Skylight removal and skin over

[sbmackie]

Looked at an airplane today. In 1995, it had a very extensive fuselage and wing refresh. According to logs, the top top skin was removied, the spars were inspected and treated with a corrosion proofer of some sort, and the skylights were replaced with a solid piece of alumninum. Seems like a good idea to me from a leak standpoint.

The A/I doing the prebuy indicated this was a good thing, as it removed a source of leaks. I don't have much experience with the type; is thsi something that is common, and thought of as good, bad, or neutral?

Thanks
Scott

[a64pilot]

I would say neutral. In my opinion they are pretty much useless.
My Maule had a very large skylight, and only very rarely did I ever uncover it, it was for me as I’m in the South just a source of heat and had very little utility.

However it’s my opinion that skylights shouldn’t leak, if one does, fixit, it’s not hard or expensive, and why this may sound bad, but if you can’t afford a hanger, you can’t afford an airplane.

I believe one could easily consider removal a major alteration, remember installation of a tail beacon or visors and even some clocks are majors.

I expect my airplane to outlive me,and one of the best ways to do that is keep it in a hanger.

I believe spar carry through are a potential problem, both mine have been replaced, but I don’t think skylight leaks were the cause. I think being left outside was.

[6643]

They're not bad to have if you fly a lot of pattern work in busy areas.

[8424]

"but if you can’t afford a hanger, you can’t afford an airplane."

Jody, don't go to any airports in Alaska...you may have a heart attack! There are a lot of pilots living way above their pay grade! Especially in the bush!

If I would have had to wait till I could afford a hangar, I probably never would have bought an airplane.

Steve A H

[sbmackie]

Not sure how the leap was made of parking outside. I've got a porta port secured.

[8233]

"but if you can’t afford a hanger, you can’t afford an airplane."

Jody, don't go to any airports in Alaska...you may have a heart attack! There are a lot of pilots living way above their pay grade! Especially in the bush!

If I would have had to wait till I could afford a hangar, I probably never would have bought an airplane.

Steve A H

That's no joke. It is staggering the difference in the cost of a hangar depending on what area you live in. Except for 1 airport with about a 10 year waiting list, you can figure $250 or more a month for a hangar in Kansas City for example. I know there's worse out there as well.

[6643]

Twenty years ago I priced a hangar in Nashua, NH, which is just outside the edge of the 30NM veil around Boston. $525 and up with a waiting list.

[5422]

Looked at an airplane today. In 1995, it had a very extensive fuselage and wing refresh. According to logs, the top top skin was removied, the spars were inspected and treated with a corrosion proofer of some sort, and the skylights were replaced with a solid piece of alumninum. Seems like a good idea to me from a leak standpoint.

The A/I doing the prebuy indicated this was a good thing, as it removed a source of leaks. I don't have much experience with the type; is thsi something that is common, and thought of as good, bad, or neutral?

Thanks
Scott

If I had to restore one again I would do away with the skylights. Never really used them and just another path for water to seep in unless sealed really good. Some older shoulder harness mods had a two holes above rear carry through spar to access the hardware. They had metal plugs that always seemed to need constant attention to keep sealed. Water just seemed to pool in that spar When we restored our plane we ended up replacing both carry thru spars due to corrosion. If the roof skin was replaced make sure the two curved stiffener hat channels (originally tack welded) are reinstalled.

Recently inspected carry thru spars and new roof with no skylights.....I think it’s a good thing.

[8424]

sbmackie,

I apologize for hijacking your thread. I was just giving Jody a hard time. As an IA/A&P I'm sure he's seen lots of damage that would not have been done if the planes had been hangared. I'm glad you have one right from the start.

Jody and all the other IA/A&P's that are part of our association give us good advice and I'm very appreciative of their input. They keep us dangerous owners on this forum headed down the right path!

Good luck on your buying endeavor.

Steve A H

[a64pilot]

I have seen a lot of corrosion over the years that didn’t come from rain, it came from condensation formed from everyday Solar heating and cooling of the airframe, and things like spar carry throughs are natural water traps, and are difficult to inspect.
Solar heating destroys interiors and avionics and wiring, UV destroys paint and windows and interiors etc.

Our little 140’s have I hope become classics, it’s not been long ago that they shared the cheap trainer status of 150’s and152’s.

A silly reason that I got a 140 as opposed to a 150 or 152 is that when you go somewhere in a 140, you arrive in a classic airplane, arrive in an a 150 and you don’t, that and I like tail wheels, because not everyone can land one.

I don’t know how many 120’s and 140’s there are left, but I would like to think that we are stewards of the aircraft. Mine is 12 years older then me, and I feel sure it will outlive me, if I take care of it.

A hanger will add decades to an aircraft, and significantly decrease the expense of maintenance. I don’t ever expect to repaint mine, I repainted it about a decade ago and the paint looks as good now as it did when it was fresh, because it’s always been hangered, if it hadn’t then it would likely need repainting again soon.

Mine is all metal, but fabric stored outside will require regular replacement, and what does that cost? It could well be that fabric that needs replacing along with a worn out engine could be the end of the airplane due to costs to make it airworthy.

For years in order to get a good hanger that was affordable meant an almost 40 mile drive, that sucked.

I like classics, especially if they outperform new. Right now I’m looking for something we can travel in, and I’m sort of looking at a Meyers 200, and I bet that ones stored outside are beyond saving.