PA-22/20 Questions

Hi All,
I am the proud owner of a 1958 PA-22/20 160 HP. The plan is to fly it while the weather holds and then put it it the garage for recovering. The Ceconite is in ok shape but close to 40 years old. The wings are in fine shape so it may be a two step process, first the fuse, fly a season, then the wings.

(Point of reference, I am a pretty handy guy, ex BMW mechanic, telescope builder, vintage ham gear restorer etc.)

Some questions (tip of the iceberg):

How hard is it to find and A&P to come to ones house to sign off on stuff as I progress? I live in inner Portland OR, fairly metropolitan.

How helpful would it be to do the Sportair Fabric course?

Thanks

Rich

Hey Rich, I'm not sure I would recover the plane just because the fabric is 40 yrs old. Might be able to refinish it and go for a quite a while longer. That's of course unless you just want to do it. Good plan to do it in stages, keep down the overwhelming factor. If you're going to do the work yourself under supervision, I suggest you locate a mech and develop a relationship. Otherwise, it might be difficult to find someone who will be comfortable with your plan.

A running budy of mine feels that he wants to see the bare bones every few years so that he can count the cracked ribs. He is an AI. Works mostly on turbine A/C, but has a wood & fabric project. He is much more anal than I am. I would agree with your plan and I would open up all the inspection panels that I could. Maybe even install a few more if needed.
Bob

Another place to look for rusty tubes is around the rudder post and the door opening. Also, there have been cases where the roof fabric detatched aft of the windshield and had a bad effect on the rudder.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bob Dingley

Another place to look for rusty tubes is around the rudder post and the door opening. Also, there have been cases where the roof fabric detatched aft of the windshield and had a bad effect on the rudder.

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The instructor/A&P I am flying with has agreed to do the inspections. :)

Yes, the previous owner had to repair the fabric aft of the windshield. Now I am thinking of the Stewart process, I will have to see if they have any upcoming workshops.

Rich

Where are you located? Wicks usually hosts at least 1 Stewart workshop per year, they are in Highland, IL (just east of St Louis). I may go to a workshop there if there is not a Sportair workshop in Indy before I am ready for that one.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mike Switzer

Where are you located? Wicks usually hosts at least 1 Stewart workshop per year, they are in Highland, IL (just east of St Louis). I may go to a workshop there if there is not a Sportair workshop in Indy before I am ready for that one.

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I contacted Stewarts, they have no workshops planned. I am in Portland.

Rich