole airplane was windstorm-flipped
out of the tiedown RECENTLY and an entire wing was
replaced, nosegear mounts, and other parts. Any
potential buyer would have wanted to know that
kind of thing before they traveled any distance or
burned up a very rare day off of work. Wings get
replaced all the time, and if it's done right
it's not a problem. But you OWE a potential buyer that
information before they make arrangements to drive
250 miles round trip.

And you owe the owner the simple question of major damage history on the phone
before you set out on the trip. I stand by my original statement...you thought
you were going to buy a creampuff for a lemon's price and you found that you had
a lemon for a lemon's price. What's your squawk?

Now, would I annual this airplane? Hell, I'm 600 miles north and not the least
bit interested. However, from the words you wrote, I'd be hard pressed to find
something unairworthy in your diatribe. You got suckered, plain and simple.
Barnum was right.


Jim









Jim Weir (A&P/IA, CFI, & other good alphabet soup)
VP Eng RST Pres. Cyberchapter EAA Tech. Counselor
http://www.rst-engr.com