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I just completed the 4th annual inspection of N987MB this past weekend. Every year I have tried to be more thorough than the last, and this year I decided to put a wrench on every single critical bolt in the RV. I always assumed that if the bolt had a cotter pin or unbroken torque seal, that everything was OK. This year proved my old theory was very wrong! Here is what I found loose:

• (3) Engine mount to firewall AN6 bolts.
• Almost all the AN3 bolts between the lower wing spar gusset to the lower longeron.
• Lower longeron to firewall gusset.
• Horizontal Stablizer front spar to the aft deck.
• AN3 bolts for the rudder/elevator hinge points.
• Aileron attachment brackets.
• AN3 bolts connected to the control sticks.
• AN3 bolts holding the control column to the wing spar.
• AN3 bolts between the seat ribs and the wing spar.
• Almost all AN4 bolts connecting the wings to the center spar.

How loose were all of these? Most needed a 1/8 or 1/4 turn to tighten. The worst offenders were a firewall AN6 bolt needed about a 1/2-3/4 turn, and an AN3 bolt on the front spar of the horizontal stablizer needed an entire turn .

So on your next annual, don't trust torque seal or cotter pins!!!

Thanks for the advice. I'm going to do my first annual condition inspection next month (has it been almost a year of flying?). I need 10 more hours to hit 100 this year.

How's the exterior holding up? Any corrosion?

When are you going to get her painted?

Bruce,

There are some tiny spots of surface corrosion - nothing too worrisome.

As far as paint goes....probably not until Vlad paints his -9A!

bullojm1 wrote:As far as paint goes....probably not until Vlad paints his -9A!

Ha! Well, that'll never happen as much as he flies!

Yeah, I would love to have a polished airplane, but I would never spend the time on doing it or maintaining it. Paint is in my future. Some day. Maybe after my kids are done with college (next year?).

Mike: do you have a checklist for your annual condition inspection? If so, I'd like to get a copy. How much time do you think the inspection takes on average? I'm assuming I would start at the front and work my way back and open up everything as I go to get a good look/see.

Hi Bruce,

Here is a copy of my checklist. It is originally from someone else, and I have revised it and make it more specific to my RV. Every year I try to add new items or details to it.

http://www.rvplane.com/download/RV-cond ... report.doc

This year I have about 18 hours into my inspection, with about 2 hours left fixing a broken airbox bypass cable. The inspection is done in groups - propeller, engine, wings, landing gear, fuselage, empennage, engine check, etc.. Some people do "progressive inspections" where one day they check the wings, the next engine, etc.., all the while flying their airplane in between. It allows you not to take your RV completely out of commission for a few days as long as you do this method before the end of your previous inspection is valid through.

If you have any more annual inspection questions, feel free to ask!

bullojm1 wrote:Some people do "progressive inspections" where one day they check the wings, the next engine, etc.., all the while flying their airplane in between. It allows you not to take your RV completely out of commission for a few days as long as you do this method before the end of your previous inspection is valid through.

...even though it is not allowed by the regs!

Just recently they were talking about this "over there".



CJ

Time for another annual...and an update to this thread! This loose screw found some more loose screws!

• Two firewall AN6 nuts (checked last year)
• Many of the AN3 bolts holding the fuel tanks to the wings (never checked before)
• A few AN3 bolts securing the lower forward longeron to the main spar (checked last year)
• Oil pressure relief valve (never checked before)
• A handful of AN4 bolts between the oil sump and engine case (never checked before)
• Some screws on the fuel controller (never checked before)
• All 3 AN4 bolts between the tailwheel mount and the vertical stabilizer
• Some AN3 screws attaching the horizontal and vertical stabilizer (checked last year)

Out of all of the things I found, I was most surprised by the loose screws that had safety wire on them on the fuel controller. Just another reminder to not trust safety wire, cotter pins or torque seal to let you know something is tight!

The fuselage is next! I will update the list if I find anything else noteworthy.