"Roger Long" om wrote in message ...
I make part of my preflight inspection lifting gently up and down on each
stabilizer tip just enough to see the plane pitch slightly against the nose
strut. I'm listening for any popping, crackling, or movement. It's gentle,
only thumb and a couple of finger.

Does this seem pointless or even crack promoting to you?

No, we teach that to our students. They have to understand, though,
that anything more than a gentle shake at the stab tip could
overstress it. Don't move it enough to get the nose oleo working.
We're listening for creaking sounds that might indicate loose stab
forward attach bolts (they might occasionally need retorquing) or any
undue flex that might indicate spar failure. Some oilcanning
(rumbling) of the skin is normal.
The one I flew that had a failed spar was very flexible,
discovered after the fact, of course. With one of us holding one tip
firmly, the other could be moved up and down an inch or two.
We haven't had to retorque stab attach bolts since we stopped using
the stab to maneuver the airplane.

Dan
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Roger Long
Dan Thomas wrote in message
om...
The gaskets we use on that pump are a black composition material; very
strong and solid. Haven't seen cork in a long time, and never a rubber
gasket.
I agree that any cork gasket there should be replaced with a new
composition gasket.
As far as ADs that aren't, there's another one that should be: the
horizontal stabilizer forward spar centre section cracks and could
fail. Cessna has a service bulletin on it, but sooner or later someone
will die because it wasn't mandated. Those who push down on their
stabs to turn the airplane are almost certainly going to have cracked
stab spars.
Dan