Left Mag Dead... After Annual???

In sixteen years of owning a Mooney, I have had a dead mag twice after an
annual. In one case some ham handed mechanic had crushed a new coil while
trying to install it, and in the other case someone had simply forgotten to
replace the screws holding the mag cap in place.

Anyone that expects a plane to always come out on an annual in perfect shape
has a naive view of human fallibility. Always do a careful check flight
after any serious work on you plane to be sure that everything has been done
right.

Don Royer

"three-eight-hotel" wrote in message
oups.com...
So I just got out of a $1900 annual, and stopped by, on Friday, to gas
the plane up for a flight to happen this week... I tried to start the
plane up (Cessna 172), and it never as much as sputtered. The battery
was well charged and it turned over, and over, and over, and over...
Never fired though!?!? I tried for about 5 minutes, and ended up just
leaving it, for the mechanic to look at.

I called this morning, and they are still looking at it. He said, for
some reason, the left mag is dead. He's supposed to call me this
afternoon, when he has something definitive.

I've never had a problem starting this plane (with the exception of a
low battery), and was quite surprised to encounter something like that,
immediately after an annual... It would have been different, if it had
occured during regular useage, but when you go to pick up your airplane
from annual, you are expecting it to be in as tip-top shape as it can
be.

Has anyone else had a similar problem? The mechanic said the plane was
started and running after annual, so is this just a major coincidence?
Is it true??? Are we all just test pilots, when we pick our planes up
from an annual?

Thanks for any input.

Todd

The shop I used to work for did this. Any aircraft in for Maint. was flown
by one
of the pilots. If adjustments were probable, the mechanic went along. We
carried our own insurance.

I got an Aztec out of annual inspection, and 4 hours later a gasket let
go, and sprayed fuel onto the turbo. Instant fire. It burned through the oil
lines, and kept burning after fuel was shut off. It melted a magneto into a
puddle. I shot a backcourse with 1 tuning and 1 burning, and parked it in
it's tiedown just outside the shop.

1 year later, I got a C-210 fresh out of the shop, and 30 minutes later
a flex hose between the aircleaner and the turbo collapsed, killing the
engine. I landed
on the runway I was departing from. It turns out this was the same mechanic
as the Aztec.

Another year later, I was flying a C-414 for a company when they hired a
new mechanic. You guessed it. The same one. I quit.

After these, I got most of the maintenance flights. and never left one
anywhere but the airport.

Al


"Matt Barrow" wrote in message
...

"Viperdoc" wrote in message
...

The same shop did an annual that left me with a very rough running engine
on the first flight, where I gave serious thought to a precautionary
landing. It was the last time I went to these guys.

My shop does a half hour or so post-maintenance flight, conducted by the
head of the shop. So far, he's still alive after 25 or so years in the
business.

I'll ask him how many times he's had to declare an emergency or make an
off-airport landing next time I see him.

Oh, yeah...they charge A LOT for annuals and maintenance, but they're
worth it. My last annual was over $5000 with about $1000 for some minor
work and tweaks.



--
Matt
---------------------
Matthew W. Barrow
Site-Fill Homes, LLC.
Montrose, CO

I just got off the phone with the mechanic... He says that there was a
little corrosion on the points, claiming that after washing the plane
down after annual might have led to the cause...???

He replaced the points, at no charge to me, and says I can pick it up
anytime. A benefit of this shop is that he lets me leave it in the
hangar, when there's room... During weather like this, my bird
appreciates it... ;-)

So... who wants to go on a test flight with me??? LOL!

Thanks to all, for the responses!

Todd

At least you did better than my brother's Mooney flying club that had
the whole magneto fall off (there were no mounting nuts etc installed)
the back of the engine on the short flight home after annual. It was
fixed at no charge...........

"three-eight-hotel" wrote in message
oups.com...
I just got off the phone with the mechanic... He says that there was a
little corrosion on the points, claiming that after washing the plane
down after annual might have led to the cause...???

He replaced the points, at no charge to me, and says I can pick it up
anytime. A benefit of this shop is that he lets me leave it in the
hangar, when there's room... During weather like this, my bird
appreciates it... ;-)

So... who wants to go on a test flight with me??? LOL!


Should be your mechanic or the shop owner.

Actually, the test should be conducted the shop owner or a pilot in his
employ.

Does your car repair shop test your car after fixing it?

In article . com,
nrp wrote:
At least you did better than my brother's Mooney flying club that had
the whole magneto fall off (there were no mounting nuts etc installed)
the back of the engine on the short flight home after annual. It was
fixed at no charge...........

A few years ago, I brought an archer up to HFD to have the electric
trim worked on by some avionic shop up there. When I went to pick up
the plane, I got in and as part of my preflight, I ran the trim
through it's full range with the thumb-switch. As soon as it got to
one end, I heard a solid "clunk", and it was wedged solid. No amount
of pulling on the wheel by hand could get it to move. The plane was
unflyable and I had to leave it there.

To make matters worse, the avionics shop insisted it wasn't their
fault. They said they only touched the electronic parts of the system
and there's no way they could have damaged the mechanical parts in the
process. I had to find another shop on the field to fix it, and the
first shop not only refused to pay for it, but insisted on getting
paid for the work they had done. Yeah, right.

Good old HFD.....

Does your car repair shop test your car after fixing it?

Does my car repair shop take my car out for a "test drive" after fixing
it (tuneups, oil changes, brake work, warranty items, etc...) I don't
think so, but then again, I usually pick it up, long after they've
worked on it (after work).

Is it a pretty standard practice for the shop owner to fly an airplane,
after annual? I've heard couple in this thread, where that is the
case, but is that the norm? This thread is the first I've heard of
this practice, although I find it a reasonable or plausible
expectation. I haven't heard of this as the experiences with any of my
aviation aquaintances...

Does your car repair shop test your car after fixing it?

I once picked up my car from an oil change and as I was backing it out
of the parking space, I noticed I was leaving behind a heavy trail of
oil. They hadn't screwed the oil filter on right.

My shop does the initial test flight after an engine overhaul or after
pulling a cylinder. He doesn't do it after an inspection.

I don't know if there is anything considered 'standard'.

"three-eight-hotel" wrote in message

Is it a pretty standard practice for the shop owner to fly an airplane,
after annual? I've heard couple in this thread, where that is the
case, but is that the norm? This thread is the first I've heard of
this practice, although I find it a reasonable or plausible
expectation. I haven't heard of this as the experiences with any of my
aviation aquaintances...