Pre-buy after Annual

Go to the FAA website and get the list of all the applicable ADs. If
you're going to be an owner, you may as well learn to read ADs. Then
you can review the log books for compliance with the ADs.

Get an A&P (or A&P/IA) that has not worked on the aircraft to do
the pre-buy.

Decide what will be 1) a deal breaker 2) negotiable.

When I bought my cherokee I found an AD that hadn't been complied
with (the previous owner was an A&P, too!). So the cost of complying
was part of the purchase price.

Have fuN!

Jim,

Is there an easier way to check a Cherokee wing spar than pulling the tanks?

I mine inspected (SB-1006?) when I bought my PA28-140 in 2000. Did it again
last year when my tanks were sent to New Hampshire for overhaul.

"RST Engineering" wrote in message
...
Wing spars are fairly accessable and moderately easy to inspect
thoroughly.

Jack Allison wrote:

Specifically on your situation, check into whether or not Piper
service
bulletin 1006 has been performed. This is the one where they pull
the
tanks and check for corrosion on the wing spar caps. Many Piper
owners
advised me this is a "must have". If it has not been performed, I
feel
it is worth spending the money to do as part of a pre-buy inspection.


I'll second Jack's advice on this one. The only way to detect
corrosion in that area is to perform SB #1006. That area is not
normally inspected as part of an annual inspection. If it hasn't been
performed, the long term condition of the plane is a question mark. It
could be fine (as in most cases), or it could have some intergranular
corrosion of the spar which will render your wings basically useless.

Inspecting for corrosion is key to the long term investment prospects
of an airplane. On a Cherokee group that I frequent, one owner is
currently disassembling his recently bought plane and selling the
pieces. His first annual uncovered massive corrosion under the front
floorboards that would not have been economically feasable to repair.

John Galban=====N4BQ (PA28-180)

On 23-May-2005, " wrote:

I'll second Jack's advice on this one. The only way to detect
corrosion in that area is to perform SB #1006. That area is not
normally inspected as part of an annual inspection. If it hasn't been
performed, the long term condition of the plane is a question mark. It
could be fine (as in most cases), or it could have some intergranular
corrosion of the spar which will render your wings basically useless.


Yes indeed, SB 1006 is a "must do" as far as I'm concerned. If I was
considering purchase of an older PA-28 I would check the logs to verify
compliance. If it hadn't yet been done, I would make successful compliance
part of any purchase agreement. An A&P familiar with the SB, and that
should be any A&P familiar with PA-28s, should be able to pull off the
inspection in a few hours. Most of the work entails removal and replacement
of the many screws holding the tanks in place, and that part can be done by
anybody.

BTW, when SB 106 is done the fuel lines behind the tanks should be routinely
replaced, as should the fuel gauge senders if they are giving any problems.
None of that is mentioned in the SB, but if the lines are more than 10 years
old it would be dumb not to take advantage of having the tanks off as an
opportunity to replace them. The lines themselves don't cost that much.

How to deal with the inspection as part of a purchase deal? As a buyer, I
would offer this: If the inspection shows either no corrosion or minor,
easily corrected corrosion, I buy the plane at the agreed price and pay for
the inspection (and fuel line replacements). If major corrosion is found
(requiring more than, say, $200 to correct) then the deal is off and I owe
nothing.

--
-Elliott Drucker