pre-flight scares

[StanFoster]

I always preflight ....but occasionally I look it over real good. The other day I was looking at the top of my hub bar...and I know my jaw about hit the top step of my ladder. There was what looked like a hairline crack in my hub bar.. :eek: .and it was real fine dimenishing to nothing like a real crack would look like. I took my finger and nervously wiped across it...it was just a very fine filament of oil...but it looked so real. Anyway....I am glad it happened as I will be watching it more often....

I found my prop hub on my air command developing a fine crack last year...and of course grounded it.

You guys have any similar scare stories?

Stan

[birdy]

I scare too easly Stan,so I avoid the preflight. :D

[LARRYEBOYER]

yes on the preflight. I did my normal preflight routine, but I rarely shake the wheel pants, other than the front wheel. I was doing a really thorough preflight and shook the right wheel pant. It almost fell off in my hand. Needless to say, I now shake it alllllllll!!!!

[Harry_S.]

I see little ticker skippers quite often. When I pull the 25 hr. maintenance chore, I am very liberal with the use of Corrosion "X". I wipe it off pretty good but some of it seeps into mating surfaces, washers, threads, etc. So, after the first 5 or 6 flights I'm wiping the excess stuff off the hub bar and blades. I don't mind tho, as I feel better knowing that the "X" stuff got to where it was supposed to go. Plus while wiping it off, I get another look for cracks and other bad things.

Went flying this morning and wouldn't you know, the ole' Hobbs is indicating the time is ripe for another 25 hr. chore.

[mrford61]

I scare too easly Stan,so I avoid the preflight. :D

:D :D :D :D :D :D

[gyroplanes]

Not exactly a preflight story, but a real grabber none-the-less.

A friend took a disc grinder to the cheek plate on his two seat SBS Air Command for prerotator clearance.

He and his son went flying for the day.

He asked me to do the Annual Condition inspection for him that evening.

One of the first things I saw was one of the push rod tubes slashed better than half way through. While he was busy grinding away the cheek plate, the other side of the disc was cutting through his push rod tube.

I saved it. If I remember I'll put together a horror stories forum for Mentone.

[StanFoster]

Tom: That was a good one...