Cant agree with Mike on this one........ It has been a very common practice around most mechanics to check the bottom longerons ( especially on floatplanes & aircraft landed on saltwater beaches) carefully about every foot or so up ALL the bottom tubing. Close attention around rear seaplane fittings , between front fittings etc. The tubing will RING right out when tapped with a small hammer and a prick punch; if it sounds "flat" it is suspect and probably bad , hit it harder, it will go right thru........the tiny dimple left behind on a solid tube means nothing. Dont let anyone tell you otherwise. I checked a PA12 last summer that had obviously been checked before, still rings like a bell .
Check it , if its good its good. If it isnt
cut em out and replace[emoji6]
The 12s are famous like the 11s for problems both being 70 year old tubing. This one spent most of its life in Nebraska and was never on floats . Of course it is certainly still possible to miss corrosion, but a simple punch test is always a good place to start. Pull the tail up,
Check it yourself, done in 15 mins! Now you atleast have a referance point. Anyone telling you the tiny dimple from a punch test, may cause problems later is just not up with the fact there are hundreds of fuselarges that have been tested multiple times over the last 70 years that havent
Caused ANY problems yet. If the .05 raised part around the dimple consirns you simply file em flat before you prime or powercoat. Jm2cw.
PS . We used to skip the linseed oil on new tubes replaced
and use ACF 50 instead.......your mileage may very.
Sent from my LM-X210 using
SuperCub.Org mobile app