If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#11
|
|||
|
|||
HI and Thanks,
to everyone who has answered. Quite an education I must say. It was quite a disappointment to find the plane I bought 15 months ago, has such a severe problem. I never thought that those full stall landings might be what was keeping the wings on. Here is the best photograph I have seen of intergranular corrosion on Fig2 http://www.asnt.org/publications/mat...sfig1.htm#fig2 Mine looks worse. The good news is that everything else (and everywhere else) looked good through the annual inspection. We have a lead on two wings and my A&P should be calling today. I've been on the Usenet since 1987 and I continue to be amazed at the expertise and the willingness of it's members to share information and experience . Chris Hight N6414W JQF Davidson, NC |
#12
|
|||
|
|||
to everyone who has answered. Quite an education I must say. It was
quite a disappointment to find the plane I bought 15 months ago, has such a severe problem. Intergranular corrosion is something that should be carefully checked for at every annual -- and should absolutely have been caught in any pre-buy inspection. You may have recourse against the shop that did your pre-buy, Chris. You're looking at spending thousands of dollars here, and any competent mechanic certainly should have seen this stuff just 15 months ago -- especially if it's as bad as you say it is. Honestly, I simply don't understand some of the goofy stuff that A&Ps miss. Cherokees are simple aircraft, and are darned near bulletproof -- but they do have a few known problems that every competent mechanic should know to check. Intergranular corrosion, while not rampant in the fleet, IS a known (and very serious) problem in older Cherokee wing spars, and should be checked carefully. It's a definite deal-stopper if found. Here are a few other less-critical Cherokee issues to look for, while we're at it: 1. Doors that are "sprung" and don't fit quite right. (Seen most often in trainers.) 2. Corroded heater control flapper valves. 3. Leaky fresh air vents. 4. Bouncy/inaccurate ammeters. 5. Sticky elevator trim, both electric and manual. 6. Cracked bow-tie yokes (found on older Cherokees only). All of these are well known to any good Cherokee mechanic, are commonly looked for at annual, and can be easily addressed. Good luck. -- Jay Honeck Iowa City, IA Pathfinder N56993 www.AlexisParkInn.com "Your Aviation Destination" |
#13
|
|||
|
|||
I helped assemble an Alon A2A which had been shipped over from England about
2 years ago. Everything looked fine. A recent AD required a center section inspection. During this AD I found a couple of suspicious bulges in the lower spar cap. Upon probing them intergranular corrosion that had penetrated the spar cap and progressed to exfoliation was discovered. The elapsed time from assembly from the shipping container when everything looked fine, to discovery of the corrosion was 1-1/2 years. So this corrosion had been festering in the internal grain structure for nearly 40 years before it came to the surface. When it did appear, the spar cap had already been penetrated through and through. The plane was beyond economical repair. Cheers: Paul NC2273H |
#14
|
|||
|
|||
Jay Honeck wrote:
: A good friend of mine went through this exact problem with his 140. It is : not a good deal. : As others have pointed out, it is a non-repairable problem -- the wing spars : cannot be replaced economically. The only fix is to replace the wings, and : that is not cheap. : My friend's experience was a long series of nightmarish problems with : unforeseen consequences (One example: The first set of replacement wings he : found were crushed in shipping, and the shippers refused to pay to replace : them.), and the plane was "down" for well over a year. : You've really only got two choices: Part the plane out, or fix it. If you : want to fix it, call Wentworth, bite the bullet, and pay their ridiculous : price for serviceable wings. Have them ship the wings directly to your A&P, : and get it done as quickly as possible. Having watched this ordeal from : afar, it seems that attempts to find alternate sources for wings will end up : taking far longer, and cost far more, than you expect, and the aggravation : factor is not to be underestimated. : Good luck. I will second what Jay said. I also have a friend who went through this. He bought replacement wings from Wentworth. The second set were servicable. The A&P keeps the old wings for show & tell: you could flake pieces off the wingspar. It "only" took about 3 months for this guy's plane to get fixed. Wentworth and the other salvage companies probably have a goodly supply of easily repairable wings now! You can check google for aircraft salvage yards, there are a few around. I think there's one in the Carolinas. -- Aaron C. |
#15
|
|||
|
|||
Aaron Coolidge wrote:
: easily repairable wings now! You can check google for aircraft salvage yards, : there are a few around. I think there's one in the Carolinas. : -- : Aaron C. I've gotten a bunch of small things from US Air Salvage in Johnson City, TN. There's an airport about 1/2 mile from them and they'll come out and pick you up. They've been fair, but like any junkyard (aircraft or not), haggling is a must and "stealer-deals" are hard to find. We bought a baggage floor out of a Cherokee 180 to install in our 140/180. Pretty cool watching them take out a huge gas-powered circular saw and cut a 3'x4'x6" chunk out of the fuselage of a plane. Even cooler was watching us load the chunk into the aircraft it was going to be installed in and fly home. A topological problem, to say the least. -Cory ************************************************** *********************** * Cory Papenfuss * * Electrical Engineering candidate Ph.D. graduate student * * Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University * ************************************************** *********************** |
#16
|
|||
|
|||
On Mon, 17 Jan 2005 04:16:59 GMT, "Jay Honeck"
wrote: My A&P has dignosed this condition on my 1964 (Piper)PA28-140. Has anyone dealt with this? Can the wings be repaired or rebuilt? Is there a good source for spare wings? I'm in North Carolina. A good friend of mine went through this exact problem with his 140. It is not a good deal. As others have pointed out, it is a non-repairable problem -- the wing spars cannot be replaced economically. The only fix is to replace the wings, and that is not cheap. My friend's experience was a long series of nightmarish problems with unforeseen consequences (One example: The first set of replacement wings he found were crushed in shipping, and the shippers refused to pay to replace them.), and the plane was "down" for well over a year. Scumbags! Name the shipper for us all! |
#17
|
|||
|
|||
On Mon, 17 Jan 2005 14:28:36 -0800, "Chicken"
wrote: I helped assemble an Alon A2A which had been shipped over from England about 2 years ago. Everything looked fine. A recent AD required a center section inspection. During this AD I found a couple of suspicious bulges in the lower spar cap. Upon probing them intergranular corrosion that had penetrated the spar cap and progressed to exfoliation was discovered. The elapsed time from assembly from the shipping container when everything looked fine, to discovery of the corrosion was 1-1/2 years. So this corrosion had been festering in the internal grain structure for nearly 40 years before it came to the surface. When it did appear, the spar cap had already been penetrated through and through. The plane was beyond economical repair. Cheers: Unless they paid too much for it, or it was really a dog, center sections can be had new for about $8K and used, about half that. Unfortunately even parts aren't worth much to the owners who mostly fail to maintain these birds well and up to standards. Sounds like a good project for someone, I hope you guys didn't give it away. Paul NC2273H |
#18
|
|||
|
|||
My friend's experience was a long series of nightmarish problems with
unforeseen consequences (One example: The first set of replacement wings he found were crushed in shipping, and the shippers refused to pay to replace them.), and the plane was "down" for well over a year. Scumbags! Name the shipper for us all! Good idea. I'll ask my friend when he returns from vacation... -- Jay Honeck Iowa City, IA Pathfinder N56993 www.AlexisParkInn.com "Your Aviation Destination" |
#19
|
|||
|
|||
Williams Airmotive in IN (Fort Wayne?) will rebuild your wings with new
spars for $2000/wing. I think that's about $1000/wing cheaper than you'll find replacement wings at Wentworth. FWIW they rebuilt my 140's wings and I was pleased with the results. -Brian N33431 "ChrisH" wrote in message oups.com... My A&P has dignosed this condition on my 1964 (Piper)PA28-140. Has anyone dealt with this? Can the wings be repaired or rebuilt? Is there a good source for spare wings? I'm in North Carolina. Thanks, Chris Hight N6414W JQF |
#20
|
|||
|
|||
Thanks Brian,
I just gave them a call. Around $7000 for rebuilding both, but that means I won't have to paint them. They said the spars themselves are $2000-2500 apiece. So how long ago were yours done (that the price was so much higher? I would feel better about knowing the condition as opposed to buying used. Chris |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
ANG Woman Wing Commander Doesn't See Herself as Pioneer, By Master Sgt. Bob Haskell | Otis Willie | Military Aviation | 0 | March 18th 04 08:40 PM |
Props and Wing Warping... was soaring vs. flaping | Wright1902Glider | Home Built | 0 | September 29th 03 03:40 PM |
FS: Wing spar angle extrusions | Bob Kuykendall | Home Built | 0 | September 25th 03 08:23 PM |
Can someone explain wing loading? | Frederick Wilson | Home Built | 4 | September 10th 03 02:33 AM |
Wing Extensions | Jay | Home Built | 22 | July 27th 03 12:23 PM |