most of them think if it has been signed off by a licensed engineering it must be safe
One would need to be blind to think that something like this is OK to fly, however.
I suppose a gear-up landing is “safe” and if you are just renting you can walk away from anything. IF you can walk away, which might not happen if landing on only one gear leg. But I doubt any pilot really thinks like that… or do they?
One way of getting an answer to the question would be to track down the pilot and ask.
Just thinking out loud – I’m not defending the above, but perhaps some maintenance is not done due to the restrictive practices in the industry which drives costs up.
It is a shame that engineers can’t qualify in a “modular” form, so for example, once an engineer or Pilot has shown (and passed exams) that he/she could work on landing gear then that engineer would be able to freelance or work on their own plane. A “landing gear” module/exam might end up in properly greased bearings etc which could be done as part of the 50 hour check.
Just one example in avionics – I have been in quite a few aircraft where the DME display is very dim and not possible to read in direct sunlight. The cause is usually a 10 pence LDR (light dependent resistor) where the track has oxidised away/gone high resistance and that means the display stays dim. As another thread mentions – back to base repairs (restrictive practices) making a 10 pence component into a £ 1,000 repair will only make this situation worse.
I do my own 50 hour checks and often help with my Annual. As a pilot owner I would love to “part qualify” on certain limited areas to prove I was a competent person. It is my experience that anything I am allowed to do by Pilot exemptions (or under supervision at the Annual) is done bloody well as at the end of the day I have to fly the plane!
Wouldn’t be that difficult to fix. I’d be interested to see what the spar cap is like behind the fuel tanks, which can make or break a PA28.
I know a guy who spent 30k on two rebuilt wings for a Cherokee 140 from the US. He sold it for 12k after.
Archer-181 wrote:
It is a shame that engineers can’t qualify in a “modular” form, so for example, once an engineer or Pilot has shown (and passed exams) that he/she could work on landing gear then that engineer would be able to freelance or work on their own plane. A “landing gear” module/exam might end up in properly greased bearings etc which could be done as part of the 50 hour check.
Indeed, and this is probably something the LAA could at least do with permit aircraft, but they haven’t. It’s very frustrating not to be able to sign off straightforward jobs, especially this kind which when kept on top of, will really help to avoid future problems (I guess the LAA doesn’t see a problem since there are inspectors everywhere that can sign things off, well, except when you live in a remote area or on an island of course and your options are an inspector who’s not around most of the time or having to fly someone in from England at great expense).
It’s also slightly bizarre what a pilot is allowed to and not allowed to sign off. I can for instance replace the landing gear bungees and sign it off, but I can’t sign off replacing the O-rings on the brake pistons. The former is an absolute bear of a job requiring a special tool, lots of jacking, and a great deal of care so you don’t get a plane on top of you, the latter is a very straightforward job that requires no special tools or heavy lifting and has a very good manual from Cleveland that explains how to do everything.
alioth wrote:
It’s also slightly bizarre what a pilot is allowed to and not allowed to sign off
I think that list goes back to the days when most light aircraft were Moths, and represents the things pilots of those times had to do on a regular basis to get home!
The maintenance quality issue is not just one for the CAA, I have walked away from LAA aircraft after inspection offering to return when things are done to the required standard and never been asked to return.
Fortunately this is the exception rather than the rule, most LAA aircraft are very well maintained.
A couple more pics…
Some spar corrosion. No way at all to fix that economically. I understand the owner is still looking for someone to sign it off.
This is good
what ever happened to the airplane you showed a few years ago in this thread?
