I might be missing something here but as Castleford is in the UK and a Piper Archer is a C of A aircraft. It should be maintained under Part M subpart F arrangement. Private owner maintenance doesn't allow for adjusting or changing compasses.
Further to this the maintenance organisation who have certified the aircraft are entitled to some consideration as they have a legal responsibilty for the aircraft.
I woulds suggest that you should ignore some of the so called advice being given here as it suggests you should indulge in illegal activity..
However nothing to stop you doing some fault finding providing you do not adjust or remove the offending item.
We had a Robin which had a magnetized canopy latch, every time you closed the canopy the compass went out. Took a while to figure that out as we were swinging in the summer with the canopy open due to the heat. Then it went out in flight.
Helicopter newly imported had a main rotor drive shaft that had not been demagnetized following a maganaflux inspection. That came from the states and direct from the manufacturer with a valid swing card. Often wondered who penned that one off.
I would suggest trying to get hold of a flux meter or a simple hand held compass and move it around within the cockpit looking for areas that attract the needle.
Do it power off then if no joy do it power on.
Nothing to stop you doing a compass check swing. Go on to the interweb and look at
airpathcompass.com
they have instructions on how to conduct a swing.
The usual cause of compass errors is the crap that pilots put on top of the instrument panel i.e knee boards or other items with steel fittings.
I would think that the compass is probably an Airpath and they are not expensive.
Probably £150. Lets face it if that is too much for a group then you are too poor to own an aircraft. Remember it could affect your entitlement to benefit!!!!!
Last edited by ericferret; 16th October 2012 at 11:32.