The following editorial is guest written by Jared Jacobs.
I am all too familiar with the plethora of aviation’s time-based inspections, having experienced my fair share of instrument proficiency checks, biannual flight reviews, proficiency checks, etc. But none have brought the level of apprehension I feel for the next deadline on my schedule – the annual airworthiness inspection of our beloved F33A Bonanza.
For those of you keeping tabs, this will be the first annual inspection that 1RW will undergo as a part of our co-ownership. So, the real reason for the anxiety is fear of the unknown. As part of my aircraft search preparation, I spent a lot of time questioning my aircraft-owning friends. While I collected a great deal of data about fixed and hourly costs, the major outlier has always been the aircraft’s annual inspection and how to plan for the expense. Of course, when you buy an airplane, part of what you are buying is the maintenance and upkeep of the previous owners. Items that were overlooked, cheaply or partially repaired, or worse, neglected, would ultimately become the burden of the new owner to sort out. So, buy well or pay the price.
Considering a complex aircraft like our Bonanza, and its more than 50 years of maintenance, the prospect of finding an aircraft properly maintained seemed to be a near impossibility. But, after a glowing review from the mechanic that conducted the pre-buy inspection, I felt I had found that airplane in 1RW (see “Buyers Rejoice,” Twin & Turbine, April 2021). However, after about a month of ownership, I admit that the aircraft surprised us with a few early visits to the maintenance hangar. First was a blowout of the left brake master cylinder, which led us to replace both. Next was the mysterious airframe vibration which I chronicled in the August Editor’s Briefing. Although the vibration turned out to be a non-event, it did reveal a cylinder with compressions that had slipped about 10 PSI since the pre-buy, as well as a potential fuel pump issue. These events showed me that despite a stellar history of maintenance and care, there were still chinks in the armor.
One piece of early purchasing advice I had received (but skipped) was to conduct the pre-buy inspection as an annual. By doing so, there is a more thorough inspection of every system – giving you the most accurate idea of the status of the aircraft upfront. Not to mention, if all goes well, you clear the mental hurdle of the first annual. But this can sometimes be tricky to work out with the seller and likely expensive for both parties. A straightforward annual conducted as a pre-buy can put the buyer at ease, but if any costly repairs are required, the waters can become muddied quickly, and negotiations soured. We decided to forgo this extra step due to the rushed nature of our purchase in this hot used aircraft market, plus nearly eight months remained until the next annual inspection was due.
Now, with the annual upon us, the last thing that I or my co-owners want is a half-hearted effort at the annual inspection. We want the aircraft to be as safe and mechanically sound as it can possibly be. With that in mind, the aircraft was just delivered to the meticulous mechanics at Midwest Corporate Aviation at KAAO to begin its inspection. Knowing they will give our aircraft the most thorough inspection since the purchase, some doubt creeps in that skipping the annual as part of the purchase may have been a misstep. Soon having a clean bill of health from the IA will put my mind at ease, and I hope our wallets will feel the same way.
In reality, this anxiety is probably an overreaction. I am confident in the homework I completed before the purchase. And in hearing from many of my owner friends, there is almost always a bit of a teething period with a new aircraft. At least one unexpected repair will pop up as the owner and aircraft both adjust to the new pairing.
Here’s to hoping future annuals become just another item on the list of yearly inspections that hardly register a reaction when popping up on the schedule.