Q - American Bonanza Society

prop blades was bent. I don't get any engine repairs and a propoverhaul, only replacement of the bent blade. Since the propmust be disassembled to replace the blade, it doesn 't makesense not to overhaul the prop at the same time. The overh aulthen becomes my cost, not the insurance company's.When I install ed my flight-extender tip tanks, I had a heckof a time finding a set of tanks that were not dinged, dented orleaking. Now that mine are dented and leaking due to beingcrushed under a hangar door, where do I look for replacementtanks? If I tried to switch to Osborne or Beryl D'Shannontanks, I'd have to start all over wi th a new installation. a newSTC-and the insurance company would almost certainly balkat paying for it. Fuggetaboutit!What about the avionics?Forget about the avionics, too. Even if I could get a goodcan opener and cut out the autopilot servos from the fuselageand wing, recover the control head, the autopilot computer, thedirectional gyro, and the turn coordinator, the autopilot wou ldstill have to go back to STEC for recalibration.What about the [FR GPS? It would cost more to removeit, buy a new antenna, and install it in a "new" Bonanza thanit is worth on the used avionics market.Antennas? The ones on the top of the airplane are eitherbroken or squashed. The ones on the bottom are too hard toaccess, although I did salvage the dual-blade nav antenna offthe tail cone and it is for sale.So there you have it, folks. It looks like for the foreseeablefuture your Bonanza Society's avionics column writer will be"Bonanzaless." But don't worry: I wi ll still get enough handsontime with those Bonan zas and Barons that find their wayinto the CE Avionics hangar to stay current.My only worry now is that my family wants to take ourBonanza insurance check and buy a motor home or a trailerand tow vehicle so we can flee from the state on short noticeduring the next hurricane season. [ wo nder if somewhere thereis an American Motorhome Society that needs an avionicswriter?See ya next month.Jim Hughes is the chief pilot. corporate aviation at Embry-Riddle AeronauticalUniversity, flying a CItation II. He also heads Marketing and Professional Services,a consulting firm specializing in flight test and avionics integration. His ratingsinclude ATP and A&P licenses, and type ratmgs ranging from Boeings to Sikorskyhelicopters. He has more than 21 ,000 hours, including more than 3,000 hoursin Bonanzas, Barons, Dukes and King Airs.BEECH BUSINESSES SURVIVE THE HURRICANEVirtually all 01 the Flonda and Southeast-based vendors andFBOs commonly used by ABS members are open for bUSiness. Theexception IS Mod Works In Punta Gorda. Florida. Mad Works wasdestroyed by Hurricane Charley.Hurricane Frances hit With 130-mile-per-hour winds nearTeledyne Continental Motors' facility (Mobile Bay. Alabama). TCMresumed limited opera lions on 9/18 and resumed full operations on9!20.We sympethize with personal losses that came as a result ofone of the worst hUrricane seasons on record. We Wish the best forall our ABS members who were in the paths of these storms.-ABS Board of Dlfeclars and StaffYou do not have 10 be the holder of a mechanic or repairmancertificate to refinish the inner gear door and replace the fabricpatches installed by the faclory. A pilol may perform this and olherwork as specified in Advisory Circular 43-12A. PreventiveMaintenance. and FAR Part 43, Append ix A.Note: Removal and replacement of Ihe inner gear doors musl bedone by a mechanic or repeir slalion.AC43-12A provides informalion concerning prevenlive maintenance.who may perform it. the applicable recording requirementsand those areas most frequently misunderstood. And FARPart 43 contains a list of those items determined by the FAA tomeet this definition. Both are available ABS member Adrian Eichhorn is a reffred Anny Lt. Colonel. Gunen/lyemployed by the FAA he nies a Gulfsfream IV for the FM and aGulfstream III frx NASA. Raflngs: AlP with type roflngs in the G/V, Gt/I.G200. CL604, CE560XL. Adrian is on A&P with Inspection"'"thonzation and a BPPP Instl1JCfof. He owns a ful/y·resfrxed 1962P35.Page 8734www.bo no nzo.orgABS Novembe r 2004