2006 Annual -- My 8th Owner Assisted -- Update

Sounds like ProSeal in one of it's many flavors....

I was gonna ask my A&P the name of that stuff today, but (*gasp!*) he
didn't come in today. Imagine, not working on a Sunday! The gall!
:-)

Luckily, his hangar was wide open (several of us are working on various
projects, and he's very generous with his hangar, tools, etc.), so I
spent the afternoon...

....Running the wiring from the tail up to the panel for the stupid new
ELT annunciator light & switch.

....Replacing a bunch of ugly, rusty, and/or partially stripped screws
from the interior. I also added two, to a side panel that's always
bugged me for being slightly bowed outward.

....Repairing the 4" circular plastic panel that covers my fuel drain
selector, which (on a Pathfinder) is stupidly located on the front of
the back seat floor panel, right at ankle height, facing front. This
is where my kids feet hit, and where people step while getting in and
out of the back seat. This problem is made even worse in winter, when
wearing big boots -- and that panel just takes a beating. It's got a
spring loaded metal door that covers the fuel drain lever, and if it's
partially open when someone gets in -- crack! I've repaired it at
every annual inspection since we got the plane in 2002 -- it's mostly
JB Weld, now. (A new part is stupidly expensive -- like over $100!
-- and it's crappily designed, even at that price.)

Funny thing is, I KNOW that piece was not broken when I brought the
plane in -- cuz I looked at it and smirked to myself "Ha! I don't have
to fix it this year!" So, my A&P must've broken it opening it to test
the drain lever.... :-0

....Replacing ugly, stained fuel tank placards with less-ugly new fuel
tank placards. The newer label makers are terrific for this, BTW.

My 15 year old son spent four hours cleaning a winter's worth of grime
from the underside of the plane. What a mess! He went through four
complete bottles of Lemon Pledge, a bunch of Castrol Super Clean, and
15 cotton diapers. Yech.

Tomorrow, hopefully, we'll finish installing the tail fairings. We
replaced the brake pads on the pilot side yesterday (the copilot's side
was new earlier this year), and THEN I can button everything back up,
just in time to go flying Wednesday -- I hope.

So, we're still on track for a pretty easy inspection. If it weren't
for the danged ELT, we'd have been done by now.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"