- Joined
- Dec 27, 2017
- Messages
- 1,525
- Reaction score
- 664
I know there is no crying in aviation, lol.
I've been flying a long time, but am new to ownership. I've owned my 140 for 4 months now and still can't shake this feeling of what lies around the next corner with this airplane. It was three months into a fresh annual when I bought it. I had a very cursory prebuy done. And have since had a bunch of cosmetic work done.
I did SB1006 and saw the spars with my own eyes, they look great.
I had the SB1244B inspection holes installed and though I have not seen the rear spars with my own eyes, the mechanics that just did the annual and the holes said they look great. I sent the airplane through another annual, early, just to make sure everything was found and just got it back with a clean bill of health - all minor stuff.
I've pulled all the carpet and the floor is shiny:
All this and I still worry that there is some GOTCHA, some goblin hiding around the corner that will screw me in the end.
My only comfort is that as of right now, the airplane has no track record with me. I'm hoping that once I get the carpet in and seats reinstalled and start putting some hours on it and some memories in it, that I will calm down and start enjoying this journey.
In some ways it just feels too good to be true - that I actually own my own airplane. Life conditioning has taught me that really great things don't happen to me very much. So, I just worry that something will screw me - something lurking in there that hasn't been found yet.
The recent Arrow crash doesn't help things. I was reading about how corrosion between the disimilar metals can exist between them and not be detectable with the naked eye. Ughhh. I haven't heard of many Hershey bar wings falling off, but it just makes me wonder. What else should I do to ensure no corrosion? I already have an appointment early June for a full on corrosion X dousing.
Then there is the subjectivity of mechanics. 10 different mechanics, 10 different opinions. You can have one mechanic sign off and the other refuse - same airplane. I haven't experienced this, but I've read about it. Mechanics see things differently and have different degrees of concern about various aspects. Since I am not an A&P and am new to all of this and my wallet is very much on the line, I fear that my airplane, gone through and signed off as good to go, will fail the next annual with another mechanic. No reason to think that, it just haunts me.
Maybe this is normal for brand new ownership.
I can't help but think that a year two down the road, a couple hundred hours on it, another annual next year (different mechanic than this last one), etc I'll get more and more comfortable that I've found a good one that will provide years of good/safe service.
I've been flying a long time, but am new to ownership. I've owned my 140 for 4 months now and still can't shake this feeling of what lies around the next corner with this airplane. It was three months into a fresh annual when I bought it. I had a very cursory prebuy done. And have since had a bunch of cosmetic work done.
I did SB1006 and saw the spars with my own eyes, they look great.
I had the SB1244B inspection holes installed and though I have not seen the rear spars with my own eyes, the mechanics that just did the annual and the holes said they look great. I sent the airplane through another annual, early, just to make sure everything was found and just got it back with a clean bill of health - all minor stuff.
I've pulled all the carpet and the floor is shiny:
All this and I still worry that there is some GOTCHA, some goblin hiding around the corner that will screw me in the end.
My only comfort is that as of right now, the airplane has no track record with me. I'm hoping that once I get the carpet in and seats reinstalled and start putting some hours on it and some memories in it, that I will calm down and start enjoying this journey.
In some ways it just feels too good to be true - that I actually own my own airplane. Life conditioning has taught me that really great things don't happen to me very much. So, I just worry that something will screw me - something lurking in there that hasn't been found yet.
The recent Arrow crash doesn't help things. I was reading about how corrosion between the disimilar metals can exist between them and not be detectable with the naked eye. Ughhh. I haven't heard of many Hershey bar wings falling off, but it just makes me wonder. What else should I do to ensure no corrosion? I already have an appointment early June for a full on corrosion X dousing.
Then there is the subjectivity of mechanics. 10 different mechanics, 10 different opinions. You can have one mechanic sign off and the other refuse - same airplane. I haven't experienced this, but I've read about it. Mechanics see things differently and have different degrees of concern about various aspects. Since I am not an A&P and am new to all of this and my wallet is very much on the line, I fear that my airplane, gone through and signed off as good to go, will fail the next annual with another mechanic. No reason to think that, it just haunts me.
Maybe this is normal for brand new ownership.
I can't help but think that a year two down the road, a couple hundred hours on it, another annual next year (different mechanic than this last one), etc I'll get more and more comfortable that I've found a good one that will provide years of good/safe service.
Last edited: