PA 28 WING SPAR

[LeadSled]

Folks,

Looks like some financial pain and agony on the way.
https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/...-in-piper-wing

https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/...n=181219epilot

Tootle pip!!

[Bend alot]

Think this is wishful - even when converting to AUD!

The FAA estimated that two hours of work would be required to comply with the mandate to calculate the factored service hours of an airplane. Conditional costs to perform an inspection and to replace nuts and bolts were estimated at $147.50 per wing spar. The cost of replacing a wing spar, if needed, was estimated at $8,260 each.

$147.50 probably cover 1/2 the NDT guys invoice. Not sure what the actual spar would cost, but freight to Australia would bump that up. Most aircraft look silly with one freshly painted wing.

[Ozgrade3]

There has been speculation that the two Arrows in the Embry Riddle fleet were looped multiple times by instructors who where ex military fighter jocks.

[gassed budgie]

The FAA AD refers to a total time in service of 5,000 ‘factored’ hours as opposed to 5,000 hours airframe time. The Archer I flew in the other day had a total time on the airframe of 3,500 hours. Referencing the FAA AD, the factored hours totalled 217, nowhere near the 5,000 factored hours as described in the AD.

The great bulk of the Pa28/32 fleet probably won’t be affected by the AD. That is of course only if the know nothings at CAsA leave it alone. Remember the SID’s?

[roundsounds]

Let’s see what CAsA can make of this one. The atmosphere in Australia must be much tougher on aircraft than the rest of the world.

[djpil]

I wonder if they’ll invite Steve back to crunch the numbers on AD/PA-28/58 Wing Structural Fatigue Life Limitation of 12,500 hrs TIS for the -235 and extend the scope to all PA-28s.

[Cuban Eight]

I’m currently in the market for a light single and the PA28 and PA32 series are on the list. Looking at Arrows and Lances at the moment and not sure how to factor in the potential cost of what this proposed AD might turn in to, particularly down here in Australia. The FAA and US estimates are hard to compare given the difference in GA market to here. I feel like it would not be wise to buy a type that could shortly be subject to an expensive AD. It must be a difficult and anxious wait for current owners.

Inspection alone, approximately how much will eddy current testing of the lower spar caps cost? Looks like the wings will have to come off for this exercise too.
Then if either wing spar doesn’t pass testing, what sort of costs could spar replacement total for each wing?

The couple of shops I’ve asked really weren’t sure on spar replacement costs but thought it could easily be 10k per wing.

[Stickshift3000]

Originally Posted by Cuban Eight

Looking at Arrows and Lances at the moment and not sure how to factor in the potential cost of what this proposed AD might turn in to

Its purely speculation at the moment - my belief is that if this AD is introduced in Australia, that it would probably rely on the FAA’s calculation of ‘factored’ service time (different to total time in service).

If looking at PA28’s, you could perform the calculation to determine factored service time to see where each prospective airframe stands. That’s what I would be doing prior to any purchase, however the way this plays out in Australia with our regulator is anyone’s guess.

Originally Posted by Cuban Eight

I feel like it would not be wise to buy a type that could shortly be subject to an expensive AD

This is a potential ownership cost as the ‘traditional’ GA fleet grows older. Any of these models could be subjected to ADs at any time in the future. I realise this doesn’t help your choice, but it’s probably a factor behind the popularity of some Rotax-powered light sport models (along with cost of avgas etc).