Trying to grasp the AD for wing spars

[hharney]

AD's are mandatory. SID's are not mandatory. I think you may be confusing the two.

The wing spar AD is mandatory at 5,000 hours airframe time (3,000 for utility use).

I have heard costs in the $2K to $3K range for the wing spar AD compliance at 5,000 hours

[YankeeClipper]

Obviously I'm a complete neophyte--not only to Skymasters, but to flying. So I can only assume you are referring to inspection only.

The $60k number I saw was actually from an AVWeb article that appears to have quote you about a SID that involved wing removal. Is this a different issue or requirement? Does it not address a risk that could affect all owners?


http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news..._201736-1.html

Thanks for the response.

[hharney]

The AD 78-09-05 does not require the wings to be removed. Access is gained to the spar and is inspected using an eddy current device (NDI)

The SID that is referred to in the report from AvWeb is the inspection of the attach points of the wings and struts. Because the process requires the bolts to be removed for inspection the inspection is estimated to be very expensive. In order to remove the bolts that attach the wings, the entire tail and boom assembly must be removed first. This is the only method known that will minimize the potential damage that could occur by performing this inspection. If some kind of jig were to be developed that could support the structure maybe the bolts could be safely removed for inspection. To my knowledge no such device exists.

The AD attached is a walk in the park compared to these SID inspections. Although never taken lightly this AD has been performed on many Skymaster's already and may be best to use an experienced shop for the inspection.