Spar inspection AD

[John C. Noone]

Has anyone had the spar inspection AD done recently and about
how much should it cost for the inspection to determine if
there are any wing spar cracks?

[SkyKing]

John,

You don't mention what model year or serial number of Skymaster you're referring to... the AD note is serial number and model year sensitive and also subject to whether the airplane has been flown in low-level survey work, like pipeline patrol, etc., where the aircraft would be subjected to a lot of low-level turbulence and abrupt control movement. For most of the P-models the AD doesn't become operative until somewhere around 10,000 hours as I recall.

I'll look up the details and report back, but as I recall the time element isn't much more than three hours at normal shop rates. In other words, this AD is not a cost prohibitive inspection... unless of course it's cracked, and I haven't yet heard of anyone on this board with that particular problem.

More later.....

Do you have a 337 now, or was this a consideration for purchase? I'll see if I can locate the original AD and post it FYI.

SkyKing

[John C. Noone]

I have a 1964 336 and the AD is due at 5,000 TT.
My plane has not been flown in mountainous terrain.
I was looking for someone in the NJ, PA area who could
do the AD and appreciate your info that it should only
be a few hours of shop time assuming the spar caps
do not need replacement. You are right about 10,000 TT
for pressurized models of the 337's and 3,000 TT hrs for
planes flown in mountainous areas. Also I believe it
will be required every 500 Hrs also. If anyone knows
someone in my area who they could recomend to do
the AD please post it for me. Thanks Guys---its nice
to have someone out there to talk with and gather
info on my 336.

[Dale Campbell]

John,
I have all my 337H work done Near Scranton,Pa. at a little airport 9N3, Seaman. The shop is O & N . Call Richard Newell 570-945-3769. They have been in business over 40 years & do a lot of 337's and they are a certified Cessna shop.

[Bob Cook]

There is a good shop at AGC that I could recommend.

2) Not aware of any spar cracks reported. This was a way for Cessna to limit their liability with all the military 337s and O-2 that were put back into civilian service and used for fire fighting and low level patrols such as power lines and law enforcement.

bob

[John C. Noone]

Hi Dale,
Thanks so much for the lead. Richard Newell seems
like a great contact but unfortunately cannot perform the
spar inspection AD. So it looks like I am still looking for someone
locally to do the AD. I have been told that the aux tanks have to
be removed and I am looking at a bill of at least $1,500.00 for
the inspection when I find someone to do it. Does this sound right?
John C. Noone

[John C. Noone]

Hey Bob,
You mentioned a good shop at AGC. Where is the location
and would you have any suggestions..any advise is appreciated.
John

[GMAs]

Well some say it was done to take care of the libility... but, annnnntttttt... wrong answer...

Seems some of the guys who used them for petrol got sort board just watching the lines below.. and decided to have a little fun turning the world upside down... in their skymaster... well one got just a little to wild.. and sure enough it bent the wing on one side... yep.. actually have a picture of the wing bent up... more than the other... and the plane is sitting level..

anyway it cracked while bending.. and of course the pilot said... me doing any aerobatics... not on your life... so they thought the cracking was cause first and then the bending second...

but, their is another reason that some started to show signs of cracking at the attaching point at the rear spar... and cracking the mounting area...

yep they were vibrating so bad that the boom bounce got to flexing the rear spar... and cause some problems in that area... but, it seemed to be caused only after about 3-5000 hrs... due to turbulance and flexing... the other area that they want checked is covered with skin and about 3 layers of metal... all different .. you know... and a casting... so if their is any chance for corrosion... not cracking... it would be their at the main attaching point... and thus they wanted it checked also...

We have seen planes land so hard that it tipped a bunch of the rivets on the bottom of the wing.. but, it was only one plane... and we knew the owner... and he really dropped it in hard... not once but, several times... gladly he gave up flying when he found out he had a heart condition and couldn't see anymore.... when we saw it... we almost couldn't bear to see it.. and it gave us a heart condition called failure when it thudded in... hard... and blew both mains from the impact... about 100 ft drop in... any other plane would have broken but, the skymaster kept on going...

anyway... we have done a couple of the inspections and it runs about 800 to 1500 bucks... as it takes some pretty expensive equipment.. and a good operator that is trained and certified...

Now you might find a steel inspector that checks bridges on the roadway... as they are all from the same cut... and they all have the same equipment... for ND inspections... might even try the yellow pages... and see if you can luck out for a magnetic/ultrasonic inspector.... as the one part is pretty quick... where the struts attach to the wings.. but, the rear spar one is going to take some time.. as you have to pull the top of the wing off.. to gain access to the inside of the rear spar... and no you don't have to take the gas tanks out... they can do it with them in.... so we found... GMAs

[John C. Noone]

Thanks for the info my friend...everything you said makes
sense...and I will keep your advice in mind. I agree with
you that cessna makes a strong wing-and always has-
but our planes are a little different from the other models
and even though I dont want to spend the money you have
convinced me that the AD makes sense.
Thanks again for taking the time to share with me your
valued knowledge on the skymaster airframe.
John

[Ed Coffman]

Just curious, from reading these posts sounds like no one has ever done the inpection or knows anyone that has. The only person I have talked to that ever did one is Duane Hicks of Hicks and Lawrence.
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[John C. Noone]

Hi Ed,
Where is Hicks and Lawrence located as I am
looking for someone to do the inspection at
a reasonable price.
Thanks
John C. Noone

[WebMaster]

Our plane has 7K hours on it, and has had the inspections done per the requirements, eg, at 5K, and every 500 hours

[Ed Coffman]

I believe Hicks and Lawrence is in Dryden, Ontario but it sounds like Larry has a good handle on where to get one done.
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[John C. Noone]

Hi Larry,
thanks for the reply and could you give me any information
on where to get the inspection done and how much they will charge me. Do you have inboard aux tanks and did they
remove them to inspect?
GMAS says they dont need to remove tanks and that was
good news.
Keep in touch,
John C. Noone

[John C. Noone]

Hi GMAS,
Where are you located? I forgot to ask you if you know anyone
who could do my inspection?
John C. Noone