How are you going to handle the SID?

[edasmus]

Thanks Roger. This is a much more constructive response. Hang in there! )

Thanks as well Dave. You definitely have an advantage that I do not have. This whole thing, as most things in life, all comes down to money. My next question to you is what did you find as you “dye penned the wing and strut attach points?” How did all the structural hardware look that you replaced? This is exactly the type of info that a mere mortal like me needs to know when trying to decide whether to retire my airplane or not. By the way, I can supply you with plenty of therapy if you want to come work on my plane. ;o)

Ed

[Mark Campbell]

Sky master02 You are right on, I like you style!

[skymstr02]

Ed, The dye pen results were negative. I do not know what the removed hardware looked like, as I never saw them. The airplane was disassembled in Thailand in 1974, and I bought it in 1989, so the airplane was in storage for 15 years. I purchased the plane in a disassembled condition. I purchased all new hardware when I re-assembled the airplane.

The O-2A wing structure is slightly different from its civillian counterpart, to the point that the wing will not mate up with a civil fuselage.

[hharney]

As some of you know, I have invested a large chunk of change into my aircraft last year. I'll cut to the chase, I am not looking back. I am going to fly my airplane like I always planned to fly it. It will be on display at Sun N' Fun and many more events after that. My family will fly with me and I will have faith in it's abilities. I will continue to do inspections as outlined in the SM but with a new awareness.

Enough said, I think you get my drift. I don't want to sound arrogant by any means, I hope to sound optimistic and passionate.

I think this is what we have learned:

1. Our aircraft, as many others, are an aging fleet.
2. Other aircraft manufacturers will follow the path that Cessna is taking.
3. Don't feel like Skymasters are getting picked on, other models are following.
4. There is no stopping this action, maybe we can hopefully influence it in our direction.
5. Unless these inspections become AD's we will NOT have to comply
6. Some of the 33 or more SID's are reasonable and have accurate rational
6. Going through this exercise has created a completely new focus on many aspects of our aircraft. Even Don Nieser said that he and his shop has started looking at the aircraft with a better and more concise program. I think we all can learn more about our aircraft because of this SID program.

That's my course and I'm sticking to it.
See ya'll in Florida

[edasmus]

Thanks for the info Dave. Herb, I expected nothing less from you. I do not think you are arrogant. Passionate, yes, but not arrogant. Keep the responses coming people. I want to hear what owners are going to do when the SID is implemented.

Ed

[N5ZX]

My plan for when the SID hits:
Safety is my first and foremost consideration....always.
That being said, I rarely respond well to coercion, and I am yet to be convinced that this maneuver is anything more than an attempt to ground older aircraft to generate sales for newer models.
However...I struggle to keep an open mind and force myself to be objective.
I'm a private operator, so I will not be required (at first) to comply. But I will be very eager to hear what others find when they do their inspections.

If there is evidence of this being a rational concern, I will have the inspection performed.

If the SID is expanded to include Private operators, I will likely NOT do the inspection unless others start reporting that they are finding problems.

If the SID evolves into a regulatory requirement (AD, etc) then I will comply and perform the inspection.....and keep tracking others findings.

If the SID evolves into a RECURRING regulatory Requirement, then I will comply and perform the inspection ONCE and then investigate whether changing the registrtation to an "Experimental" catagory would circumvent the recurrency. And keep tracking others findings.

In the far more likely event that the insurance company chooses to join the frey and require SID compliance as a criteria for coverage, then I will self-insure...and keep tracking other findings.

I imagine most pilots are like me. We love aviation largely because of the sense of independance....that means we dont like getting pushed. I think if Cessna had approached this whole subject differently, the fleet would be more receptive. Regrettably, they chose a less participatory approach which has polarized the matter into "us vs them" and planted a vigorously growing seed of distrust.

In short. I did a lot of research before choosing the 337 type. I like the plane on paper. I like it in the hangar. I like it in the air. I dont think there is a "better" plane out there. I wont give up on it just because of the SID. I will comply if I must. I will comply if I should. But I wont comply merely on the conjecture that something MIGHT be wrong.

Thats my decision-making tree....for now. As I have said so often, I'm still new...still learning. I will watch others, listen to their input, and will quite likely adjust my approach along the way.
Cole

[John Hoffman]

Not to steal your post but your decision tree is where I am except I might drop out a few of the lower branches, that is I dont plan on doing it unless absolutely forced to. At that point I am optimistic that operators with experience will have found ways to perform it for less than the estimates you hear now. Another consideration is that if you take the wings/booms off you have it ready for shipping and at that point I think you have a value added proposition where it is marketable to the world as a desirable recently certified aircraft.

[skymstr02]

Originally Posted by N5ZX

investigate whether changing the registrtation to an "Experimental" catagory would circumvent the recurrency.

Cole,
Aircraft are not registered Experimental, they are certified into the experimental category. There are many sub categories in the experimental category, (amateur built, exhibition, R & D, etc.) and you would have a difficult time convincing the friendlies that you wish to change your category from standard to experimental to circumvent a regulation (FAR 39).
Also, depending on how the AD is written, they may also include aircraft certified in any category, to include experimental.
There are also many restrictions placed on experimental aircraft that are not on standard category airplanes.
Dave