Jesse
Well Known Member
I have an RV-7A in my shop right now for a condition inspection. Upon removing the empennage intersection fairing, I noticed that the rivets on the Hs front spar were horrible. I told the owner, who was present, that I really needed to remove the HS and fix/replace the rivers in that area. When we pulled the front bolts on the HS, I almost lost my lunch when I saw what is in the attached pictures. The current owner has had the plane for a year, so this is his first condition inspection. He had a mechanic look over the plane before he bought it, but that mechanic was not familiar with RV's, and was apparently a friend of the seller (the builder is deceased). The plane has 145 hours. Number one, how did this ever get signed off?! Number two, how did it ever pass a condition inspection?! Number 3, how did it pass even an unfamiliar mechanic's Prebuy inspection?!
Upon further inspection, I recommended that the owner find someone selling a complete empennage kit and replace the whole empennage, and I will replace th substructure in the rear deck area. He could easily end up over $3,000 to repair something that should have never been allowed to fly in the first place. The wings and fuselage were both quickbuild, so they are in much better shape, but the empennage was, as Vic out it in my discussions with him, borderline criminal.
This shows the value of having somebody familiar with RV's do a Prebuy inspection for you. It may cost $500-2,000, but could easily save you from finding yourself in the situation where you have a several-thousand-dollar repair at your first condition inspection.
Upon further inspection, I recommended that the owner find someone selling a complete empennage kit and replace the whole empennage, and I will replace th substructure in the rear deck area. He could easily end up over $3,000 to repair something that should have never been allowed to fly in the first place. The wings and fuselage were both quickbuild, so they are in much better shape, but the empennage was, as Vic out it in my discussions with him, borderline criminal.
This shows the value of having somebody familiar with RV's do a Prebuy inspection for you. It may cost $500-2,000, but could easily save you from finding yourself in the situation where you have a several-thousand-dollar repair at your first condition inspection.
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