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

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"