The International Cessna^® 170 Association

I have my '54 down for annual and have had some rather interesting experiences. Of note was the pair of needle nose pliers I found in a fold of the headliner near some pulleys on the right side of the cabin ... no telling how long they had been there as they were rusted open, facing down. I suspect they were left from the rebuild that was done in the early '80's. I pulled the headliner because the zipper was stuck and would not budge ... does make one wonder about previous annuals. I also found a load of mouse or roach poop which was causing a small stain in the (vinyl) headliner ... also found this in the forward left hand side insulation underneath the instrument panel. Also found a very old mud dauber's nest in the overhead. I am looking forward to talking to the IAs who have been doing the annuals for the previous owner over the past few years.
In all seriousness though, the annual has turned into more of a rehab ... control cables and pulleys are in excellent condition as were the headliner bows ... few areas that need to be touched up but, minor. Actually, since I want an A&P and am having to do this the hard way (ie: work experience) because of my work schedule, I am actually thoroughly enjoying myself! The main cost has been in tools that I wanted and lacked and, I hate borrowing tools ... I like my own gear. The seat rail on the right side (inboard) had to be replaced ... my $30.00 + gauge was valuable in that regard ... I think! At any rate ... the annual has been "illuminating" ... I figure that this one (being done under the supervision of my brother who is an A&P and an IA on the filed who used to own a 170A) will bite me in the wallet but, subsequent ones will be a much more straight-forward procedure/event ... then again? The BIG problem is that an annual can be like an onion ... start peeling and you think, "well ... I'd like to replace this ... and goodness, why not do such and such as long as I have it this far apart"! Let's see ... looks like Lakeland is out ... I'll shoot for Pettit Jean! Regards, Lee (N1967C)

Yeah them "Might as wells" will get you every time.
Shawn

Your post reminded me of a time when I saw a Pawnee that was having its wings overhauled/rebuilt. After the wings were opened up, it was discovered that there were many rivets missing in the spars. In their places were clecos; at least a dozen in each wing. As far as anyone could tell, they had been there for about 15 years, all still holding. Along with those were found a set of linesman pliers, a 3/8"ratchet and 1/2" socket, a roll of safety wire, and an empty National Bohemian beer can. The beer can was of the kind that had no pull top - had to be opened with a church key.

pojawis wrote:Your post reminded me of a time when I saw a Pawnee that was having its wings overhauled/rebuilt. After the wings were opened up, it was discovered that there were many rivets missing in the spars. In their places were clecos; at least a dozen in each wing. As far as anyone could tell, they had been there for about 15 years, all still holding. Along with those were found a set of linesman pliers, a 3/8"ratchet and 1/2" socket, a roll of safety wire, and an empty National Bohemian beer can. The beer can was of the kind that had no pull top - had to be opened with a church key.

That's priceless.......................hmmm, maybe I better get a long borescope and have a look in mine.

Howdy.....here is my story......I bought my 170 in the spring of 2004....during my first annual (owner assisted), I found two old orange ELT batteries dating to 1999...and one very large "snap on" screwdriver.....all of this was located under the rear seat.... For awhile, I wanted to return the screw driver (I know who did the annuals for the previous 7 years) but I did not know the protocol, butt first or tip first on the presentation.....

Richard......

Lesson Learned: Do not interrupt folks when they are working on an airplane !!!

It isn't just the last guy to work on the aircraft. A local aircraft dealer took position of a new aircraft straight from the factory, (which will remain nameless) in 1976. while preping it for sale found four cleeco's on a belly seam PAINTED!
brad.

I can't imagine how it was done, but back in the '70's, when flying pipeline patrol, the company had purchased a 172 that had been the demonstrator for the local Cessna distributor. At the first annual, our inspector had found the right wing had been assembled with two rear spars. The forward spar had doublers installed on it to carry it out to the wing tip but he said it was a rear spar that had been beefed up. Cessna sent a pilot down to leave us a loaner and pick it up and take it back to Kansas. It was re-delivered back to us later that year with different wings on it.
All of which just goes to show, rather than buy a brand-new airplane, that it's better to buy an older plane that has undergone about 50 years of Flight Testing to make sure it'll stay together!