Grumman AA-5B Issues

[LowNSlow]

There is a nice looking AA-5 on AFORS which I could get interested in. The price is very reasonable due to the ARC being due in June and the Annual in July.

My background is LAA / EASA Annex II so the EASA ARC system is alien to me.

My first question is what are the likely routine costs that will be incurred assuming nothing major is wrong with the 4,000 hour airframe and 1,500 hour O-360 engine?

Secondly, although I did half of my PPL on AA-5s I know nothing about their maintainability. So does anybody know what maintenance issues occur either routinely or exceptionally but regularly and are there any big no-nos to look out for?

Thirdly, what kind of maintenance establishment do I need to take it to as I'm assuming I can't get an engineer to do the work in a nicely heated and lit hangar provided by yours truly?

[Genghis the Engineer]

I have a share in an AA5a but don't generally manage the maintenance.

I'll PM you details of the member of our syndicate who does - nice chap, very experienced owner, who should be able to give you a lot of useful gen.

G

[LowNSlow]

Thanks Genghis that would be very helpful.

[Beech_Boy]

A good one on the AA5's which was always a good one was the flying controls delaminating along the trailing edge. Also the trailing edge of the wings and stabilisers are prone to delimitation, if I remember rightly you can just re-bond and repair with shallow head counter-sunk rivets.
Also the nose leg ovality check can catch a few people out, it is required inspection to paint strip a certain area on the 'bent' section of the leg and see if the leg has been squashed effectively (hope this makes sense) ultimately if it is out of limits a replacement nose leg is required.

Cheers

BB

[VictorGolf]

Have you given up on YLA then?

[Yankee]

Parts availability shouldn't be an issue, check out www.matair.co.uk - Home (http://www.matair.co.uk).

You could be joining a friendly bunch of flyers. The Grumpy Gang (http://www.grumpygang.org)

For the plane you are looking at delamination of the control surface trailing edges wouldn't be an issue as that year of plane has U channel sections bonded on.

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s3/grumpyparts/8218dbf3-39b9-433d-abd4-b9d36a5362ef_zps00ad557c.jpg (http://s148.photobucket.com/user/grumpyparts/media/8218dbf3-39b9-433d-abd4-b9d36a5362ef_zps00ad557c.jpg.html)

Also being a 1978/9 model it is in the range of aircraft least prone to delamination in general.

PM me for any other queries you might have.

[FerrypilotDK]

Great airplane.....good luck!

[LowNSlow]

Thanks for all the helpful replies people.

I was aware of the noseleg checks from my PPL days on AA-5As and remember my instructor saying to look out for purple stains on the trailing edges which were the tell tale marks for delamination.

My major concern is the cost of operating under a CAMO as some of the costs that generous forumites have shared are quite eye watering compared to operating under Annex II with it's greater flexibility of engineering providers. Well at least for the Annual, I've yet to do a C of A renewal which will entail the bird being held captive in a strange hangar!

Victor Golf, YLA is still in pole position (see above) and I've got some interest from NZ about the mortal remains of ZMN as well.

[rgsaero]

LowNSlow -

The best way to use Tigers is HIGH AND FAST! - not lownslow! Better speed and fuel use that way - a jest of course.

I've operated a Tiger, the same one since 1992, and have 1000 hours on it. During that period I bought another one which had been stored for a long time and sorted it, selling it on.

This is a terrific aeroplane and compared with C and P singles there are far fewer ADs requiring expensive strips and examinations. Only hoses, a prop check every six years and rudder springs, plus pressure hoses (common to all) come to mind.

I've very seldom paid over £2500 for annual check and ARC renewal (though sometimes I do the strip-down myself under supervision.)

Get an Engineer who REALLY knows the type to check the aeroplane; I know two or three, one having spent 12 years doing nothing other than them! PM me for details.

If it's a good one, buy it and enjoy.

rgsaero

[LowNSlow]

rgsaero, they certainly fly higher and faster than the L4 Cub that I derived my name from!!

I did half my PPL on AA-5a's and far preferred them to the C150 / C172 that I finished on. I flew a Tiger a few times post-PPL and loved it.

I'll pop a pm over for the engineer's details :ok: