Undoing to verify....
Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2020 11:45 am
I have about a 70% completed Elite that I just purchased. It was an unplanned opportunity that I took advantage of. For the last month I have been educating myself on the Elite. I am qualified but not "certified" airplane mechanic. I have been around them since I was walking. I had partially built a Great Lakes from plans when life got too busy, then owned a few homebuilts and a certified. I maintained them all. That said, I am rather particular and, shall we say untrusting of other peoples work, including "certified" people. I am not paranoid, but have seen some really questionable things along the way.
With the Elite, I am going through and verifying every bolt torque, cotter pin, doubler, etc that I can. The tail section is attached, and looks like it is ready to fly. Problem is, I can not verify all of the attaching hardware without taking it off. In addition, the builder has not put in any inspection holes. So, I have to cutout the skins that have been closed in order to confirm now, and to maintain for latter. Is it common practice to wait to put in the inspection access until needed, or is is better to do it when building; which is what I would do. Am I going overboard to do it now, or should I trust and fly it as is?
Also troubling is the tail rod (stinger) or lack of access to it and the clamps, as well as the saddle and bulkhead. I know some people feel that this a weak area of the airplane. Other types with similar attachment here, like the C180-185 have a propose AD for a recurring inspection. It would be nice to have access without pulling the tail off on a regular basic, which would introduce other potential problems. I would like to consider a large access panel under that area, but I don't know about the role the skin plays and edge distances for it, etc.
I know that I can put a couple small pannel on the side to get to the stinger attach bolt, but there is also a clamp just before the stinger exits the fuselage which will have to be kept tight.
Anyway, I am looking for opinions on how to proceed, and appreciate your experience and time.
Thanks,
larry
With the Elite, I am going through and verifying every bolt torque, cotter pin, doubler, etc that I can. The tail section is attached, and looks like it is ready to fly. Problem is, I can not verify all of the attaching hardware without taking it off. In addition, the builder has not put in any inspection holes. So, I have to cutout the skins that have been closed in order to confirm now, and to maintain for latter. Is it common practice to wait to put in the inspection access until needed, or is is better to do it when building; which is what I would do. Am I going overboard to do it now, or should I trust and fly it as is?
Also troubling is the tail rod (stinger) or lack of access to it and the clamps, as well as the saddle and bulkhead. I know some people feel that this a weak area of the airplane. Other types with similar attachment here, like the C180-185 have a propose AD for a recurring inspection. It would be nice to have access without pulling the tail off on a regular basic, which would introduce other potential problems. I would like to consider a large access panel under that area, but I don't know about the role the skin plays and edge distances for it, etc.
I know that I can put a couple small pannel on the side to get to the stinger attach bolt, but there is also a clamp just before the stinger exits the fuselage which will have to be kept tight.
Anyway, I am looking for opinions on how to proceed, and appreciate your experience and time.
Thanks,
larry