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That depends!
Today, I share a story about a pair of ailerons that were damaged when a Piper Cherokee was backed into the T-hangar a little too far. We talk about the repair options for a scenario like this.
Here is a Piper Cherokee rudder we removed for repair due to 2 cracks in the trailing edge.
Are any cracks or repairs allowed on Piper flight control surfaces?
What about Cessna?
The answers may surprise you.
Listen to today’s episode to find out about some clear information that airplane owners should know.
Regardless of what kind of airplane you own, today’s show can help to point you in the right direction to get answers for your flight control surface questions.
Don’t take a chance on a questionable repair… there are too many of them flying around out there.
These patches may have been considered acceptable many years ago, but not today! Thankfully, this is not a flying airplane… it is now being used for A&P training.
Here are a couple other repairs I found…
This one is a Cessna 310 that is now being used for A&P training. These patches were installed on the elevator many years ago.
So, after talking about control surfaces, here are a few things you might want to consider:
- Take a look at your airplane… do YOU have any cracks in any of your flight control surfaces? If so, do whatever needs to be done per the service manual… after all, even though unlikely, you don’t want to get stuck because an FAA inspector has grounded your airplane.
- Take a walk around your airport and look at all the flight control surfaces… it might surprise you how many there are… if nothing else, it will give you an idea of the kinds of cracks that can happen, and the places that tend to crack easily.
- Be careful when you do your preflight inspection. If you hear that “oil canning” effect when you move your flight controls, you are pushing too hard on it… if you must move it slightly, do it between the palms of your hands (preferably at a rib if possible), rather than grabbing the trailing edge with your thumb and finger. (There’s good reason for that “NO PUSH” placard.)
And remember, even if you CAN legally repair a flight control surface, it must be balanced after the repair and paint are completed.
If you have any good stories about flight control surfaces, please contact me and let me know.
deanshow@gmail.com, or use the comment button on this episode, or leave me a voicemail by using the button on the right side of the page at airplaneownermaintenance.com
Thanks, and if you like this podcast, please go to iTunes and leave me a rating and review. I would really appreciate it!
My Piper Lance has some stop-drilled cracks around the corrugations on the bottom skin of my flaps on both sides (just inboard of the main gear). Are there restrictions on stop-drilled flap cracks? I couldn’t find anything in the service manual.
Hi Jeremy. I’ll have to look into that one. If there is no information in the service manual, this may be more of a judgement call than the ailerons, rudder, and stabilator. The big difference with flaps is that they generally do not require balancing. So, if you install a repair doubler (patch) over any cracks, you don’t need to be concerned about balance, unless the service manual addresses that. So, in your case, if the service manual does not specifically prohibit flap repairs, like it does for the other control surfaces, you could check with your local mechanic about installing repair doublers on your flaps per AC 43 methods.
Does ‘re-skinning” imply that the entire surface skin is replaced, or could a large section of skin be replaced as opposed to a “patch”? This is important for operators of low-population aircraft like the Tomahawk. While technically Piper could supply a skin, they won’t until there are sufficient orders to justify a run.
Yes, reskinning is replacing the entire surface. If the maintenance manual gives info for replacing a large section instead of the whole skin, then that’s certainly an option… it depends on the manufacturer… some allow this, and some do not.