Earl
There is an AD often referred to the swiss cheese AD- I am sure someone can
cite chapter and verse as to the correct FAA #- that requires that inspection
holes be cut in the lower side of the wing to check for corrosion. In metal
wings the holes need to be cut with a hole saw. There is very little margin for
error and in fact the measurements provided by the AD as to where to cut the
holes are a little incorrect. If the mechanic is not careful the saw will go
thru the sheet metal and cut into the lower spar cap thus rendering the wing
unairworthy. I have heard univair has a fix but in reality the only safe way is
to replace the spar or wing. Spar replacement is very labor and $$$ intensive
and a new wing is also not cheap. Its my opinion that anyone purchasing a coupe
should look carefully at the spar caps especially the holes cut near the wing
root to check for damage. Yes there are some APs and IAs who should not have a
license thank god they are rare. I was lucky the mechanic who was working on
the coupe that I was thinking of buying caught it. Needless to say the owner
was more than upset to find that he owned an very unairworthy aircraft which he
had been flying for at least five years. The last I heard he sold it- a decent
c model LSA airplane- for around 10k.
