Salt in the wound..

[Skyrys62]

After seeing this video update of a plane damaged by the Appleton tornado, it helps verify all the "don't buy a plane from Florida" comments.
So many pre-buy/corrosion gotchas to watch for anymore.
It's nice to know of all the things to look for, but man it makes plane shopping rough lol.
And how do you even catch this type without peeling skin?

edit: skip to 3:30 if you are in a hurry

 

[lancie00]

Guess they need to name this plane....... Rusty

 

[Velocity173]

AC-50 or Corrosion X work for intergranuler corrosion or just surface corrosion?

 

[FormerHangie]

These airplanes are getting old, old, old. How would you track where a 50 year old airplane has been its entire life.

Sorry, but we need some new airplanes, we can't fly the legacy fleet forever.

 

[Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe]

how do you even catch this type without peeling skin?

Obviously not with a mirror and flashlight. A borescope would let you get a lot further in.

 

[RyanB]

How would you track where a 50 year old airplane has been its entire life.

ADS-B! ......Oh wait....

 

[ktup-flyer]

Rip it apart and stick cameras in all the holes

 

[Bell206]

it helps verify all the "don't buy a plane from Florida" comments.

Unfortunately you would have to include every state that borders an ocean or the Gulf. It's all about how the aircraft is maintained rather than where it's located. Have worked around the Gulf coast for over 30 years and seen both helicopters and airplanes manage corrosion issues with great success. However, location does matter when it comes to the pre-buy, but usually in my experience there will be other telltale signs the aircraft was not maintained properly before you need to check in every nook and cranny. And just as an FYI, intergranular corrosion starts during the metal manufacturing process and is not environment related.

 

[kgruber]

AC-50 or Corrosion X work for intergranuler corrosion or just surface corrosion?

Nothing works for intergranular corrosion. It must be replaced.

 

[Skyrys62]

Agree. Most all of the comments I hear though specifically name Florida.

Also, go to 5:00 min into the video, they say bore scope not working in this case due to location, but I do agree that looking for other signs of corrosion could make you want to dig deeper.
Additionally, at the 5 min mark they are talking like this was directly related to salty environment.
Maybe they just don't really know...
They do say they are getting a bore scope to check on other aircraft. I can't imagine not having one as A&P honestly.
Mention replacing the entire wing too.

 

[Bell206]

this was directly related to salty environment.

FYI: for the surface corrosion to get as bad as it was on the wing skin, that aircraft was not maintained on any type of corrosion preventative program or it was not applied correctly. In my experience, that would shutdown any potential purchase.

I can't imagine not having one as A&P honestly.

Never owned one. Would rent a commercial quality boroscope (which are rather pricey) if needed to make any mx determinations.

 

[Skyrys62]

if needed to make any mx determinations.

hmm.. definitely learning here.
And I don't mean this sarcastically...I just reckoned that being an A&P was very much about making mx determinations, and bore scope would be a regular tool.
Most all of our A&P's here do pre-buys, annuals, etc... but we don't have many shops around to spread the work, so....

 

[Kenny Phillips]

These airplanes are getting old, old, old. How would you track where a 50 year old airplane has been its entire life.

Sorry, but we need some new airplanes, we can't fly the legacy fleet forever.

You can buy all the new airplanes that you can afford.

 

[Bell206]

I just reckoned that being an A&P was very much about making mx determinations, and bore scope would be a regular tool.

And you reckon correctly. But the difference is when I make those mx determinations it's through a commercial $10K Olympus boroscope and not a $300 HD special or I-Phone add on. It is (was) a bit of a stretch to justify a $10K+ investment for something I might use once every 2 or 3 years. Realistically, boroscopes are a fairly "new" tool at the GA level due to the cheap versions on the market now, but I have yet to need one when performing a pre-buy or inspection except when dealing with certain turbine engines in the past 30 years or so.