Comments on: Non-annual inspections

By: david

david — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 11:21:13 +0000

For privately-registered aircraft, the annual is scheduled by calendar time (every 12 months), but is often referred to as a “100 hour inspection”. There are also a couple of things that happen every two years, such as having your ELT and transponder mode C checked. You should change your oil every 50 hours flying time or six months (whichever comes first), but that’s not a regulation, and you can do the changes yourself if you want (again, that’s on a privately-registered aircraft, not a commercially-registered one).

By: Niss

Niss — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 04:36:44 +0000

David – Thanks again for the info. Is the annual scheduled by years or by hours?

Thanks.

Niss

PIC2B

By: david

david — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 02:27:05 +0000

From what I’ve seen and heard, the actual annual inspection will typically cost CAD 600-1,200, depending on what it covers and how thoroughly it’s done. Unless it’s owner-assisted, the CAD 600 annual will be pretty minimal. There are two ways to go for the Warrior (I’m not sure about the 140) — Transport Canada publishes a minimal inspection list that most of the fixed-price inspections use, but Piper also publishes a much more detailed one.

When most people talk about an “annual”, though, they mean not just the legally-required inspection but all of the repair and maintenance work that they save up and do at the same time. The inspection will always show up some airworthiness issues, as well as some preventative maintenance issues that you decide to take care of before they get too expensive, and new or recurring Airworthiness Directives may also require extra work. I’ve heard of annuals (in the broad sense) go as high as CAD 10,000 for a fixed-gear plane (a Cardinal, in that case), but maybe CAD 3,000-4,000 is more typical. You can get a cheaper annual by doing a lot of the work yourself under the supervision of a sympathetic AME, if you actually know how to handle tools and do repairs (most of us owners are not as good as we think we are), or by deferring as much as possible and hoping that you’ll sell the plane before it breaks. You’ll always defer some items, though, especially ones that wear slowly and predictably, and will keep a running list of things you plan to replace next year or the year after.

By: Niss Feiner

Niss Feiner — Wed, 25 Jan 2006 21:14:49 +0000

How much does an anual usually cost? And I am probably correct in saying that it must be performed once a year hence the term annual?

Its been a couple of years since my ground school LOL

Niss

By: Land and Hold Short » All in Pieces

Land and Hold Short » All in Pieces — Wed, 25 Jan 2006 15:07:54 +0000

[...] In fact, the annual inspection itself is very predictable — it takes about 25-30 hours for an experienced mechanic to run through the full Piper Warrior II annual inspection list properly, and maybe a couple more hours for run-of-the-mill AD and SB inspections. It’s just that most of us don’t have our (private) planes looked at in detail any other time of the year unless something is obviously broken, so it’s the annual inspection that finds most of the hidden problems. I’m considering adding an unofficial semi-annual inspection — maybe 4 hours in the shop late in the fall, when I need to change the oil and jack up the plane to get the wheel fairings off anyway. Just taking off the cowling and propeller spinner and letting the guys in the shop poke around for a few hours might find a lot of small problems before they become big ones. [...]

By: Dio Santos

Dio Santos — Wed, 28 Sep 2005 07:18:23 +0000

is very nice the information,you posted,but you forget to put pre-buy inpection and also fase out.
best regards
DIO

By: Thomas Cain

Thomas Cain — Thu, 16 Jun 2005 04:59:22 +0000

I am confused regarding the perfor,mance of a such an indepth 50 hour inspection and so little oncern for the 100 hour inspection. I have worked warriors for 25 years. In that time I have found thaht the moset import tasks are cleaning the spark plugs, changining the oil and filter, and lubricating pivot poits and spraying electroncic cleaner in the starter. Jusy mu thoughts.

By: Land and Hold Short » Blog Archive » All in Pieces

Land and Hold Short » Blog Archive » All in Pieces — Tue, 17 May 2005 00:43:05 +0000

[...] y, mine have always ended up well in the first third of that range so far). In fact, the annual inspection itself is very predictable — it takes ab [...]

By: David Megginson

David Megginson — Fri, 15 Apr 2005 15:33:46 +0000

Can you point me a single accident — fatal or otherwise — caused by the loss of a vacuum pump in a fixed-gear plane flying IFR? So far, I’ve come up empty looking in both Canada and the U.S., though I’m sure that one or two must have happened somewhere. As far as safety goes, I think there are many more productive areas to spend your money.

It’s a different story for retracts, of course, since they can spiral out of control so fast (unless you lower the gear to add some drag).

By: Paul Tomblin

Paul Tomblin — Fri, 15 Apr 2005 15:08:13 +0000

I’m surprised you’re so dismissive of a backup vacuum pump (and what does it have to do with whether your gear is fixed or not?). Many people say they won’t fly real IFR without one. It’s hard to think of a single item that is both so fragile and so likely to kill you if it fails as the primary vacuum pump.