The International Cessna^® 170 Association

Shopping for a 170B lately, I've seen two airplanes that each have a skin crease under the passenger side door just forward of the aft doorpost.

The creases look very intentional, like the skins were fabricated this way, there's no evidence of skin gapping, and the creases are identical on both airplanes. On the other hand, there's no matching crease on the LH side, and they haven't been present on all airplanes I've seen.

These are both very nice airplanes that are serious candidates for purchase, so I need help from the group. Can someone tell me if I'm looking at damage or if the airplanes were built this way?

Thanks,
Dave

Possible hard and/or side-loaded landing, but additonal internal damage and smoking rivets should be evident if such is the case.

Another possibility: Check the aircraft records to see if any ground-loop or gearbox damage has been repaired. The lower skin is difficult to "wrap" around and fit perfectly if/when it is replaced. (This can happen when skins are pre-drilled and re-riveted starting on one side and finishing on the other.) It may be that a repair has been performed and the skin "gathered" slightly during the re-riveting job. If so, it's unlikely to be disqualifying as long as no underlying structural inspection defects are found. (You'll have to remove the seats, carpet, and cabin floor/belly inspection covers to gain access for a visual inspection.)

Thanks, George. I'll consider the creases to be not original, but not necessarily bad, depending on further inspection.

My 170 had a crease like that when I owned it the first time. I wondered myself what might have caused it and if it was a problem.

There was no evidence of what had caused it, there were no visible defects anywhere in the lower airframe, and it was not causing any problems. The new owner had the skin replaced and nothing was found when they had it apart. It looks MUCH worse now than it did with the crease.

I would have an experienced 170 mechanic do a good inspection of the whole bottom end of the airplane and if nothing is found, just live with it.

My plane is a year older than me and lately I've gained on the crease count.