Cecil Aero called Tuesday night to let me know 08Romeo was completed. Run up and leak test passed, all buttoned up, she was ready to come home. I made the hop today and brought our baby home. I immediately saw cooler CHT temps on a steep 1000 fpm climb which made my day!
I contacted Wilmington just eight miles out with the current ATIS info and acknowledged to enter left base report three miles. My landing was with a cross wind from the east as I settled over the numbers on runway 1. The mains felt tight and the nose wheel did too, the new bushings made a difference.
I covered and secured the plane along with hauling out all my tools, jackets and sweatshirts that I stockpiled each day working in the shop. I also had my Adlog binder and headset bag to pack up then headed home for the holiday weekend.
Annual 2012 by the numbers:
Annual 4 place aircraft $720
Credit Owner assist -$100
Consumable shop supplies $45
Additional Labor Remove and fab six Bushings 7 hours $476
Additional Labor to replace all bushings 6 hours $408
Replace Engine Baffle 1.1 $75
MD sales tax $47
PARTS:
Bushings 6 @ $102 $612 (Beech wanted $600 each bushing $3600)
Misc; filters, screws, baffle seal $178
6 comments:
Isn't it a great feeling when you leave the shop and the fruits of that labor are readily apparent? Congrats on a successful annual and the return to service of your beautiful bird!
Chris, Thanks! The baffles were my biggest concern. They looked great, worked perfect.
I'm glad 08Romeo is home. On my to-do list is building some time getting night current and proficient, maybe knock out some approaches too.
Good for you helping with your annual. Sure you save a few bucks, but more importantly you are learning about how your machine works. Invaluable!
Gary - were the baffles visibly sealing poorly beforehand? My CHTs do not always run as cool as I would like, but whenever we inspect the baffles, they appear to seal well.
Chris - My baffle material was more along the lines of a bicycle tube type material, didn't seem very stiff.
If you looked on the cowl you could clearly see a line where the baffle made contact and where it did not. There were gaps in corners and maybe a three inch gap across the back. Looking from the front when doing pre-flight the material was making contact and looked correct.
The new material is more rigid, holds its position, no gaps. I'll report after todays flight to cape may, nj.
Brent - I really like knowing what makes 08Romeo tick. It's a safety factor for me, maybe more of a comfort factor is the better choice.
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