01-13
Q: Dear Steve,
I received an email today and I am suspicious about opening it. The subject matter refers to the airplane I own, but this does not look like the Service Bulletins I am used to seeing.
Below is the link I have been directed to and it concerns a required inspection of the aft wing attachment fitting for my PA-32-300: https://system.netsuite.com/core/media/media.nl?id=15732&c=649290&h=e46decc92ad77fd4190d&_xt=.pdf
I would appreciate hearing from you
if you know anything about this, and if this link is genuine.
Thank you very much.
—What is This?
A: Dear What,
My research shows that this bulletin was sent to you, the registered owner of this PA-32-300, by the Technical Publications division of Piper Aircraft in a bulk electronic mailing.
The bulletin you received is a genuine Piper Service Bulletin. It calls for a visual inspection of an area of the aft spar for corrosion on the left and right wings.
With the increasing age of today’s light aircraft fleet both the manufacturers and the FAA are paying much more attention to detecting and controlling airframe corrosion.
Piper did a better job than some of the other manufacturers as far as painting the structural parts before and during assembly. Corrosion is much less likely to be a problem on your airplane than on your neighbor’s Cessna.
That said, the Washington, D.C. area is considered to be an area that qualifies as a severe corrosion climate by Cessna. The document I’m referring to appears below.
Even though there are bright red letters denoting the bulletin as mandatory, if your airplane is not used for hire, then there’s no regulatory requirement for
you to do the bulletin.
The performance of this bulletin is very straightforward and I doubt that the inspection would add one man-hour to the cost of your annual. The cleaning and repainting is also a simple operation.
Of course, if your rear spar is corroded beyond the allowable limits, the airplane is unsafe to fly and would need to be repaired. But it’s better to find that out on the ground.
So, I would say that you should ask your shop to comply with this bulletin during your next annual.
Happy flying.
Q: Dear Steve,
I’m flying the wheel pants off my PA-28-201T Turbo Dakota. I own a very small oil field equipment service company and am working on the best—and most far-flung—series of contracts I’ve ever had. And this is only possible to do if my airplane is up and ready to go almost every day.
The last annual, which I do believe was done proficiently and as fast as possible, took just over a week and a half. Nothing too big was found, and the airplane has been dependable since—but I need to cut down on the amount of time spent on maintenance.
Are there any options? Can’t I get my maintenance done a bit here and a bit there and still get good maintenance without downing my airplane for a week at a time?
—No time to waste
A: Dear No Time,
That’s great that your airplane is helping so much in your business. The answer to your question is yes, there is a Piper inspection scheme that lets owners break their annual into four different inspections, done at 50-hour intervals (normal oil change interval). The result is a complete aircraft inspection every 200 hours, or every year, whichever comes first.
This scheme, known as the Piper Programmed Inspection (PPI), is called a progressive inspection by the FAA.
The four inspections are called Event Inspections. Each contains routine and detailed inspections. For instance, Events 1 and 3 require routine inspections on the propeller, engine, landing gear, wings, and turbocharger systems, and detailed inspections on the cabin and the fuselage and empennage.
Events 2 and 4 flip-flop the emphasis and require routine inspections on the cabin and fuselage and empennage, and detailed inspections on the propeller, engine, landing gear, wings and turbocharger systems.
A PPI does require additional recordkeeping in the form of a Continuous Cycle Inspection record, a Discrepancy record, a manufacturer’s Service Bulletin Compliance record, an Airworthiness Directive Compliance record, and an Equipment Change record. Forms for recording these inspections are included in the PPI program document.
The part number for the document is 761-734. It can be ordered from your local Piper dealer.
In order to put your airplane on a progressive inspection you must submit a request to the local FAA Flight Standards District Office (FSDO). In addition, the request must name a certified A&P mechanic who holds an inspection authorization (IA); an FAA certified repair station, or the aircraft manufacturer that will do the maintenance; and a copy of the inspection program.
There are additional requirements that are spelled out in detail in FAR 91.409 (d).
I spoke to my local FSDO about progressive inspections and was truthfully told that they are not very high on the priority list ranking, especially for Part 91 operators.
Here’s what I think you should do. Buy the PPI document and use it as a guide for doing the maintenance on your airplane. At every 50-hour oil change, incorporate and complete one of the four events. Then plan to rent an airplane when your airplane is in for its yearly annual. If you’ve kept up the event inspections—and even better, if the events have been completed by the same shop that is doing the annual—there won’t be any surprises and the annual won’t take an inordinate number of days.
Happy flying.
Q: Hi Steve,
I am getting ready for a flying trip across three states to attend my high school reunion. I graduated from a small school and have kept in touch with many of my classmates, so attending is important to me.
I took my Cherokee 140 out for a flight yesterday evening and noticed my EGT wasn’t working. I think it just quit, because I keep a close eye on my airplane and it was working before this flight.
I’ve heard that everything has to work for an airplane to be airworthy, and I don’t want to fly an unsafe airplane—but I do want to make this trip. Am I legal, and safe to fly without the EGT?
—Am I Legal
A: Dear Legal,
Great question. Under FAR 91.213 (d) (1-4) you may operate your Cherokee 140 airplane under VFR with inoperative equipment. But only if the instrument: 1) is not part of the day VFR required equipment; 2) is not required by compliance with an Airworthiness Directive; 3) is not listed as “required” on your aircraft equipment list. There are a couple of other conditions, but by my reading, the EGT gauge is not affected.
In order to fly with an inoperative EGT gauge, the regulations require that the instrument (or system) be deactivated—or in some cases, removed—and an “Inoperative” placard applied to the
face of the instrument.
If the conditions of the regulation are met, you as the pilot can make the determination as to whether the inoperable equipment constitutes a hazard to the aircraft. In other words, if in your opinion the inoperative EGT gauge isn’t
a hazard to the aircraft, you may legally fly, provided you affix an inoperative sticker to the face of the instrument.
Enjoy your reunion, and get the EGT gauge fixed as soon as possible.
Know your FAR/AIM and check with your mechanic before starting any work.
Steve Ells has been an A&P/IA for 39 years and is a commercial pilot with Instrument and Multi-Engine ratings. Ells also loves utility and bush-style airplanes and operations. He’s a former tech rep and editor for Cessna Pilots Association and served as Associate Editor for AOPA Pilot until 2008. Ells is the owner of Ells Aviation (EllsAviation.com) and the proud owner of a 1960 Piper Comanche. He lives in Paso Robles, Calif. with his wife Audrey. Send questions
and comments to editor@www.piperflyer.com.
RESOURCES
Piper Aircraft Technical Publications
piper.com/pages/Publications.cfm
FAA Federal Aviation Regulations
faa.gov
