Aircraft TIED Down Airspeed reads 40MPH

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MoonlightVFR
Posts: 624
Joined: Sun Jan 02, 2005 5:55 pm

Aircraft TIED Down Airspeed reads 40MPH

Post by MoonlightVFR »

Happened decades ago

Phone call from FBO Festus MO airport. Your aircraft ready for pick up.

Went to office of FBO ; PAID BILL. (Annual Inspection) went / out to airplane ready to fly home airport.- Started the pre flight procedure. Inside cockpit Noted two glaring discrepancies (1) Aircraft still moored, tied down - AIRSPEED Indicator reads 40 MPH Tied DOWN!!

Custom headliner ripped. N2890C had been custom upholstered to match my favorite at the time auto mobile.

I went back to FBO office, advised AS instrument. You BLEW it up with shop compressed air. Fix, replace the AS instrument immediately. They Did. I remained extraordinarily calm. Never mentioned a claim for the custom headliner.
gradyb, '54 B N2890C
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ghostflyer
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Re: Aircraft TIED Down Airspeed reads 40MPH

Post by ghostflyer »

Yes , but was it a red painted aircraft ?
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MoonlightVFR
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Joined: Sun Jan 02, 2005 5:55 pm

Re: Aircraft TIED Down Airspeed reads 40MPH

Post by MoonlightVFR »

Paint was brand new Two simple stripes Yellow and Green .
gradyb, '54 B N2890C
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GAHorn
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Re: Aircraft TIED Down Airspeed reads 40MPH

Post by GAHorn »

MoonlightVFR wrote:Paint was brand new Two simple stripes Yellow and Green .
Well THAT EXPLAINS A LOT! No wonder owners of Green airplanes think they are fast... their airspeed indicators indicate FORTY when SITTING TIED DOWN! :lol:

(Back to reality: It really does amaze me what some shops will do. I witnessed an almost identical error in a King Air when the shop inspector told a floor-mechanic (Have no idea if a qualified A&P) to blow out the static system and the man did exactly as he was told. (No one had instructed him to disconnect the system from instruments beforehand.) :roll: Cost them six instruments, two encoders, a pressurization-controller, and a flight-management system overhaul. I seem to recall it was over $18K in parts and labor.

(This was the same mechanic who, when changing out a PT6 on our Cheyenne-II was about to simply CUT the entire engine harness at the firewall rather than disconnect the cannon-plugs on the various engine sensors... and BTW, this was back in 1979 at Atlantic Aviation-HOU …. an authorized service center! It often happens at big shops...I found that frequently it's the small shops which are most talented/careful, perhaps because they specialize more, perhaps because they aren't as diligent at punching-in on a time-clock.)
'53 B-model N146YS SN:25713
50th Anniversary of Flight Model. Winner-Best Original 170B, 100th Anniversary of Flight Convention.
An originality nut (mostly) for the right reasons. ;)
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