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#1
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You know you own an airplane when...
We'd known for some time that our A&P/IA has been cleaning & repairing
our 172's battery box every year. Usually it's just amounted to pulling the battery, rinsing the box to neutralize the acid and sanding / painting any areas where corrosion has gotten the better of it. The last few years, however, the aluminum has been getting thinner, the holes and cracks larger. This year the word came down. "I've nursed it along all these years, but if I put another patch on it we'll need to redo the weight and balance", my mechanic woefully admitted. "Okay", I sighed. "What's the damage on a new battery box?" "I don't know yet, but I'll let you know." That was a couple weeks ago. Just got the call. A new battery box for a 1971 Cessna 172L retails for (drumroll....) $1500. I nearly passed out. And that's surprising only because I've been doing this airplane ownership thing for a while so it takes a lot to phase me. I had to ask. "Okay, that's ridiculous. You know I normally don't care if you make some money on parts, but what's your cost on this?" He freely admitted "$700...and I think that's crazy too, so I've decided that's what I'm going to charge you for it." All my partner (increasingly the miser) could say was "I could have built it myself and welded the seams, etc. Would have been 10X better looking & stronger than anything Cessna would build...and it would have cost me maybe $50. I mean, it's a BOX for crying out loud!" I agreed, but quickly pointed out that when I last checked we don't have any "EXPERIMENTAL" stickers on the airplane and the feds wouldn't take kindly to our "playing Cessna". I don't know why, exactly, but I found myself actually happy to pay the $700. It could have been worse, right? I suppose it only shows how bad I have the aviation bug, even after all these years. There's a long-running thread on a BMW message board I read called "You know you drive an E36 when...." It contains lots of inside jokes about all the stuff that goes wrong with these cars and the crap only a diehard BMW owner would tolerate. It's actually really funny (at least to us owners) though I'm fully aware others might diagnose our desire to own these vehicles in spite of these problems as some kind of psychosis. Browse here for a laugh, even if you don't own a BMW... http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...ad.php?t=56053 Anyway, in that same vein I think we should start a thread here about "You know you own an airplane when..." in which we can each give a one-liner about our experiences as airplane owners. It's been done before, but it's always nice to refresh the list. I'll start. You know you own an airplane when... ....you're actually glad to get the news that a battery box will cost you ONLY $700. -Doug -- -------------------- Doug Vetter, ATP/CFI http://www.dvatp.com -------------------- |
#2
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You know you own an airplane when...
"Doug Vetter" wrote in message ... All my partner (increasingly the miser) could say was "I could have built it myself and welded the seams, etc. Would have been 10X better looking & stronger than anything Cessna would build...and it would have cost me maybe $50. I mean, it's a BOX for crying out loud!" I agreed, but quickly pointed out that when I last checked we don't have any "EXPERIMENTAL" stickers on the airplane and the feds wouldn't take kindly to our "playing Cessna". Actually, under one of the exceptions to Part 21, section 21.303 is seems that you (as the owner or operator) could have produced the part yourself WITHOUT slapping that "experimental" sticker on your plane. Here is a good discussion of that: http://150cessna.tripod.com/obrienonownermadeparts.html |
#3
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You know you own an airplane when...
.... a 3" x 3" piece of 1/16" lexan with two stickers, a rivet through it,
and a finger hole costs $150 NOS or $245 from Piper. (Aztec emergency exit/window latch cover. When I lost it, I thought it was moulded. Wrong. It's flat. I could have bought the stickers for $30 each, made the cover, and saved $90) Jim |
#4
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You know you own an airplane when...
Jim Burns wrote:
... a 3" x 3" piece of 1/16" lexan with two stickers, a rivet through it, and a finger hole costs $150 NOS or $245 from Piper. You know you own a beechcraft when you consider buying a roll of steel cable at the hardware store for $50. Figure you will cut it up in 20 foot chunks, sell them to your other beech friends and get rich. After all, RAPID (Raytheons parts distributer) does that and gets $700 for each chunk. -- Frank Stutzman Bonanza N494B "Hula Girl" Hood River, OR (soon to be Boise, ID) |
#5
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You know you own an airplane when...
Ο "Doug Vetter" έγραψε στο μήνυμα
... .................................................. ....................... Anyway, in that same vein I think we should start a thread here about "You know you own an airplane when..." in which we can each give a one-liner about our experiences as airplane owners. It's been done before, but it's always nice to refresh the list. I'll start. You know you own an airplane when... ...you're actually glad to get the news that a battery box will cost you ONLY $700. -Doug -------------------- Doug Vetter, ATP/CFI http://www.dvatp.com -------------------- You KNOW this thread will end with uncotrollable sobbing....................... (Socata TB-20 owner) |
#6
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You know you own an airplane when...
Doug,
My bonanza has an after market stainless steel battery box and the paper work to go with it. Maybe there's an alternative for cessna's too? Dave M35 Doug Vetter wrote: We'd known for some time that our A&P/IA has been cleaning & repairing our 172's battery box every year. Usually it's just amounted to pulling the battery, rinsing the box to neutralize the acid and sanding / painting any areas where corrosion has gotten the better of it. The last few years, however, the aluminum has been getting thinner, the holes and cracks larger. This year the word came down. "I've nursed it along all these years, but if I put another patch on it we'll need to redo the weight and balance", my mechanic woefully admitted. "Okay", I sighed. "What's the damage on a new battery box?" "I don't know yet, but I'll let you know." That was a couple weeks ago. Just got the call. A new battery box for a 1971 Cessna 172L retails for (drumroll....) $1500. I nearly passed out. And that's surprising only because I've been doing this airplane ownership thing for a while so it takes a lot to phase me. I had to ask. "Okay, that's ridiculous. You know I normally don't care if you make some money on parts, but what's your cost on this?" He freely admitted "$700...and I think that's crazy too, so I've decided that's what I'm going to charge you for it." All my partner (increasingly the miser) could say was "I could have built it myself and welded the seams, etc. Would have been 10X better looking & stronger than anything Cessna would build...and it would have cost me maybe $50. I mean, it's a BOX for crying out loud!" I agreed, but quickly pointed out that when I last checked we don't have any "EXPERIMENTAL" stickers on the airplane and the feds wouldn't take kindly to our "playing Cessna". I don't know why, exactly, but I found myself actually happy to pay the $700. It could have been worse, right? I suppose it only shows how bad I have the aviation bug, even after all these years. There's a long-running thread on a BMW message board I read called "You know you drive an E36 when...." It contains lots of inside jokes about all the stuff that goes wrong with these cars and the crap only a diehard BMW owner would tolerate. It's actually really funny (at least to us owners) though I'm fully aware others might diagnose our desire to own these vehicles in spite of these problems as some kind of psychosis. Browse here for a laugh, even if you don't own a BMW... http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...ad.php?t=56053 Anyway, in that same vein I think we should start a thread here about "You know you own an airplane when..." in which we can each give a one-liner about our experiences as airplane owners. It's been done before, but it's always nice to refresh the list. I'll start. You know you own an airplane when... ...you're actually glad to get the news that a battery box will cost you ONLY $700. -Doug -- -------------------- Doug Vetter, ATP/CFI http://www.dvatp.com -------------------- -- David Harnitchek, PE |
#7
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You know you own an airplane when...
I used to own an older Bellanca Viking, a feature of which is the mahagony
plywood wing skin. One annual we had to repair an ancient and badly repaired hole and patch in the leading edge of the wing. A phone call to Bellanca (still in business then) revealed that they could indeed sell me some leading edge plywood (properly moulded into Viking airfoil leading edge shape), just tell them how much we would need, then we could proceed with the appropriate scarfed glue joint repair, and recover/repaint that section. The cost? $60 PER INCH! We bought 15 inches..... $900. Item came in the mail, it only weighed a few ounces. Geez, I could have bought a battery box for that and had some left over! Lee McGee formerly Bellanca N7300V Mount Aukum, CA |
#8
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You know you own an airplane when...
On Mar 10, 2:14 pm, "Lee McGee" wrote:
I used to own an older Bellanca Viking, a feature of which is the mahagony plywood wing skin. One annual we had to repair an ancient and badly repaired hole and patch in the leading edge of the wing. A phone call to Bellanca (still in business then) revealed that they could indeed sell me some leading edge plywood (properly moulded into Viking airfoil leading edge shape), just tell them how much we would need, then we could proceed with the appropriate scarfed glue joint repair, and recover/repaint that section. The cost? $60 PER INCH! We bought 15 inches..... $900. Item came in the mail, it only weighed a few ounces. Geez, I could have bought a battery box for that and had some left over! Lee McGee formerly Bellanca N7300V Mount Aukum, CA And people wonder why experimental/ kit planes are selling like hotcakes. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I NEVER want to or will see a yellow tag again. Ben N801BH www.haaspowerair.com |
#9
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You know you own an airplane when...
dave wrote:
Doug, My bonanza has an after market stainless steel battery box and the paper work to go with it. Maybe there's an alternative for cessna's too? Dave M35 Too late now...as it's installed, but thanks for the suggestion. :-) My tech usually suggests PMA parts when he can find them. For example, we managed to install a PMA'd vacuum regulator ($250) a few years back after hearing that the OE was $950. Logbook entry and we were done. All I have to say is thank God for the PMA process. -Doug -- -------------------- Doug Vetter, ATP/CFI http://www.dvatp.com -------------------- |
#10
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You know you own an airplane when...
Vaughn Simon wrote:
"Doug Vetter" wrote in message ... All my partner (increasingly the miser) could say was "I could have built it myself and welded the seams, etc. Would have been 10X better looking & stronger than anything Cessna would build...and it would have cost me maybe $50. I mean, it's a BOX for crying out loud!" I agreed, but quickly pointed out that when I last checked we don't have any "EXPERIMENTAL" stickers on the airplane and the feds wouldn't take kindly to our "playing Cessna". Actually, under one of the exceptions to Part 21, section 21.303 is seems that you (as the owner or operator) could have produced the part yourself WITHOUT slapping that "experimental" sticker on your plane. Here is a good discussion of that: http://150cessna.tripod.com/obrienonownermadeparts.html Well, my Cessna was type certificated under CAR 3, so I doubt part 21 applies (probably would to the "new" Cessnas). A few years back I went over this when we were refurbishing the airbox. My mechanic told me that we weren't allowed to fabricate parts IF there was an approved part available (presumably from any manufacturer...PMA or OE). I remember this because he said an airbox cost $1100 so we should make every attempt to save it (and we did). -Doug -- -------------------- Doug Vetter, ATP/CFI http://www.dvatp.com -------------------- |
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