Airplane Owner Maintenance - By Dean Showalter
Education:Training
Note: Scroll down to see who I unexpectedly met in Florida this past week!
Now for the Prebuy… it was some months ago, and I did a prebuy inspection on a nice airplane on behalf of the buyer.
I also became good friends with the owner / seller, for which I was grateful, because sometimes these can end up being sticky situations.
The owner / seller (who is a really great gentleman) seemed to think his airplane was nearly perfect, and there should be very little wrong with it.
And by all means, it was a very nice airplane indeed. So much so, that if I was buying it, I’d be thrilled!
Nevertheless, I found some things that needed attention.
Listen to the episode to hear about the things I noted, which I categorized into three parts:
I’m not going to list them all here, but I talked about them in the audio for this episode.
Here’s a photo of one item I found… the right flap forward rib had a large crack in the leading edge – a very common problem on Bonanzas. (The flap was sent out for repair, and reinstalled, as part of the selling process.)
This crack can be seen by looking outboard and forward inside the open inspection hole in the flap in the following photo:
The following photo shows the forward nose gear rod end that was replaced, along with the nose gear down spring and some other hardware (note the small grease zerk in the side of the rod end… rod ends that are drilled for a grease zerk have been known to fail, and it’s wise to replace them with the solid type.)
Note: American Bonanza Society (ABS) recommends replacing all three rod ends for the Bonanza nose gear system every 2000 hours.
For me, the prebuy was a great experience, and I’m hopeful both the seller and the buyer feel the same way.
In my estimation, we took a really nice airplane, and made if even better… and that makes me happy!
How about you? Is your airplane perfect?
One way to see how perfect it is would be to get some other eyes on it from time to time… take it somewhere different every few years for the annual inspection.
Then, when it comes time to sell it, perhaps it will be just a little closer to perfect!
Now for my huge surprise in Florida this past week… I met a very fine gentleman at the Orlando Executive Airport, and even got a photo with him:
This is Mr. Bob Showalter, of the Showalter Flying Service in Orlando, which the family sold back in 2015.
I was grateful to meet such a fine gentleman that day, and to learn more about him and his family, and how they have contributed in such a huge and impacting way to the world of aviation.
So many people have asked me over the years if I was related to the Showalters who have the FBO in Orlando, and my answer will now be, “Not that I’m aware of, but if I was related to them, I’d be proud!”
If you’re interested in some fascinating history of Bob’s family and Showalter Flying Service, here’s a link with all kinds of interesting information, as well as a large assortment of really fun photos from years ago.
And here’s another one:
Enjoy!
And Mr. Bob, it was a real pleasure to meet you sir! I was very inspired to hear you are still going strong and still flying a jet with your son!
The post “239 – When Your “Perfect” Airplane Gets a Prebuy” appeared first at AirplaneOwnerMaintenance.com
238 – Check Ride Thoughts & Piper Door Stop Repair
237 – Checkride Butterflies!
236 – Spare Parts and Tools to Carry in Your Airplane
235 – Ugly Propellers and What to Do About Them
234 – Why the Airplane’s Heater Didn’t Light Last Winter
233 – Mike’s Owner Assisted Annual on His F33A Bonanza
232 – A Piper, A Pineapple, and a Motorcycle
231 – Piper Comanche Weird Electrical Problem and Seeping Oil Drain Valve
230 “Phantom Cracks” in Airplane Engine Cylinders
229 – Cessna 206 Alternator Not Working
228 – Saving a Cylinder on Dan & Jeanne’s Bonanza
227 – Electrical Chaos When the Landing Light was Turned On
226 – Piper Lance Lands at SHD After In-Flight Electrical Failure
225 – Obscure ATC Intersection Mystery Solved (It’s UDIYU!)
224 – Jim’s Exhaust Valve Rescue on his Cessna 182 Engine
223 – Piper Cherokee Annual and Other Maintenance Adventures
222 – How an Engine Cylinder Went From 25/80 to 75/80!
221 – Maui Adventures in the Air and on the Ground!
220 – An Epic Working Vacation to Maui!
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Real Estate Real World with Marguerite Crespillo
Source Movement
Jumpseat Radio
Journeyman Firefighter Podcast
NaNoWriMo Every Month!