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
--------------------

"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

.... 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

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)

Ï "Doug Vetter" Ýãñáøå óôï ìÞíõìá
...

.................................................. .......................
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)

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

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

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

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
--------------------

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
--------------------