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Weird things found durng condition inspection

flion

flion

Well Known Member
I just started my third inspection in the life of N156PK and ran across a doozy, so I though I'd start this thread and see what others have found. Doesn't necessarily have to be during the condition - if it made you scratch your head and say, "What th' !?!" then it's probably fodder for this thread.

So I start by removing all the inspection panels, fairings, etc. I got the seat pans up and was levering myself out of the cockpit when I caused the stick to move and something moved under the seats. What's this? A big, round, aluminum plate wandering loose under the seats? Why, it's a fuel selector plate! Look at fuel selector ... nope, plate still there (of course, since the selector lever is, too). Back to loose plate ... looks identical. Back to mounted plate ... yep, same except drilled for my mounting solution. Now, where the heck did this come from? (On a more serious note, thank the gods it didn't foul up my controls!)

I can think of no way it got in there except during some period when the seat pans were off, but who came and dropped their fuel selector plate in my aircraft and how long ago? I may have to put up a lost and found notice at the airport. In the meantime, I think I've scratched a bald spot on my head trying to figure it out.:confused:
 
Whoa. You just gave me a great idea to drive the other builders at the airport crazy. Put strange things in their planes they will find at anual. Can you imagine hangering next to me? :eek:


;)
 
Had my interior side panels from CAD out at inspection time and was lying in the fuselage all scrunched up when I saw it...... A single cleco left in on the support piece for the arm rest. Invisible unless you had your head on the seat pan and were looking up. Laughed out loud and went to remove it, then said what the heck, and it remains there to this day as my little secret. My plane will truly never be completely finished :)

Erich
 
Neighbors of Larry: I can make you a good deal on wooden pitchforks and torches - everything the angry mob needs.:p

Ben: I'm still going to try to find out where it came from. It's a little defaced but if all else fails I may be able to clean it up and use it in my -10 when I get that far. And, no, it's not one I already bought for the -10.

Erich: I like that. I may drill a conspicuous but harmless hole somewhere, put a cleco in it and then if someone questions it I'll say it's what keeps the plane from falling apart... :D
 
There is a guy at my airport who will on occasion walk into your hangar while you' engrossed under the panel or something and say "is that important?" while pointing to a very critical piece of engine hardware laying on the floor under your engine. You crawl out, scratching your head in wonder, decowl your engine, inspect REALLY carefully looking for where it came from and you can't see anything amiss. It's only then that you see the smile in his face and he says "want me to put it back where it came from?" and he puts it back in his pocket!:mad::D

Jeremy Constant
 
One of my airplanes has a portable deburring bit floating around in it somewhere. I never did find that thing.
 
Always a fear!

Guys, first flights after an annual/condition always make me hold my breath!
Last year my, -10 stumbled so badly during the runup that we found two spark plug wires crossed!

I had the right engine fail as the gear came up in a Cessna 310 that was just annualled....the fuel line to the spider came off and sprayed the engine with fuel! Fortunately it was a cool spring day...no fire. No wrench had touched the fitting!

I found an 18 inch punch in the belly of my Air Tractor when it was opened up for washing.

Now, that beautiful Rocket burns up right after an annual because the fuel line came off the pump!

I'm 66 years old and can't recount how many discrepancies I've experienced over the years.

My serious bit of advice, is to be present BEFORE the cowl goes back on after an annual/condition inspection whether or not you performed it, and physically check EVERY SINGLE OIL and FUEL line ends, with a wrench!! My fuel line would have been discovered lying against the hot exhaust, had I followed this advice.

That beautiful orange Rocket would still be flying today...on and on..

Best,
 
That reminds me, I added a nice 1/4" short handle Snapon ratchet to my tool collection after I found one in an airplane I was working on. Very nice surprise. It was in a TL Sting 2000.
 
Rear spar attach - NOT!

A good friend of mine, a DAR from the 90's, once went to inspect an RV6 somewhere in Texas. During the inspection, he found BOTH rear spar attach bolts completely missing! :eek::eek:

The "inspect before fly" requirement wasn't heeded either: this airplane had flown several times prior!!!!!!

******************************

A bit unrelated, but funny: While I was at Vance AFB as an instructor, a certain student was preflight inspecting a T37 prior to a check ride. The kid finished the preflight, climbed in, and as he went to start #1, the IP stopped him and said "check ride over." Why? The left ENGINE was MISSING!!! (he preflighted the wrong jet)
 
This one happened while getting Charles Lindbergh’s “Spirit of St Louis” (replica aircraft) ready for flight. This replica aircraft was removed from the lobby of the San Diego Aerospace Museum where it had sat for 25 years. The original museum replica was destroyed by a museum fire. The existing replica flew only once, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Lindbergh’s Atlantic crossing.

It was decided in 2002, the “Spirit” would once again be flown in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of Lindbergh’s flight. The aircraft was removed from the lobby of the museum and trucked to Gillespie Field, San Diego, to be returned to airworthiness status.

During the course of the inspection a bucking bar was discovered in one of the wing bays. A few weeks later the aircraft was deemed ready for a test flight. Retired UAL Captain Roger Baker was the pilot selected to fly this aircraft.

There was a considerable crowd in attendance to witness the engine run-up, taxi, and possible flight test. Roger was sitting in the cockpit getting familiar with the layout. Leaning in the window was the 85 year old pilot that had previously flown this aircraft on the 50th anniversary flight and was giving pointers to Roger.

While Roger was conducting a control check a friend of mine, Dick Doll, noticed an anomaly, the ailerons were rigged in reverse! When you consider how many eyes, hands, the supervising IA, even the FAA, were all over the airplane, no one caught the fact that the ailerons were incorrectly rigged.

The test flight went well. The following day, the Spirit of St Louis departed Gillespie Field, flew over San Diego Bay, and then landed at San Diego Lindbergh Field to commemorate the 75th anniversary flight. The aircraft returned to Gillespie and was then returned to the lobby of the aerospace museum.
 
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Years ago, I worked at an FBO that was one of the largest dealers for a certain brand of certificated aircraft. When we received a new plane, it went immediately into the shop for an inspection. We morbidly viewed it as "gifts from the midwest"
Over a few years, I had added numerous inspection mirrors, clecos, drill bits, and my very first pneumatic drill motor found in the wing of a large cabin class twin!
 
pierre smith said:
Guys, first flights after an annual/condition always make me hold my breath!
Last year my, -10 stumbled so badly during the runup that we found two spark plug wires crossed!

I had the right engine fail as the gear came up in a Cessna 310 that was just annualled....the fuel line to the spider came off and sprayed the engine with fuel! Fortunately it was a cool spring day...no fire. No wrench had touched the fitting!

I found an 18 inch punch in the belly of my Air Tractor when it was opened up for washing.

Now, that beautiful Rocket burns up right after an annual because the fuel line came off the pump!
Click to expand...

This reminds me of some things I read a while back about how reliability centered maintenance came into being...

edit: It was probably this article.
 
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The A&P on our field took in an Aero Commander for it's annual. He was on his hands and knees in the tail section with a mirror and flashlight looking for cracks and doing the inspection when his flash light reflected 2 eyes staring back at him. He came flying out of the plane white as a ghost! There a kitten in the tail of the plane! :eek: We still have fun teasing him about that. So many jokes with that find! ;)

The kitty was adopted by the FBO owner after the owner of the plane decided he didn't want it. Kitty is doing fine, A&P is still in counseling.
 
Doing the DAR inspection...

I've found missing elevator bolts,wing spar bolts, loose hoses of all kinds. Lots of scary stuff!

I really appreciate guys who will check each torque,hose, fitting, and mark it with a dab of colored torque seal. I still recheck, but at least it shows the builder looked and touched it himself after assembly.

A new set of eyeballs helps a tired builder who has been looking at the project for years.

I need folks to check after my work as well.
 
I once found 2 of the 4 steel splice plates missing from the main spar attach on a -6. His first clue should have been the washer stack needed under the nuts.
The interesting thing here is that an inspector not familiar with the RV-6 could very easily have missed it.
 
1/4" socket

f1rocket said:
One of my airplanes has a portable deburring bit floating around in it somewhere. I never did find that thing.
Click to expand...

I wish I could turn my fuselage over again, but it is too complete. About 3 months ago, a 5/16" socket for 1/4" drive handle disappeared. It's driving me nuts not being able to find it in the cabin or tailcone somewhere.

***EDIT*** Sept 4, I found it! Yay! It was stuck on a nut deep in the engine compartment of a motorcycle that I ride rarely. I was sprucing it up today (battery, unstick the carb floats, wash, etc) for a ride on the Tail of the Dragon next weekend. I went to grab for an appropriate socket (the missing one) and thought HEY, these like to stick. One look and there is was. :) What a relief.
 
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Even after 35 years since I was the squadron FOD Monitor for the 48th FIS I still feel compelled to comment on the lost tool issue. You all know it is really important to find those missing items especially in the aerobatic planes. That stuff will find its way somewhere it shouldn't be like in the controls or across a power buss behind the panel.

I'm glad I don't have to do the FOD inspection to the F-16 at Osh.
 
The Yak 52 community lost one to a screwdriver in the tailcone.....jammed elevator.
 
Space dust damage it is not....

This is not a lost tool or missing bolt story but what had appeared to be space dust damage on top of the wing. For a time I imagined getting hit by a tiny rock from space.

If ever one was shot at and hit with a BB gun, that's what it looked like but on top of the wing slightly outboard and aft of the fuel cap. It is not at a rib flange but between the ribs aft of the spar.

I keep looking at it each year wondering what if anything to do about it. This year enough paint is missing the outline of a rivet head is visible. The circle matches exactly the head of a flush AN4 rivet. Now I am wondering why it is there and if it is a rivet head?

Could be something happened during the quick build and a hole had to be plugged. The rivet probably is loose and vibrating just enough to cause the primer and paint to depart. There are no cracks around the circle. If it is drilled out, it will have to be plugged with a blind rivet as the wing is closed out in that area.

I am still looking at it and undecided what to do about it.

Mike Busch, the great mechanic/pilot writer, said at one of his OSH forums, if it isn't broken don't fix it. I attended 3 of his lectures, they were well worth the time. Just not sure if this qualifies as a "not really broken" item.
 
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