RECIP TECHNOLOGY
using a flash light and mirror or even a borescope in
difficult-to-see places. If you see signs of corrosion,
clean and treat the area immediately.
In the last year we have disassembled and repaired
three Cessna wings for corrosion on the front spars
and the leading edges at the lower lap joint, and I
have two more in the shop now. Other areas to pay
particular attention to are areas with dissimilar metals such as the steel fittings on the aluminum flight
controls on Piper aircraft and foam-filled trailing
edges on some Cessna controls.
Another trend that I have noticed in the last year
is cylinder compression failure on large bore engines.
In the past few years there have been several bulletins addressing the issue of low compression on
fairly new cylinders and even stated in one bulletin
that sometimes a compression reading slightly below
the minimum, according to the aircraft maintenance
manuals, may still be airworthy.
I just want to say that we have had a larger than
normal volume of failed cylinders in the last year and
in each case the cylinders were pulled and found to
We're very big
on small parts.
have cracks or wear that was out of limits. Many of
these cylinders only had 300 or 400 hours on them. I
would encourage anyone who is having issues with
engine compression being border-line to consider
pulling the cylinder for further investigation.
A great resource
Your local FBO is a great place to work, a great
place to take your aircraft, or even a great place to just
get advice. I believe the IAs that run these FBOs are
the only people you can go to with your general aviation aircraft that can probably repair anything that is
broke. They can answer any question that you may
have regardless if it is concerning operating, repairing, or regulatory issues. No one can answer every
question about every aircraft but the IA will be your
best shot.
If you are looking for a career opportunity where
you can learn to work on every part of the aircraft
and possibly get the training required for your A&P;
ticket or even your IA endorsement, the FBO is the
place to go. AMT
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November/December 2013
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Aircraft Maintenance Technology • www.AviationPros.com • www.AMTSociety.org