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United States Pilots Association |
The last week in January the FAA through their website (FAA.Gov) put out an announcement concerning the number of possible hurricane damaged/repaired aircraft that are or might be appearing on the used aircraft market. Concern was expressed that buyers should take note of repairs made, and I would add logbook entries that truthfully reflect what was done. Apparently there are a great number of these aircraft out there, and we as buyers should be concerned.
I recently bought a used Cessna aircraft which I found on a website. It was advertised as being in pristine condition with a 300 hour engine and prop done by a very reputable rebuilder. Paint was represented as a seven and the original interior as a nine. The seller was a mechanic with an IA (Inspector Authorization) who had just performed an annual inspection on the plane, pronouncing it ready to go. The plane was located in NE Texas, about a six hour drive from my home in Odessa.
I very stupidly declined to have a pre-buy inspection done, taking the man's word that all was in order. Upon arriving at his hangar and doing an extensive walk-around, I noticed that an inspection cover in the flap well was missing. He replaced it immediately. I noticed that some of the plastic/fiberglass fairings, etc. needed repairs, but assumed these were not airworthiness items to concern myself over.
Taking off from his airpark, the right side fuel gauge went to E, giving me cause for great concern. The radios were marginal on both transmit and receive. I elected to make a precautionary landing at DTO to check fuel levels (again) and have the radios looked at.
I arrived at KODO, and the next day took the plane into a local repair facility where I asked for a 100 hour inspection. We found the following. This aircraft is a Cessna 172XP. The upper rudder cap was split in three places and was held together by the aft recognition light socket and duct tape (painted). A lower cap on the rudder was also split with a hole drilled through it and makeshift metal shims put on the exterior. The whole thing was held together by a steel bolt inserted through the rudder. It was all painted over. This type of shoddy repair is illegal as you cannot add any weight to a control surface without rebalancing. The term "Flutter" comes to mind. A wingtip was found to be cracked, with duct tape applied, and it painted over.
Inspection of the logbooks indicated the plane had received no attention for six and a half years, and from the condition of the exterior plastic pieces, had probably been stored outside in the elements. It had not been flown during that period of time.
I was lucky. Mechanically the plane is in good condition. The interior is as represented. Had the seller invested in $500 worth of aftermarket plastic pieces, I would imagine the plane would have shown very well and possibly commanded more money.
The point is that we all need to be diligent when considering a used airplane purchase. There are people out there who will put our lives at risk to save a few bucks. "Let the buyer beware.”
USER FEES The January 30th edition of AVweb's News Wire tells about a speech Norman Mineta, Secretary of Transportation made to the Aero Club of Washington. Mr. Mineta alluded to the necessity of user fees being needed to help fund the FAA in the future. He sings the siren song of the airlines and large commercial operators. His speech caught the attention of the EAA who have been consistently against this idea. I took note of one of the EAA comments which definitely requires repeating.
"If the FAA budget was properly funded from the Aviation Trust Fund as intended, and capitol improvements included, there would be no problem.” I say that giving billions of dollars to the City of Chicago to improve O'Hare Airport is robbing from general aviation to support the airlines. Unfortunately the FAA has been funding its operations budget from the trust fund, draining it of the funds needed for capitol improvements and modernization.
One more comment. Denton Airport (DTO) under the DFW Class B airspace is a single runway airport with a recent contract control tower in operation. A number of months ago I and several members of the Texas Pilots Association had a meeting with Congressman Burgess to see if a D-Brite radar system, compatible with DFW approach control, could be installed at Denton. No reply other than a perfunctory letter from the Congressman was ever received. I was informed by Chuck Huber, former President of USPA, who keeps a plane at DTO, that almost 800 movements were conducted at DTO this past Saturday. There was one (1) controller on duty. and twice during the day he handled over seventy movements per hour WITHOUT RADAR CONTROL. The D-Brite system requested was surplus, being removed for upgrading from another airport. Funding for this change is to come from the airport improvement fund that we as general aviation pilots contribute to every time we buy fuel. Again, no money for a GA need, but plenty of money to line the coffers of Mayor Daley and his cronies.
Please go to the USPA website. A sample letter to your elected officials on the subject of user fees is available. If the wording seems too caustic or confrontational, please substitute your own. I am here to tell you that ultimately we are going to get user fees if something is not done. I did take note that even Phil Boyer, President of AOPA, has issued an entire column in the February issue of AOPA pilot magazine on this subject.
Steve Uslan, President
United States Pilots Association