Strut Attach Fitting Inspection

[NC95842]

Strut Attach Fitting Inspection

Lets all do a voluntary inspection of our strut attach fitting for our loved ones and for the FAA.

Please report the fallowing.

Year of production:
Model:
Land plane/Seaplane/Both:
History of Land/Sea operations:

Was there corrosion present in the wing strut attach fitting? (yes/no)

Were there pits from previous corrosion? (yes/no)

Where was the corrosion? (If any)

Upon close inspection, were there any signs of cracking whatsoever?

Date of inspection:



If you have a digital camera, please upload some pictures of your findings.

Note: Macro (flower icon) pictures will be the best.

For the sake of maintenance, I plan to put a copy of this inspection and photos in my log books.



I think we all owe this to the people who love us. Thank you for all your help in this. I will be adding my report and pictures soon.

[Robert Lees]

Re: Strut Attach Fitting Inspection

Year of production: 1946
Model:BC12D
Land plane/Seaplane/Both: Land
History of Land/Sea operations: land only, no sea

Was there corrosion present in the wing strut attach fitting? (yes/no) No

Were there pits from previous corrosion? (yes/no) No

Where was the corrosion? (If any) No

Upon close inspection, were there any signs of cracking whatsoever? No

Date of inspection: August 2002 (beadblasted and inspected) and again 21 August 2007

[wfoote]

Re: Strut Attach Fitting Inspection

Please report the fallowing.

Year of production: 1946
Model: BC12-D
Land plane/Seaplane/Both: Land
History of Land/Sea operations: Land

Was there corrosion present in the wing strut attach fitting? No

Were there pits from previous corrosion? No

Where was the corrosion? N/A

Upon close inspection, were there any signs of cracking whatsoever? No

Date of inspection: July 07

[Tailwind]

Re: Strut Attach Fitting Inspection

46 model BC12D used hard in Alaska on floats, skis and big tires its whole life.
I completed the inspection as per the bulletin. I found surface corrosion, but nothing too extreme. I brushed on some BMS 1011 primer to protect it and put it back together. A month later, I was looking at the fittings again during a normal preflight and noticed a crack. The crack was actually in the strut attach fitting, where the aft gear attach fitting welds on, below the described inspection area. I would recommend anyone doing this inspection to take a little more time and inspect the gear fitting as well. Esspecially if you thrash your plane like I do.

[fearofpavement]

Re: Strut Attach Fitting Inspection

Good job. That's the point of inspection: to head off future failures. Glad you found it before it made itself known in some obnoxious way...

[Guest]

Re: Strut Attach Fitting Inspection

46 model BC12D used hard in Alaska on floats, skis and big tires its whole life.
I completed the inspection as per the bulletin. I found surface corrosion, but nothing too extreme. I brushed on some BMS 1011 primer to protect it and put it back together. A month later, I was looking at the fittings again during a normal preflight and noticed a crack. The crack was actually in the strut attach fitting, where the aft gear attach fitting welds on, below the described inspection area. I would recommend anyone doing this inspection to take a little more time and inspect the gear fitting as well. Esspecially if you thrash your plane like I do.

Is there any chance that is a piece of tape or fabric?

It looks a bit odd to me, photos are deceptive I know.

Dave

[Acroeric]

Re: Strut Attach Fitting Inspection

looks like either some tape or a previous weld repair to me. I just looked at my fuselage and it isn't like that. . . . . great find!

[Tailwind]

Re: Strut Attach Fitting Inspection

No it definitely is not tape. I welded it up and it's fine now. After studying it a bit more, I'm conviunced that the crack was primarily from landing gear loads. The rear tab of the landing gear fitting is welded to the bottom of the wing strut fitting. In my case, it cracked between the longeron and the wing strut fitting. On skis, the rear fitting takes a beating because that's where the rear check cable attaches. Anyway, it's all good now.

[perryv1]

Re: Strut Attach Fitting Inspection

Year: 1946
Model BC12D-1
Land/Sea/Skis: All
Corrosion: No
Previous Corrosion: No
Cracking:None
Date: May 08

[btbell]

Re: Strut Attach Fitting Inspection

1946
BC12D
Land plane
Was there corrosion present in the wing strut attach fitting? (no)
Were there pits from previous corrosion? (no)
Upon close inspection, were there any signs of cracking whatsoever? (no)
Date of inspection: 8/15/08
Note: minor surface rust on one side only, treated by AP

[mulwyk]

Re: Strut Attach Fitting Inspection

My IA very closely inspected the attach fittings of my '46 BC12-D in May as part of her pre-cover inspection. The plane has always been a land plane and was in storage for many years. There are several old repairs in the tail area and before blast-and-prime there were several areas of light surface rust.

The IA found no pitting, no corrosion, and no cracking at the strut attach fittings.