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HDHP: Steve Pierce - Inspecting the PA-18 Super Cub - PART ONE

sj

sj

Staff member
Northwest Arkansas
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Steve Pierce has built and rebuilt dozens of Super Cubs. In this Hump Day Hangar presentation, he shares with us his tips and tricks on performing an annual inspection - how to do it, and what you will find.

THIS WILL BE A THREE PART SERIES! PART ONE IS ALREADY ON YOUTUBE (LINK BELOW).

If you have registered for other HDHP presentations, you are already registered and can join up with the meeting details you received.

To register and join on Zoom, go here: https://bit.ly/2XBRxsp

Watch it on Youtube Live (or after the fact) here: https://youtu.be/xVT5MOw4aM0

We know everybody is not awake or can attend at this time so all presentations are recorded and saved on YouTube for future viewing with the link above.

Check out ALL the HDPD Presentations here! click me
 

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So I plan to use Piper's PA18 Inspection Report as a guideline for this discussion. Because the forum software does weird stuff to uploaded PDFs I have uploaded the checklist to Google Documents and you can download a copy here. Piper's Inspection Report puts your eyes on pretty much everything that I have seen as a problem or that needs service at the annual inspection. Busy preparing photos and video of common issues, problems, discrepancies I find.
 
Steve Pierce said:
So I plan to use Piper's PA18 Inspection Report as a guideline for this discussion. Because the forum software does weird stuff to uploaded PDFs I have uploaded the checklist to Google Documents and you can download a copy here. Piper's Inspection Report puts your eyes on pretty much everything that I have seen as a problem or that needs service at the annual inspection. Busy preparing photos and video of common issues, problems, discrepancies I find.
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THANK YOU for doing these Steve!!! Just registered and really looking forward [emoji106] Cheers Philly


Sent from my iPhone using SuperCub.Org mobile app
 
So I recently inspected a very nice, pretty much stock Super Cub I rebuilt a few years ago. I tried to take pictures of most everything called out in Piper's Super Cub Inspection Report and put them in a photo album. Over the last few weeks I have been adding pictures of the issues I have found over the years in these areas to this album, a massive photo dump. Today after flying this morning I have been sitting in the air conditioning organizing these photos into the order in which they are addressed in the inspection report. The more I find and look the more I remember that I need to interdict into this discussion. Therefore it might be quite long and perhaps broken into several parts. I would say have a note pad ready. I don't realize what I have found and seen over the last 20 plus years until I start going over all these pictures. I tend to take it all for granted but it has served me well and hopefully this presentation will help others find and fix the same type of issues before they get serious, expensive or worse. Now to quote Mike Patey, "Back to Work". ;)
 
Folks, if we can keep Steve's tin can on a string internet from getting torn up again, this is going to be another great program - and one that will be referred to over and over again in the years ahead. It may end up being two episodes, we shall see!

sj
 
And luckily for those watching EAA's webinars they are ending right when this one starts.
 
Great job, Steve! There was a LOT of top secret info packed into that video! Some of those old "job security" minded AI's are rolling over in their graves!

Tune in next week folks for Part Two! https://youtu.be/H1wHtj3uz1I

sj
 
Thanks Steve, I can only imagine the amount of time you have invested in the rest of us.

Doug
 
Great Job, I watched it today and need to replay a couple more times taking notes. Very impressive, thank you very much.
Tom
 
I have assisted in many PA-18 annuals and 100 hour inspections and seen some of this stuff but I found several good tips in here. This is especially good now that I am almost exclusively involved with fabric covered Pipers.
Thank you Steve Pierce for taking this serious dedication of time and thoroughness.
 
Steve thanks to your help I have now a marvellous PA28-95 restored and flying. I watched your useful youtube seminars. How can I get your annual indpection checklist pdf and do you have it fir the C90?
thanks again and happy new year.
Gian from Italy
 
Steve Pierce said:
Hi Gian, glad you found the videos useful. Here is a link to download the inspection checklist. It is the original Piper checklist and does not differentiate between the Lycomings and the Continental Super Cubs. https://www.supercub.org/member/tech.php
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Thank you for posting this link Steve!!! There's some GREAT stuff in there!!

I fitted my 12 with a Scott 3200 (and serviced it in line with your brilliant YouTube films - thanks again!!!) a couple of months ago and bit the bullet and used the tension springs it came with, rather than the maule anti shimmy compression springs I've always used. It looks and is working great and made the rudder pedals much easier to push when taxying, although there's a definite time lag between pushing a pedal and feeling the steering influence, which always makes me remember a comment in another tailwheel post along the lines of "the tailwheel doesn't turn the aircraft (like nosewheel steering) it follows along" and it does kind of feel like with the tension springs the TW is SUGGESTING rather than commanding a turn :smile: I'm wondering if maybe I haven't got enough tension in the springs and will try to borrow a fish weighing scale or similar to check, or is there another way to gauge the 25-30lb compression load?
 
All I do on tail wheel steering springs is use the springs under the Piper part number for the Scott 3200 and usually end up with a slight amount of tension. I have never really noticed a lag in control that was an issue for me.
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Steve Pierce said:
All I do on tail wheel steering springs is use the springs under the Piper part number for the Scott 3200 and usually end up with a slight amount of tension. I have never really noticed a lag in control that was an issue for me.
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That looks pretty much like my Setup Steve and I’m relieved to see!! I’ve taken out a link from each side since this pic

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I just saw these on YT and in either part 2 or 3 (or both) I remember you mentioning a problem in the empennage with some banner tow cubs. However, I cannot find it in either. Would you have some reference to this problem that I could see?

Thanks in advance,
Mark
 
I might have mentioned the issues with the Husky on the rear stabilizer carry-thru that started out as a service bulletin but I believe is now an AD. When I talked to my friend who was at the time the director of maintenance at Aviat he told me they were finding cracks at those rear carry-thru tubes on banner tow planes.
 
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