Mailing List flyrotary@lancaironline.net Message #59508
From: <hoursaway1@comcast.net>
Subject: Re: [FlyRotary] Re: Anatomy of a failed AW inspection
Date: Fri, 1 Feb 2013 03:30:17 +0000 (UTC)
To: Rotary motors in aircraft <flyrotary@lancaironline.net>
You can also request a crewmember to fly aircraft while you adjust computer, don't wast your time asking for a stewardess though she will be denied, ( don't ask )  also if it is a fast aircraft ask for an extended flight area ( we have 100 miles radius.  David R. Cook  RV6A Rotary


From: "Terry Adams" <terrywadams@sbcglobal.net>
To: "Rotary motors in aircraft" <flyrotary@lancaironline.net>
Sent: Thursday, January 31, 2013 10:10:44 PM
Subject: [FlyRotary] Re: Anatomy of a failed AW inspection

Ernest,
Great that you are sharing your experience with the AW inspection so that others can benefit.  Your next inspection will probably go very smoothly.
I have had three airplanes (one rotary) inspected by three different inspectors.  Though each checked over the actual airplane/engine/controls, in the end it all came down to paper work.  As the last inspector told me his job was to ensure the paper work was in order.  Prepare all the paper work and as someone said have extra blanks just in case.  Have an extra sectional available too.  I had marked out on two sectionals, according to FAA dictates, a suitable 25 mile radius of airspace for my test period.  The inspector asked if I would be making a continuous right or left hand turn to remain within the test area.  With a new map he suggested I outline a much larger area for the test phase.

Terry Adams
N41521
KSCK

On 1/31/2013 10:04 AM, Ernest Christley wrote:
As many of you know, I called the Greensboro FSDO and scheduled an Airworthiness 
Inspection.  It was originally scheduled for last Friday, but got postponed due
to inclement weather.  Wednesday turned out to be a shirt-sleeve day, and
perfect for an inspection inside a large, open hangar.  When I called for the 
inspection, I was expecting to get a date a couple months out.  The quickness
of the schedule took me by surprise, but being the gung-ho guy I am, I went
for it.

Three inspectors showed up.  Mike Foster, who I had been working with, and
seemed mostly concerned with paperwork. Tim, who did most of the hardware
inspection.  And Mark, who seemed to enjoy looking at airplanes the most.
Don't bother to bring donuts and coffee.  Those guys were there for hard
line business.  Wish I could get my $23 back from Dunkin Donuts.  Coffee
was crap anyway 8*)

They want the airplane in a state where they can write you the AW and you
can immediately taxi it out to fly.  Tim seemed to imply that any
modifications after issuing the certificate would require contacting the
FSDO and flying another 40 hours.  I found that a bit drastic, and I'm
still not sure how it will work out (If I add a nose wheel fairing, do I
have to go back into the test flight area for 40 hours?  How about if I
change my intercom?  Does the simplest of issues requiring correction
during flight testing require the clock to reset?).  Tim's approach was
reasonable, so I'm sure it will all be fine.

I had a LOT of cotter pins missing and nylock nuts that weren't tightened
down.  Most of this was due to not wanting to waste cotter pins and nylock
nuts on parts that needed to be constantly removed during the building
process.  I probably would have caught most of them if I'd had two months
between when I called for the inspection appointment and when they came
out, which is what I was expecting.  "We can be there Friday" took me by
surprise, and in retrospect I should have explained my expectation and
begged for more time.  Then I could have gotten several pre-inspections
and have been ready.  Recommendation: Get several pre-inspections so that
you are ready.

The biggest deficiency, by far, was that I do not have my final propeller.
My "first attempt" prop has some shop rash on it (tow bars are rough on
propellers when you don't remove them before cranking), and I was quite
open with the fact that I had no intention of flying with it.  That was a
clear violation of the "ready to fly" rule, and when I think about it a
moment, a clear violation of common sense.  The point of the Phase 1 is to
make sure the major parts of the airplane are working properly together.
The point of 40hours instead of 25 for non-certified prop/engine
combinations is to make sure they work together in particular.  How can
you test them together, when they obviously haven't been fabricated?  Duh.

At the end, Mike was wanting to write the Repairman's Certificate for me.
All the pictures I've taken during the build process running as a
slideshow on a laptop whil the inspection was going on made it clear that
I had built this contraption.  I could tell that Mike didn't want to leave
me empty handed; but, he needed the airplane's certification date for that
form, so he was blocked.  I point that out to say that these guys actually
WANT to give you the legal pass to go fly.  My project was simply NOT
ready to be called an airplane.

I've got a list of fixes to complete.  That give me some focus to punch
through and git 'er done.  It won't be long now.  This would have only taken
one visit if I had:
1) Lined up some pre-inspections by people who had been through this before.
2) Been honest with myself and asked for more time to get things complete.
3) Understood beforehand that "complete" means "completed".


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