Where and how do you get a good annual? Over the last 21 years I've owned the Coupe, I've only had about five annuals in my local area. For the others, I traveled from 50 to 150 miles to a mechanic I respected. About 6 of those years, I or the plane have been grounded and didn't get an annual. For those people, you need to schedule the work well ahead of time.
Then there's the problem of trying to get minor or immediate maintenance done at your home field when you go elsewhere for the annuals. I don't blame the local FBOs at all. My current FBO is fully booked up and doesn't mind if I take the plane elsewhere. I now (last year and the year before) take my plane to John Wright, Sr. John is exceedingly thorough. He may also be the best Coupe mechanic in the world. When people take their planes to him for the first annual after decades of just any old mechanic, they need to budget (in my casual observation) about $4,000 and be prepared for more. When I took my plane to John a year and a half ago, it had set for five years in a fully enclosed hangar without running. (I was, and still am, grounded for diabetes. This may be solved in the next few weeks.) His bill was for about $4,500 which included some used parts. I spent another $1,500+ on things like three tires and tubes, ELT, battery, intercom, windows and windshield, headset repair and purchase, etc. I couldn't afford to have the vacuum system overhauled to get the gyro instruments working. I'm strictly VFR, so they're just placarded for now. My upholstery is original, my paint is 36 years old and showing it. The instrument panel is a hodge-podge of instruments fitted in where ever. But it is in good mechanical condition. I'd trust it with my daughter's life. You can do one of several things: 1. Have you local mechanic do the work. Download the annual inspection checklist from Dave's Ercoupe page. (I wrote it with the advise of John Wright Sr. and several other nationally respected Coupe mechanics -- they had the knowledge, I did the collation, checking, and writing.) Get all the appropriate books from Univair and Skyport. (Ask me tomorrow -- it's past my bed time.) Tell the mechanic to research all the correct procedures and do all the stuff on the check list. This won't be cheap. You'll be paying for his education. Then again, who else do you have who knows the special stuff? 2. Get the checklist, then talk over each item with the mechanic and choose a subset you can afford. 3. Get the checklist, then do everything he'll let you do while he checks your work and does the things you can't do. Try to do it all the first time. 4. Let him choose what to do. 5. Some combination of the above. 6. Or get an appointment with a really good Coupe mechanic. I haven't been paying attention while I've been grounded but there may be some, other than John Wright Sr. & Jr. in the Midwest. Note: the annual a year after the expensive one was $380. -- Ed Burkhead Peoria, Ill. Ercoupe N3802H, 415-D __________________________________________________________________________ ______ To unsubscribe from this list please send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] _____________________________________________________________ Keep up with breaking news! Join our Hot Topics list. http://www.topica.com/lists/breakingnews/t/12
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