Ed Burkhead wrote: > > Where and how do you get a good annual? > > Over the last 21 years I've owned the Coupe, I've only had about five > annuals in my local area. For the others, I traveled from 50 to 150 > miles to a mechanic I respected. About 6 of those years, I or the plane > have been grounded and didn't get an annual. For those people, you need > to schedule the work well ahead of time. > > Then there's the problem of trying to get minor or immediate maintenance > done at your home field when you go elsewhere for the annuals. I don't > blame the local FBOs at all. My current FBO is fully booked up and > doesn't mind if I take the plane elsewhere. > > I now (last year and the year before) take my plane to John Wright, Sr. > John is exceedingly thorough. He may also be the best Coupe mechanic in > the world. When people take their planes to him for the first annual > after decades of just any old mechanic, they need to budget (in my > casual observation) about $4,000 and be prepared for more. > > When I took my plane to John a year and a half ago, it had set for five > years in a fully enclosed hangar without running. (I was, and still am, > grounded for diabetes. This may be solved in the next few weeks.) > > His bill was for about $4,500 which included some used parts. I spent > another $1,500+ on things like three tires and tubes, ELT, battery, > intercom, windows and windshield, headset repair and purchase, etc. > > I couldn't afford to have the vacuum system overhauled to get the gyro > instruments working. I'm strictly VFR, so they're just placarded for > now. > > My upholstery is original, my paint is 36 years old and showing it. The > instrument panel is a hodge-podge of instruments fitted in where ever. > But it is in good mechanical condition. I'd trust it with my daughter's > life. > > You can do one of several things: > > 1. Have you local mechanic do the work. Download the annual inspection > checklist from Dave's Ercoupe page. (I wrote it with the advise of John > Wright Sr. and several other nationally respected Coupe mechanics -- > they had the knowledge, I did the collation, checking, and writing.) > > Get all the appropriate books from Univair and Skyport. (Ask me tomorrow > -- it's past my bed time.) > > Tell the mechanic to research all the correct procedures and do all the > stuff on the check list. This won't be cheap. You'll be paying for his > education. Then again, who else do you have who knows the special stuff? > > 2. Get the checklist, then talk over each item with the mechanic and > choose a subset you can afford. > > 3. Get the checklist, then do everything he'll let you do while he > checks your work and does the things you can't do. Try to do it all the > first time. > > 4. Let him choose what to do. > > 5. Some combination of the above. > > 6. Or get an appointment with a really good Coupe mechanic. I haven't > been paying attention while I've been grounded but there may be some, > other than John Wright Sr. & Jr. in the Midwest. > > Note: the annual a year after the expensive one was $380. > > -- > Ed Burkhead > Peoria, Ill. > Ercoupe N3802H, 415-D > > __________________________________________________________________________ ______ > To unsubscribe from this list please send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > _____________________________________________________________ > Keep up with breaking news! Join our Hot Topics list. > http://www.topica.com/lists/breakingnews/t/12
That sounds like a bargain compared to your lifes value. I'm in Oregon
and have a couple of AP/AI's available that are pretty good althrough
neither of them are especially "coupe" smart. We use my checklist in
addition to what they normally do so it works out fairly well.
I wish I had access to John here within driving distance so I
could get
a thorough inspection though, just for my own peace of mind.
Bob Saville
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