Pre-flight oddity

Cap'n Jack

Cap'n Jack

Final Approach
PoA Supporter
Joined
Jun 25, 2006
Messages
8,909
Location
Nebraska
Display Name
Display name:
Cap'n Jack
I got a BFR today. While pre-flighting, I found a sheet metal screw in the flap hinges on a PA-28 (Piper Archer). The flap hinges on this plane are made from parts with a U-section to them and the U-shapes are facing each other to make an O. A screw fell from the wing flashing and somehow got caught in the first hinge joint. I couldn't fish it out with my fingers but we could poke a rod through and fish it out. I thought it was the CFI playing "how good preflight doe he do?" but the CFI isn't known for these games.

[Alaska Flying Wild music of doom]
I suppose it could have jammed the flaps:dunno: although it was hard to see in there and it could have been flying there for awhile.

[/Alaska Flying Wild music of doom]

I've seen missing sheet metal screws on these planes but I've never seen them captured on another part of the plane before.
 
Yeah, it's always fascinating what gets stuck in places, isn't it?

My personal favorite was when I did the preflight for one of my dual flights during primary training. As I was checking the ailerons, I noticed it was a bit harder to move than usual. Looking at the other wing revealed the problem - a mouse, by that time quite dead, that had burrowed it's way inside and got caught at the edge of one of the holes. Had to fish it out.

Skipped lunch.

EDIT: as I was writing this I realize it must have been the flaps, actually, because that's where the holes are. It's been about a year since it happened. I checked one wing, then the other, and that's where it was.
 
Last edited:
Nice find!
I've found tools on top of engine cylinders, rudder return springs hooked wrong.
And last week found the oil filler dipstick was not even in place.
 
I recall a fatal in Texas I belive when a student from a highschool flying program and his CFI went down. IIRC the cause was a wrench or screw driver left in the tail cone of the plane that apparently jammed the horizontal stabilizer.

So yes Very Good catch.
 
Seems like finding unexpected bits of metal in weird places is not that unusual then... I've had my fair share.

Which leads me to ask: how many of you have "special" preflight procedures you do that aren't on the "official" lists? for example, I always check the tension on the timer belt (right behind the prop on a 172), since I could imagine it would really suck for that sucker to come loose or tear during a flight. At least a couple of times, this has resulted in noticing a glint of metal in there, once a small screw, the other something I could not identify. And of course, since the mouse, I always look in all the holes :D
 
I found a 1/4" Snap On ratchet in a plane I bought and was working on.

Good find Capt.
 
>> I always check the tension on the timer belt (right behind the prop on a 172)

the alternator belt? Not aware of a timer belt...

If the alternator belt fails, you're on battery power, possibly with some noise/smell.

Not a huge deal...

Paul
 
PaulMillner said:
>> I always check the tension on the timer belt (right behind the prop on a 172)

the alternator belt? Not aware of a timer belt...

If the alternator belt fails, you're on battery power, possibly with some noise/smell.
Click to expand...

Oh, is that what that is?

*blush*

(EDIT: I didn't totally come up with this on my own, just so you know; I was told as such by my first instructor, and retained it although never thought to question the information)
 
I usually give mine as good a look as I can too, and reach in and give it a feel/mild tug too... but on 182 it's behind the engine and you gotta stick your arm in through the oil dipstick hole and shine a flashlight up in there. :)

Never found any wayward bits of metal yet, though. Sooner or later I will on some airframe, if not my own.

Found a cool wasp nest built in the vent air intake in the leading edge of the wing of a rental 172 once... wasps were (thankfully) gone, but had to nip at it (trading off with the CFI 'cause it was kinda awkward) with the Leatherman to break it up and remove all the pieces...

Bugs are amazing at how fast they can get into things and plug them up.

Whenever someone else does a walk-around of my airplane a favorite question is always, "So did you see the missing screw?"

There's a screw missing from a fairing and flying the same airplane all the time has its benefits, I guess... I know where it is and how many flights it took for it to wiggle out and disappear after it was replaced. We were trying to check it every time and tighten it too... the darn hole/backing is just oversized after all of these years.

Guess we'll have to oversize that screw or whatever the A&P recommends, this time around... it's a fairing that gets pulled for every Annual inspection and the darn screws end up loose after doing that at least 36 times.
 
Found a dead vole in my engine cowling and my CFI did not believe me because it was dark in there, the sun was bright, and he couldn't see it. I insisted and he got a mechanic with long tongs. It was dead but she told us freshly dead and so big we have no idea how it got in there.


Kimberly
 
OffCenter said:
OK, I give up.
What's a "vole"?
Click to expand...


This is a meadow vole, and exactly what my dead guy looked like:

MA0078_1l.jpg
http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/Mammals/meadow vole/MA0078_1l.jpg
 
Post maintenance/annual inspection flight requires a higher than normal inspection procedure. I just brought the Pawnee back from AD2007-08-07 repair. Rudder removed, horizontal and elevators removed, vert fin removed, two new control cables. Always check for freedom of movement and correct direction of travel to full limits when ever control surfaces have been removed.
 
GA: .22 bullet hole ... 'bout 6" aft of the fuel tank.

Airline: Watched a ramp rat smack the nacelle inlet with the belt loader,
leaving a crease. Gate agent was dismissive. Dead-heading pilot took my
report seriously and boarded early. Capt was down the stairs in a flash.
Flight canceled.
 
Last edited:
Bird Nests! Hate those darn Bird Nests... No matter how many Plugs you insert, a smaller bird will find a comfy hole...
 
My best pre-flight find was the paper service manual that was laying on top of one of my father's 172s engine. It was a rental and had been in service for some time. My best maintenance find was a pair of safety wire pliers on top of the engine after-cooler of a Malibu one day. It really made my day, because my pair had just broken. I used them today on the 172.

Kevin
 
I've found more than I'd like over the years...
-Wrenches, rags, etc inside cowling
-Needle-nose vise grips still gripping a wonky Dzus fastener on top of cowling
-Oil filler cap loose/missing
-Fixed rudder trim tab bent the wrong way
-Flat-spotted tires
-Brake fluid tube pinched almost flat where the gear leg exits the fuselage skin (my CFI and I didn't even notice until chief CFI ran onto the ramp to stop us)
-Busted (mechanical brake) cable at pulley... gotta wonder how log it was hanging in there by only a few strands
-The usual problems associated with nose gear assemblies
-Cessna seats that seem locked properly on their rails... until you trim for climbout...:yikes:
 
kmead said:
My best pre-flight find was the paper service manual that was laying on top of one of my father's 172s engine. It was a rental and had been in service for some time. My best maintenance find was a pair of safety wire pliers on top of the engine after-cooler of a Malibu one day. It really made my day, because my pair had just broken. I used them today on the 172.

Kevin
Click to expand...
LOL! I was always tempted to keep the tools I found, but it was worth it to walk into the maintenance hangar with it and watch the reactions. :yesnod:
 
FlySince9 said:
Bird Nests! Hate those darn Bird Nests... No matter how many Plugs you insert, a smaller bird will find a comfy hole...
Click to expand...

Forget the nest, but I did find a couple of very small eggs rolled up against the oil cooler at the end of the air take tube. Crushed them trying to remove them.
 
I found a bird nest in the tail a few years ago. Had five eggs in it. I cleaned it out, removing enough nest material to fill an empty Aeroshell box, and the birds watching all the time from their perch on the fuel truck. A week later, they hade started another nest. I cleaned that one out and they never came back.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top