Relay-Version: B 2.11 6/12/87; site scorn Path: uunet!jarthur!usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sdd.hp.com!hplabs!hpfcso!hpfcmgw!edo From: edo@hpfcmgw.HP.COM (Ed Overacker) Newsgroups: rec.aviation Subject: Annual Tale Message-ID: <1540155@hpfcmgw.HP.COM> Date: Tue, 01 May 90 07:53:33 PDT Organization: HP Fort Collins, CO Lines: 139 We've had the Baron a year now. It's been fun. The bird has flown well, with only the minor aches and pains of a 16 year old airframe. But its annual time and the real "fun" has started. Here is a tale for you owners and prospective owners out there. I'm over the complaining stage. I relate this story with the hopes of helping someone else out there avoid some of the things we have had to go through. We had hoped to do an "owner assisted" annual this year, but that didn't work out. I tried to get into an independent "Beech specialist" near Colorado Springs, but couldn't get anyone to answer the phone. So, with time getting short, we decided to use the FBO at home base. No worries here since Don had done some minor work for us during the year and is quite competent. The shop has a good reputation and there have been a number of Barons and Bonanzas in their shop over the year, so they know the airplanes fairly well. The airplane is actually in quite good shape. There are some problems, of course, many of which don't have anything to do with the airframe. First, the maintenance items. A couple of cylinders on the right engine need new rings. Annoying, but not completely unexpected for mid-time engines of mostly unknown history. Some bushings on the landing gear need replacing. All in all, not too bad for the first annual since we've had the airplane. However, now comes the maddening part. We bought the airplane a year ago with a fresh annual. It was extensive and expensive for the previous owner ($4K), so we felt pretty good about it. And, in fact, I really don't question the absolute safety or reliability of the airplane. However, the attention to the paperwork details over the years left a great deal to be desired. It seems there are no documents to support the installation of several things, including all of the avionics, strobe, right prop governor, and a few other things. To fix the situation, we've spent a lot of time on the phone, and quite a bit of money to get the documentation ship shape. The avionics shop at SJC who did the work last year have supplied the necessary paperwork, encouraged by my calls to both the Denver and San Jose FSDOs. Seems this shop has been following this interpretation of Part 43 for 15 years, so there are probably hundreds of airplanes out there from this one shop alone with the same incomplete documentation. Next, the local mechanics sent to Oke City for a microfiche copy of all the documents that have been submitted on the airplane over its entire history. Fortunately, there is a 337 for the fuel flow meter. The strobe, it turns out, is a direct replacement for the old mechanical rotating beacon. There is now a notation in the log book to remind the next inspector of that fact. That covered a lot of the discrepancies, but the flight director and autopilot required an inspection and signoff here. The avionics shop says it takes almost as much time to do a compliance inspection of existing equipment as it does to install it in the first place. The prop governor should have a "yellow tag" for it in the log book. Since its airworthiness couldn't be traced, it had to be pulled off the engine and overhauled ($500). Even the seat belts had to be reworked because someone had removed the official FAA tag from them. Well, friends and neighbors, you might well be chuckling to yourself about now, thinking something like, "Old Willie is getting the wool pulled over his windscreen." Perhaps. But I don't think so. Technically, Don is entirely correct. Every modification or major repair done to an airplane must have either a Form 337 or someone's STC (supplemental type certificate) which documents what was done and that it meets the FAA rules. That means that anything that's not exactly like it was when the airplane left the factory must have a 337 (or STC). If the radios have been replaced with new, there must be 337s for the installation, not just a log book entry. For you old timers out there, this seems to be a recent change in the interpretation of Part 43, confirmed by my calls to the two FSDOs. Also, if any component of the airplane "appliance" in Part 43 lingo (like a prop governor) has been replaced for maintenance, there must be a yellow tag in the records which documents that it was certified to be airworthy. That includes the avionics, too, so if you remove a radio and exchange it for one of the same type, without any new installation, the exchange radio must be yellow tagged to be legal. Is the A&P picking nits? Possibly. However, they have an FAA inspector wander through about once a month, so they will not put their licenses on the line until every t is crossed and i dotted. The Denver FSDO has a well deserved reputation of being inhabited by some of the biggest jerks around, so it's in everyone's best interest to get the paperwork straight. Would a different A&P let this pass? Yup, one did last year, and I'm sure many others would this year. Just the luck of the draw, I guess. I'm mad that last year's A&P didn't do his job right. I'm mad that I wasn't as well informed as I should have been last year (that's what certified A&Ps are for, right?). There are many lessons to be learned for owners and prospective owners out there. First, before buying an airplane, have your mechanic spend a day or more on the mechanical inspection, then spend a day on the paper work. It will be money well spent. This will be especially important with older airplanes, since the paper trail on a lot of things gets faint at times. 16 years and 3000 hours has corrupted ours a bit. Next, whenever having work done, insist on the appropriate documentation in writing before allowing the work to begin. If it is just working on an existing component, make sure you get the appropriate yellow tag. If it is new work, like a new piece of avionics, insist on a 337 or go somewhere else. One A&P I talked to here said a good rule of thumb is, if the work needs a drill, it should have a 337. Probably not too far wrong in most cases. Get a copy of FAR Part 43 from the Government Printing Office. It is a place to start for maintenance documentation questions. Then, if there are further questions, call your local FSDO for the current interpretation. Finally, make your error on the safe, conservative side. When in doubt, insist on the documentation. One of the problems with the whole process is that this stuff is open to interpretation by the local FSDO. To no one's surprise, they often disagree or change their minds over time, leaving the owner and pilot holding the bag. For example, the instrument shop that did the autopilot certification said they just had a 337 rejected by the Denver FSDO because the weight and balance information was not on the form. However, our mechanic said they have had them rejected for the weight and balance on the form. Part 43 does require it, by the way. How is a mere mortal supposed to win with a moving target like that?? Also get a copy of AC 20-5F, "Plane Sense", which will take you through all the paperwork you will need to deal with when buying and owning an airplane. The FAA has a copy of all the paperwork ever submitted on your airplane which you can get for a nominal fee. To get a microfiche of the records, send $5.15 to: U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center P.O. Box 25082 FAA Aircraft Registry, AAC-250 Oklahoma City, OK 73125 You might try calling (405) 686-2116, but I've heard that its almost impossible to get through on this number. So much for our tale of woe. We got everything corrected and will put it behind us as a learning experience. Our airplane was in good shape, but getting the paper work to support that conclusion was a pain. Just keep this story in mind when you go out to buy your next airplane. A little nit picking will be well worth the trouble. Bill Bill Standerfer -- KF0DJ -- Baron N1746W bills@hpisla.hp.com or {...}!hplabs!hpisla!bills Hewlett Packard Measurement Systems Operation PO Box 301, Loveland, CO 80539 -- 303-679-2378