Major Problems With Our Aztec! | Piper Aztec Annual Pt. 1
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- čas přidán 8. 09. 2024
- Wow! We decided to move ahead with our annual instead of waiting till it was due. We are very glad that we did! Found a lot of issues, and we will have a much greater peace of mind when flying it now. Next video should be out as soon as the annual is finished! After that it's time to start flying! Remember to like, comment, and subscribe!
The first Annual usually costs 10% of your purchase price. That’s the consensus of many of my friends and my own experience. If you bought a known beater, well, it’s gonna run ya a little more. “Is that part expensive?” Duh, it’s going on an airplane. I owned an Aztruck. Absolutely love them. The hydraulic power pack is probably the first part that went into the airframe as they were built hence as the mechanic stated, lots of labor hours just getting it in and out. Good news is if you put a good unit in, you’ll probably never have to look at it again.
The mechanic seems to really know his stuff. If he’s following the Lycoming manual on the prop strike, great. Checking trueness of the prop hub can’t hurt but dates back to round engines when there was as much shaft in front of the crankcase as was in it. Today the part that extends is but a fraction of the total length so realistically, runout isn’t much of an indicator of crank health. Most manuals call for complete tear down to include manga flux of the rotating parts if the prop is damaged within certain parameters. A friend had a very soft prop strike in sand on his CAP 20L aerobatic plane. Seven rotations.No damage to the blades and good runout. Prop departed the engine about seven hours later. Atomic microscope saw every rotation after the strike had been micro etched in the shaft. Or shall I say, the shaft that remained. Now then, his was a special use bird but the wear was incurred in all phases of flight, not just the fun flippy aerobatic stuff. The event is here on CZcams somewhere.
While she is torn apart, check/replace the cross feed valve “O” rings. They cost almost nothing and are now accessible with the belly pan off. Uncommanded fuel imbalance is a sure sign. The “O” rings age and you won’t have a problem until you do.
Another really big thing to look for is wear of the door locking mechanisms. Several aluminum bellcranks that can and do wear out over the years. Simple test. Close and lock the door. Push the locking knob down. Now, with the locking knob down, rotate the actuation handle to open the door as if the locking knob was up. If the door opens, you have worn out components. YOU DO NOT WANT THAT DOOR TO OPEN IN FLIGHT!!! If it does, the nose will pitch down violently 10-15 degrees, all manner of dirt and dust will be flying around in you eyes etc. The airframe will vibrate violently as if in a stall. It will be very noisy with a distinct breeze. Without an auxiliary handle on the trailing edge if the door, you will probably not be able to close and fully latch the door. If the bellcranks aren’t available, may not be as they are a popular salvage part, fret not. A skilled welder can build the bellcranks worn and indented areas back up and reprofile them to new dimensions. This is a very serious thing to look at. It will cost you the time to do the above test or labor to pop the interior door trim panel open to inspect. This should be an AD as folks have died because of the distraction. Single pilot, or IMC, it’s a tough one to handle. Again, find it, fix it, never worry again. (I installed a simple screen door pull handle on the trailing edge of the door just above the lower window sill line. Existing screws and spacing were perfect. With that handle, I could close it in flight.)
Aztecs are great aircraft. (Not that I would ever advocate flying below blue line but, if one drops half flaps, sucks the yoke back like a soft field takeoff and flys off at the first inkling of lift, you’ll see why bush pilots and smugglers lover that Hershey Bar wing.) Just be ready to chop both engines if something starts to sputter before you get enough smash going. The low energy state is short but to be respected.
Great thoughts and advice, we actually went thru the door internals and fixed all that stuff..the other great thing is this door also has a safety bar installed in it!!! Thanks for you comment!!
Thanks for your comment! As me dad mentioned we got the door fixed up so we don't need to worry about it. Also all the gears were magna fluxed on the engine and the prop was replaced so it should be good to go. But we will definitely keep a eye on it. Thanks for all your great advice!
Finally. Good video. Looking forward to seeing this bird in the air.
Thanks! I am looking forward to flying it as well. Hopefully soon!
almost ready to fly 7 months ago, lol... Love the update though, Hope to see you in it soon.
Keep going to that mechanic, he knows what he is doing. How did the heater decay test come out? BTW, I ran up a Cherokee 180 and on pulling the mixture back at shut down, there was a loud bang and the engine started running backwards for a few seconds. I thought that was as much of a shock to the internals as the descriptions in the "Prop Strike" AD, so like a good little mechanic I wrote to the FAA Office that originated the AD, stating my concerns. And I waited for a response. That was over 25 years ago and I'm still waiting.
Haha sounds like the FAA for you. As far as the heater decay test in concerned I believe it came out fine. I don't know for sure but I didn't hear anything negative on it from the mechanic. I agree with you on the mechanic. He's actually known as the Aztec expert around here, everybody brings their Aztecs too him. Thats about all he works on.
@@samueltheaviator4802 I worked on a lot of Aztecs too and I'm glad I never had to pull out a power pack, but one of my co-workers did.
@@i.r.wayright1457 Just overhauled the power pack this past May for my Aztec, cost from Cox was $3000 plus shipping, that included resurfacing 4 poppet valves. The power pack had an ink stamp of 2Q76 so I'm guessing that was the last time it was out of the aircraft.
Good luck with your Aztec, they aren't the fastest or the prettiest but you take care of them and they are a pleasure to fly, very stable and forgiving. I've been flying mine for just over 20yrs.
Wow! So much work to do on those engines. Mine boggling. Great video Sammy, looking forward to part two. Have a great week!
Thanks for the comment! Glad you enjoyed the video. Was and is a lot of work but really rewarding. But we are really looking to fly it soon!
We are almost there, son! Great job in persevering. Love, Mom
Thanks mom!
Thanks for the video, I'm looking into purchasing an Aztec
Glad I could help
Beautiful 172 in that hanger
Haha Thanks! I believe its a tbm 700 if you were wondering.
@@samueltheaviator4802 no at 15:05, hard to confuse a 172 with a TMB…..cub behind it too.
@@jeffgaulden5879 Oh haha. I thought you were talking about my hangar and just joking.
Pre-buy should have pointed out prop grazing. I would not be a happy camper! First annual is always painful. After all, you are buying someone elses's mess.
I agree about the prop, but unfortunately it was missed. We were obviously pretty frustrated but at the end of the day you have to play the hand you are dealt. But hopefully it should be good to go after this!
So much for the cheapest Aztec...but by the time you are done it should be a pretty dependable plane.
That's the hope! ;)
Samuel, great video. It looks like your Aztec is going to be ship-shape after the work being done at annual. By the way, are you familiar with Mike Busch's (Savvy Aviation)seminars on CZcams? He has many useful recommendations for pilots and aircraft owners regarding maintenance and operations.
One of them is the use of a boroscope to examine the cylinders at annual instead of relying solely on compression test results. Boroscopes have come down in price and many shops use them now to inspect things like valve wear and piston and cylinder condition.
Another great instrument for keeping your engines healthy is an engine monitor. It can help you keep an eye on engine operation and many posible areas of concern for engine longevity such as keeping your cylinder head temps under control with lean of peak engine ops.
Again, best wishes with your twin and many years of flying enjoyment.
Thanks for the info. I am familiar with Mike Busch, but I don't know if i've seen too many of his videos. I will look into possibly getting the plane borescoped. And we are currently shoping engine monitors.
honest question... you go the cheapest one on the market... I see them for 140k or so... should I get one in better shape and hope for the best? Want a twin so bad...
Well that depends on what you want. For me we were fine to buy a plane that needed work so we could make it our own. However if you would rather have a dependable, well maintained ready to go plane, then maybe buy a more expensive one.
Why do all that setup on an engine that you may have to tear down?
Hello , I have some new piper Aztec you might be interested in
If you wanna fly you have to buy if you want to play you have to pay stop your bellyaching
An Aztec annual usually is under $50, 000 if it is in good shape