2012 Annual Inspection (vii)

The last part that N631S needed – the seat roller-assembly bracket (previously discussed) – showed up yesterday. It was installed and the airplane has been closed up. Basically, we're done. All that remains is for Mike the IA to do a run-up, me to do a brief test flight, and Mike the Maintenance Manager to work up the invoice.

$429.66

The old seat roller bracket, pictured at left, is my new high-priced paper weight. I estimate that it weighs about 80 grams, so that's about $5.37/gram (or, if you prefer, $153.40/ounce). As usual, if it says "airplane" on it, it's pricey. And at least Cessna parts are generally available no matter how old your airplane may be. There are lots of folks flying other manufacturers' aircraft for whom parts are unavailable at any price. They wind up needing to fabricate parts from scratch to keep their airplanes flying. Therefore, I shouldn't complain!

While I was at the hangar this morning the guys opened the door and pushed N631S out under a cloudy Connecticut sky, making room for the next airplane. Assuming no squawks today from the run-up or the test flight, we're done for another year. Tomorrow afternoon N631S and I will be off to the DC area in the usual way.

(Continued...)

Tweet