June is the month for me to perform the annual condition inspection on the RV-9A. This year I really had a lack of flying time (just 90 hours since the last inspection). I blame this mostly due to the lousy weather we had (lots of rain) this winter, along with all of my A&P school commitments. I had no real squawks of note to work on, so this annual was a pretty straightforward inspection. I also don’t have any new “projects” to work on at this annual. I picked up the oil change supplies the month before and have everything else I might need to complete the condition inspection.
My oil had under 20 hours of time on it, so I wasn’t in any hurry to change it. I usually change the oil at 30-40 hours (or every 4 months). It has been 4 months since I changed the oil. I decided defer the engine inspections to instead start with inspecting the fuselage and cabin items. The first step is to clean and inspect all of the airplane surfaces. I went for a quick flight to go get some lunch, then I came back to the hangar and sprayed down and wiped off the wings, tail, and fuselage surfaces. No issues found with the skins. I have been monitoring a small surface crack in the fiberglass canopy fairing. It looks like more of a paint defect than a real crack. I’ve measured it over the years and it has lengthened a little bit. It is in a location that you wouldn’t expect a crack to form. It is right in the middle of the fairing below the windscreen and is just about 3/4″ long. It is where the canopy skin and fiberglass transition to the canopy plexiglass.
Another item I worked on was the propeller inspection. I had a couple of little nicks and chips in the face of the prop and along the steel leading edge. I mixed up some cab-o-sil and epoxy to fill those, then I let it harden overnight. The next day I filed down the hardened epoxy filled spots on the prop, and sanded everything smooth, then sprayed on some flat black paint. The spinner was removed and checked for cracks and wear, then I re-torqued the prop bolts.
I took off the tail fairing and checked all of the bolts that hold the tail on. No issues and everything was tight. There is a new annual Van’s Service Bulletin 00036-REV3 for inspecting the outboard elevator hinges where they are attached to the aft horizontal stabilizer spar. I used my borescope to grab some interior shots. No cracks found!
The next area I inspected was the aft fuselage. I removed the baggage bulkhead and lubed the various elevator control rods and pitch servo links. The ELT got tested and passed. I took off the flap access covers and lubed up the linkages there. The seat pans were removed and the rest of the control linkages were lubed and inspected. I removed the fuel filter and opened it up. It had just a few little fibers and flakes of debris inside. The rudder and brake pedals got some lubrication. I checked all of the lighting inside and out, and then I ran the Dynon Skyview backup battery tests on the displays. Both batteries tested good and lasted the required 45 minutes of powering the displays. All of the wiring harnesses were inspected.
After I got all of the interior parts cleaned and reinstalled, I did a quick flight over to Gillespie Airport in El Cajon to meet up with another RV owner friend who agreed to lend me his tools and fixtures to do the Lycoming Service Bulletin 388C wobble test. My engine has over 1000 hours, so it is recommended by Lycoming Service Instruction 1485A to do the Service Bulletin to check the valve guide clearances. At just around 600 hours on my engine, I did have a sticky valve, so I’ve got some experience with inspecting this area. I have the upgraded valve guides and they are supposed to be checked at 1000 hours, or halfway to the 2000 hour recommended TBO.
My wife and I took a week of travel to Atlanta, GA with her engineering students who competed in the Skills USA National competition. After we got back from that I took a couple of days off from the inspection in order to study for my FAA Powerplant written test (which I passed). Then I was back at the remaining inspection tasks. I wouldn’t normally split up the condition inspection, but this was the only way I’m going to get this done before the end of the month.
I did a quick flight out to the coast to warm up the oil, then I got down to starting all of the engine inspection work. I took off the cowling and set it aside, then I got set up to do the compression test while the engine was still warm, and I drained off the old oil. The compressions were all in the 70’s. My ancient compression tester quick release connector leaks a bit of air at the spark plug adapter, so I’m sure the real numbers are possibly a bit higher. The real important inspection is to use the borescope on all of the valves, pistons and cylinder walls. Everything looked good. I also borescoped the exhaust pipes and took a look at the muffler cones. One side looks a little melted, but I didn’t see any cracking or blockage.
I started on the wobble tests and after figuring out the best way to do everything I did the first two cylinders before calling it a day. The next morning I finished off the remaining two cylinders. All of the exhaust valves had the required play in the valve guides. I saw 0.019″ to 0.021″ on them, and the spec is to be between 0.015″ and 0.030″. Next up was servicing the air filter, and checking the P-mags. Timing was fine, and the spark plug wires all checked out with the ohmmeter. I cleaned up the plug adapters, then prepped all of the new NGK BR8ES automotive spark plugs. I got them installed and torqued, put the wires on them, and lastly did a cleaning of the fuel injector nozzles. I filled the engine with fresh oil and Camguard additive.
Wings were next up, so I took off the inspection panels and did the Van’s Service Bulletin 16-03-28 inspection of the aileron hinge rivets for any cracking. None found. I tested the pitot heat, lubed up the aileron control rods and flap hinges, then started on the landing gear inspections.
I took off the wheel pants and checked the brake pads. Looks like I still have sufficient depth on the pads, so I will leave these alone. I will probably have to replace the brake pads in the next 50-75 hours. The main gear tires are definitely worn down. I still have visible tread, but there are some signs of aging on the rubber. I will order some new tires and tubes for replacement in the next month. The Desser Monster retreads that are on the airplane have 500 landings, which is about double what I got with the normal tires from Van’s. I topped off the air pressure in all of the tires, cleaned up the wheel pants and checked the break out forces on the nose wheel.
There was a recent thread on vansairforce.net about Ham radio licenses. It prompted me to find and pull out my FCC paperwork and check to see when my renewal was due. The license is good for 10 years, and the airplane has been flying for over 9 years. Sure enough, my license had expired. I went online and after about an hour, I was able to get my license renewed for $35. I only use the radio license to run my APRS tracker.
I wasn’t able to get everything completed by June 30, so it looks like my new annual month will be July. I filled out all of the logbook entries on July 1, so my next annual is due before July 31, 2024. I pulled the airplane out of the hangar, ran up the engine, performed all of the run up checks and made sure there were no leaks or issues, then I put the cowlings back on.
I took the airplane around the pattern, and then flew around the local area. The RV-9A has 1071.3 hours on the Hobbs meter. If you want to see more photos, check out my Phase 2 gallery online.
Flying Over The Hills 