A New Way of Flight Training… - American Bonanza Society

Tech Tips
Tech Tips is a sampling of
responses from ABS Technical
Advisors and Technical Staff
to members’ questions.
Neil Pobanz, ABS lead
technical advisor, is a retired
U.S. Army civilian pilot and
maintenance manager. He is
an A&P and IA with more than
50 years experience.
Glen “Arky” Foulk, former
owner of Delta Strut, has been
an ABS technical advisor
since 1986.
Arthur Miller has won
numerous FAA awards as
a mechanic, and runs a
Beech specialty shop in
central Florida.
Bob Ripley retired from Delta
Airlines as a manager of line
maintenance (Atlanta) and has
run an FBO focusing on Beech
maintenance for 20+ years.
Bob Andrews is a retired
Eastern Air Line pilot, CFI,
mechanic and a Wright Brothers
Award winner. He owns a
Beech-only maintenance FBO
in Atlanta, Georgia.
Tom Turner, ABS-ASF
Executive Director, holds
a Master’s degree in Aviation
Safety. He has specialized
in Beech pilot instruction
for over 20 years.
E-series expert Lew Gage and avionics
expert John Collins also occasionally
contribute answers.
Wing corrosion post-maintenance flight
John Sciarrino, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
My 1999 A36 went in the shop for wing corrosion and annual nine weeks
Q. ago. The plan was to clean and repair the corrosion, then reassemble the
aircraft. Turned out that both wings were removed to replace spars and hinges,
and all six cylinders were replaced. The cost was over $80,000. I will save the
details for a future article in ABS Magazine. Here’s the question: What advice
or suggestions would you give for the first flights when placing this plane
back in service How can I feel confident that ailerons, gear, rigging, and fuel
system will work
Florida is extremely unforgiving to aluminum, even if the airplane is
A. hangared. That’s a shocking repair bill. I’m glad you were able to prevent
scrapping the airframe.
First, I would absolutely insist that the maintenance facility that did
the repairs conduct a thorough inspection and, most importantly, a post-maintenance
test flight prior to returning the airplane to service. Far too often shops
rely on the customer to serve as production test pilot. In my view this
is unacceptable in the case of such an extensive repair – with something as
extensive as wing replacement, the first flight (or flights) should be conducted
by an experienced post-maintenance evaluation or production test pilot to ensure
all operational and rigging checks are complete and satisfactory.
FAR 43.5, 43.9, and 43.11 describe the return-to-service requirements. FAR
43.7 tells us that the airplane owner can only approve the aircraft for return to
service in the case of preventive maintenance such as an oil change.
•
Picking your airplane up from the paint shop, or any maintenance/inspection
event Here’s a collection of past ABS Magazine articles on what to look
for when you accept delivery of the airplane.
Although it was written from the standpoint of a post-paint acceptance,
you’ll see many of the ideas apply to any time you pick an airplane up from
inspection or repair. This guidance should help you in your first flight in the
airplane, after the required return-to-service is complete but before you take
acceptance of the completed work. —TT
Fuel selector valve rebuild
Jeffrey Binder, Bentleyville, Ohio
Where can I get the fuel selector valve rebuilt on my 1954 E-Series
Q. Bonanza The selector switch sticks sometimes.
A.
CruiseAir in Ramona, California (760-789-8020) will overhaul a nonwobble
pump for $450 and a wobble pump for $650. Aviation Group in
Peachtree City, Georgia (800-316-7867) quotes a $375 overhaul with a 2-3 day
turnaround. —BA
Volume 12 • Number 1 AMERICAN BONANZA SOCIETY 59