new owner questions

Jay Honeck wrote:
2. My nav indicators are a King KI-204 with glideslope and an old
KI-201 or something that is like 30 deg off (2 KX170b's). If I buy
a
KI203 on Ebay to match the 204, is it as simple as popping out the
old
indicator and pushing in the new one.. will the pins match? Or is
this
something I just leave to the local avionics guy?

Are you planning on flying IFR with this aircraft? Do you REALLY
want to
slide down an "Ebay Glideslope" in the clag? Some things just cost
money,
man; let the avionics shop have a whack at this one.

In aviation, things are often counterintuitive. I've generally had
much better luck with buying stuff off ebay and installing it myself
rather than allowing an avionics shop to have a 'whack' at my airplane.

Unfortunately, the units are not pin compatible.

My advice - first swap the KX-170B's to make sure it's the indicator,
not the radio. Then, once you know it's the KI-201 or KX-170B, watch
Ebay for a good deal on whichever one you need. I find it's usually
more cost-effective to do that than repair an old piece of avionics,
and besides whenever the monkeys at the avionics shop work on a plane,
they break something. Better to do it yourself, and all it takes is an
A&P logbook entry. That's if anyone notices - you are, after all,
replacing identical parts...

3. If I replace the wing root seal, do I need an A&P signoff?
If you mean that black rubber thingy at the wing root, no. If you
mean some
sort of a speed fairing wing root seal, yes.

Actually, either one would be a non-structural fairing or cowling, so
either way no signoff needed.

Michael

Michael wrote:
If you mean that black rubber thingy at the wing root, no. If you
mean some
sort of a speed fairing wing root seal, yes.

Actually, either one would be a non-structural fairing or cowling, so
either way no signoff needed.

The speed mod fairing (like the Knots2U one) requires an STC and 337, so
it's a not the same as removing/replacing an existing OEM fairing.

--- Jay


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__!__
Jay and Teresa Masino ___(_)___
http://www2.ari.net/jmasino ! ! !
http://www.oceancityairport.com
http://www.oc-adolfos.com

Michael wrote:
3. If I replace the wing root seal, do I need an A&P signoff?
If you mean that black rubber thingy at the wing root, no. If you
mean some
sort of a speed fairing wing root seal, yes.

Actually, either one would be a non-structural fairing or cowling, so
either way no signoff needed.

But remember, the wing root seal was originally installed BEFORE the
wing was attached!

Blanche wrote:
Actually, either one would be a non-structural fairing or cowling,
so
either way no signoff needed.

But remember, the wing root seal was originally installed BEFORE the
wing was attached!

Are you sure? In any case, I've never seen anyone pull the wing off to
replace the wing root seal. The deteriorated seal is pulled out, and
the new seal is pushed in, at least on every Piper product I've ever
seen. That's clearly a preventive maintenance operation, since the
seals are non-structural and the removal and replacement requires no
complex aseembly/disassembly operation.

Michael

The speed mod fairing (like the Knots2U one) requires an STC and 337,
so
it's a not the same as removing/replacing an existing OEM fairing.

Actually, only the original installation requires a 337, because a
major alteration takes place. After that removing and reinstalling the
same fairing is preventive maintenance.

There is actually logic to this (pretty rare for the FAA) - the
original installation requires a change to type design. It may require
new fasteners, changes to the mounting points, whatever. It makes
sense that it's not something an untrained person should do. But once
the original installation is done, taking it off and putting it back on
is no big deal.

In general - you would be surprised at how much the owner can legally
do, provided he follows the proper procedures.

Michael

Michael wrote:
Blanche wrote:
Actually, either one would be a non-structural fairing or cowling,
so
either way no signoff needed.

But remember, the wing root seal was originally installed BEFORE the
wing was attached!

Are you sure? In any case, I've never seen anyone pull the wing off to
replace the wing root seal. The deteriorated seal is pulled out, and
the new seal is pushed in, at least on every Piper product I've ever
seen. That's clearly a preventive maintenance operation, since the
seals are non-structural and the removal and replacement requires no
complex aseembly/disassembly operation.

At the factory, at the initial installation of the root seal, it's
attached to one side (I forget which, probably the wing) before the
wing is attached to the body. That's why it's so d*** difficulty to
get a new one installed by yourself!

Michael wrote:
The speed mod fairing (like the Knots2U one) requires an STC and 337,
so
it's a not the same as removing/replacing an existing OEM fairing.

Actually, only the original installation requires a 337, because a
major alteration takes place. After that removing and reinstalling the
same fairing is preventive maintenance.

That's what I meant. Sorry I wasn't clearer.

--- Jay



--
__!__
Jay and Teresa Masino ___(_)___
http://www2.ari.net/jmasino ! ! !
http://www.oceancityairport.com
http://www.oc-adolfos.com

Blanche wrote:
Are you sure? In any case, I've never seen anyone pull the wing off to
replace the wing root seal. The deteriorated seal is pulled out, and
the new seal is pushed in, at least on every Piper product I've ever
seen. That's clearly a preventive maintenance operation, since the
seals are non-structural and the removal and replacement requires no
complex aseembly/disassembly operation.

At the factory, at the initial installation of the root seal, it's
attached to one side (I forget which, probably the wing) before the
wing is attached to the body. That's why it's so d*** difficulty to
get a new one installed by yourself!

This doesn't make sense, to me. The "bulb" part of the seal squeezes into
the crack between the body and the wing. That's what holds it in
place. It wouldn't stay in place, when the wing was detached from the
body.

--- Jay


--
__!__
Jay and Teresa Masino ___(_)___
http://www2.ari.net/jmasino ! ! !
http://www.oceancityairport.com
http://www.oc-adolfos.com

Jay Masino wrote:

[snip]

This doesn't make sense, to me. The "bulb" part of the seal squeezes into
the crack between the body and the wing. That's what holds it in
place. It wouldn't stay in place, when the wing was detached from the
body.

Jay -- have you replaced the wing root seal? I agree the bulb is
what holds it in place. And trying to replace it (which can be
done, go back and read the r.a.o archives) is really awkward,
difficult and frustrating.

On 30-Mar-2005, (Jay Masino) wrote:

This doesn't make sense, to me. The "bulb" part of the seal squeezes into
the crack between the body and the wing. That's what holds it in
place. It wouldn't stay in place, when the wing was detached from the
body.


I have no specific knowledge of how they do it at the factory, but I find it
hard to believe that they don't position the rubber seal before attaching
the wing. Any number of low-tack adhesives could be used to keep the seal
in place before mating.

That doesn't mean that the airplane is not designed to allow the seal to be
replaced (with much greater difficulty) without removing the wing.

I am sure that there are any number of such cases in the manufacture of
cars. For example, the exhaust manifold is most likely installed on a car's
engine before the engine is installed on the assembly line. But I would
hope that your mechanic can remove and replace the manifold without taking
the engine out of your car.

--
-Elliott Drucker