Linda, I recommend that you do not have the painters replace the cable. Wait until your normal mechanic gets back, have him do it, and have him bill the painters' shop for the time. You can fly without the trim, if you like.
Syd On Dec 17, 2009, at 8:18 PM, Linda Abrams wrote: > When I took my plane to the painters (day before Thanksgiving) the > trim was working fine. When I picked my plane up from the painters > on Monday, the trim wasn't working. It felt stuck: the control > handle bounced back when I tried to move it into position to (e.g.) > trim nose down, instead of its normal movement. > > I took it back to him today. He said that when they'd put the > control surfaces back on, he found the cable was stiff (rusty?) so > they lubed it and then it worked, but after they finished the > painting it rained for several days and (since I couldn't some get it > in the rain), they put the plane outside the hangar (the next > customer's plane had to go into the hangar for stripping). They > figured it had rusted up again and was binding. > > So in front of me, the painter & his AI sprayed some lubricant on the > tail end of the wire, where it comes out of its sheathing, took off > the covering of the trim control handle at the other end, so the > handle mechanism was exposed, then kept trying to force it to work. > Long story short, they broke the trim wire right up near where it > attaches to the trim control handle. (I'd guess it broke from metal > fatigue of him repeatedly trying to force it loose using the control > handle.) > > So of course they're saying, "The wire was old and rusty and you're > better off replacing it with a new one." Well, now I don't have any > choice but to do so! I ordered the wire itself from Skyport; it is > not expensive, but the labor looks to be. The painter's AI said only > "less than one day" to install it, and that "if it's less than 3 > hours, [he] wouldn't believe it." The young mechanic who usually > helps me at my home field isn't available (away for the holidays), > and I haven't yet been able to reach the AI who usually does my > annual so I don't know if he's in town. IF I'm stuck with the > painter's AI doing this > (a) how long should the labor take, and > (b) is there anywhere in our online resources that shows > how? I've looked in the Service Manual and can't find anything. > (Hartmut: is there anything on this in your photo collection?) > > Linda > N3437H (Sky Sprite) > L.A. > > >
