January 2012
As we were flying along one day, my wife, who was PIC that day, said, “We need to do something with this shoulder harness. It’s ugly and crunchy.”
Well, our airport was to be closed for two-and-a-half weeks to resurface the runway. What better time to actually get the retractors rewebbed? Should be simple, we thought, as there are several aftermarket companies that will do it and return the units in seven days.
So, my wife Pam and I loaded up some tools and headed for the airport. The decorative cover over the retractor came off easily with only three screws to remove (and avoid dropping). There was only one nut to remove to free the retractor. Easy—not. No matter what we tried, the nut and bolt turned together.
Maybe you have to take the mounting bracket off the aircraft bulkhead? So we tried to loosen those three screws; no joy there, either.
Just as we were about to give up and head for the bar, we noticed a Phillips screw head turning on the OUTSIDE of the fuselage when we turned the nut inside. What engineer in their right mind would do that—put the nut on the inside and the screw head on the outside of the fuselage? It takes two people to remove the bolt, especially on the pilot side of the fuselage.
After several colorful words, and with my wife holding the screw head (again, OUTSIDE the aircraft!!), the nut turned off easily. Now we can finally send our Piper’s retractors off for rewebbing.
Not so fast. The retractors were made by Pacific Scientific (PS), and if manufactured before 1992, they are subject to Service Bulletin A25-1124A, dated June 1, 2000. We found this by accident on the Internet as it is not on any standard Piper Listing that we could find. According to the SB, the retractors can’t be sent to any aftermarket supplier, they must be sent to PS for inspection, repair as necessary, and rewebbing. (The Service Bulletin is available for download at the Piper Flyer website, www.www.piperflyer.com. —Ed.)
OK, fine.
But when we Googled “Pacific Scientific,” we initially got no hits that matched the company we were looking for.
By now, we’re thinking: Let’s go to the aftermarket guys to potentially buy new retractors. All three suppliers seemed to know a lot about their retractors and belt colors… but didn’t know which one would fit a PA-28-181. One supplier did mention PS was still around, and he thought they were in Florida.
Back to the web. After a new search, eureka! Pacific Scientific was bought by Meggitt PLC.
Christina Scaduto answered the phone when we called Pacific Scientific. She helped with shipping instructions, got the units inspected, sent a quote for the work (including rewebbing), and sent us a schedule for completion of the work. Don’t be in a hurry to get your retractors back, though, as the process takes at least 30 days.
When it comes time to reinstall the retractors, it is a good idea to use new hardware. We were able to get the hardware from our local A&P, but you can get it from Aircraft Spruce or perhaps your local Piper Dealer.
Putting the retractors back in was much easier, although I still react badly every time the nut on the inside and screw head on the OUTSIDE of the fuselage is mentioned. We now have like-new, rebuilt retractors installed—and Pam even likes the webbing color!
Rich and Pam Busboom are the owners of a beautiful 1979 Archer II. Send questions or comments to editor@www.piperflyer.com.
RESOURCES
Pacific Scientific/Meggitt PLC
Christina Scaduto
Phone (305) 477-4711, ext. 225
christina.scaduto@meggitt.com
www.pacificscientific.com
