Thanks, Jay... Well, it could be worse... I could own a boat!

For sure. Now THERE is a money pit.

Day One of our annual today. Took 30 minutes to shovel out the hangar, only
to discover that the tires were flat-spotted, and I couldn't move the plane
by myself. Standing on slick, snow-dusted concrete didn't help -- but
mostly it was just everything was so cold -- wheel bearing grease, tires
stiff as boards.

I considered hooking a tow rope onto the tow bar. I considered simply
starting the plane and driving it out of the hangar. I finally got so
****ed at the situation and myself that I managed to heave the plane out
with a long, 90-second all-out effort, but not before I hurt both calves and
my back. Stupid. Then spent the day wrenching and unscrewing. Hurting
everywhere, but working on self-medication...

Got all the inspection plates off, wheel pants off, interior removed,
oil/filter changed. My A&P checked compressions (all 79 or 80), checked the
oil filter (clean) -- the expensive stuff appears clean.

Gonna need two new tires (definitely ordering the "leak-free" inner tubes).
The prop may be at the end of its life, but we'll see. It's a 1991 prop,
with 2100 hours on it -- way past time, based on McCauley's recommendations.
My old A&P, however, owned a prop shop for 25 years, and doesn't put much
stock in anything but current condition -- he's pretty sure it's fine, but
he's gonna check it over tomorrow.

So, tomorrow it's back to the hangar to jack 'er up, pack the wheel
bearings, etc, etc, etc. Hard to believe, but this will be my 10th
owner-assisted annual; it all feels very familiar.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"
"Denny" wrote in message
...

Thanks, Jay... Well, it could be worse... I could own a boat!

The 'new' cylinders came in yesterday... I assume they are correct
this time... I didn't even open the boxes... I hauled them out to
the airport last night after office hours and stuffed them in the
hangar - in the dark and the cold and the wind (-1 degree, but I'll
bet you know all about that there in eyeoway - my daughter attended
med school in Des Moines so I've had some first hand experience with
your part of the country)
Interestingly, I know they hit my card for another $4K+... But nowhere
did I see the envelope with the RMA stickers to return the other $4K+
of cylinders for credit, like they promised...
I have been in business for a half century, so this isn't my first
rodeo... I'll just keep puttin the spurs to em... The thing they
might not understand is that credit card payments can be reversed in a
heart beat... I'll mention tha tto them on the next phone call...

denny