I'm taking my 180K out to Beegle's to have this done at the end of this month. They did it five years ago and I think I operate my 180 gently so I'm hopeful that all will be OK. I'll report back if they find something significant.

slowmover wrote:I'm taking my 180K out to Beegle's to have this done at the end of this month. They did it five years ago and I think I operate my 180 gently so I'm hopeful that all will be OK. I'll report back if they find something significant.

Beegle's has a rep for doing great work, but I'm kinda surprised by this--
it was my impression that Beegles just did rebuilds, not maintenance.

I'm curious how many people here have installed the QMI (now McFarlane) hockey stick repair kit,
and if anyone did it as "pre-emptive strike"-- in other words, no damage found but installed it anyways?
A local shop recently did just that to a friend's old 182--
just the kit is almost $3400, so I figure the job has gotta be all of four grand (if not more) when the dust settles.
I was kinda surprised, as the owner tends to be "frugal" (like me),
and while the airplane in question is a pretty good old plane, it's definitely not a creampuff.

hotrod180 wrote:

slowmover wrote:I'm taking my 180K out to Beegle's to have this done at the end of this month. They did it five years ago and I think I operate my 180 gently so I'm hopeful that all will be OK. I'll report back if they find something significant.

Beegle's has a rep for doing great work, but I'm kinda surprised by this--
it was my impression that Beegles just did rebuilds, not maintenance.

Beegles doesn't do annuals, but they do modifications and heavy maintenance. Their website says they perform "major airframe structural repairs, rebuilding, alterations, and modifications."

I've had them repair flap tracks, go through everything in the tail assembly, install STCs like the 3190 gross weight increase and the PPonk gear beef-up kit, and so forth. In 2012, they ripped out my original Cessna interior, repainted the bare metal, sent the seats to an upholstery shop, and put everything back together. I'm thinking about installing a STOL kit, a new windshield, and other "big" projects and they'll be on the short list of shops that I consider.

I've had good luck with them. They aren't cheap, but quality work isn't.

I'm thinking about installing a STOL kit, a new windshield, and other "big" projects and they'll be on the short list of shops that I consider.

I'm curious why you don't go to Mountain Airframe in Mena? It's a lot closer.

hotrod180 wrote:I'm curious how many people here have installed the QMI (now McFarlane) hockey stick repair kit,
and if anyone did it as "pre-emptive strike"-- in other words, no damage found but installed it anyways?
A local shop recently did just that to a friend's old 182--
just the kit is almost $3400, so I figure the job has gotta be all of four grand (if not more) when the dust settles.
I was kinda surprised, as the owner tends to be "frugal" (like me),
and while the airplane in question is a pretty good old plane, it's definitely not a creampuff.

I wouldn't do the mcfarlane kit unless you absolutely needed to. I've never taken a tail off and not found at least worn bushings, even on a factory NDH airplane.

I've learmed more about the QMI kit with the last annual i did. First time at my shop and someone a few states north of me installed the original QMI poorly. Called mcfarlane to order the replacement pieces and it was a giant pissing contest, they wanted me to order the entire kit again. Even though the airplane had the STC. Fun fact, the original kit didn't follow the same angles as cessna and the stab didnt fit correctly. They have sense re engineered the kit. But if you want to fix there mistake, you can buy the entire kit again

This is why we trust but verify. The owner is an A&P and was arguing with me about taking the tail off. We can see everything we need to with it on. Sure, but if i'm signing it off, the tails coming off. Inner bracket was cracked too. It was hard to see, even with the tail off









The black is the original QMI



The white is the latest rendition of the Mcfarlane. You can see the angles that line up with the stab better, and parallel to the inner brackets.

180Marty wrote:

I'm thinking about installing a STOL kit, a new windshield, and other "big" projects and they'll be on the short list of shops that I consider.

I'm curious why you don't go to Mountain Airframe in Mena? It's a lot closer.

Yeah, I might. That's another shop I'm considering. But I have had good success with Beegles in the past and there's a relationship factor there.

Also as absolutely bizarro as it might sound, it's almost easier to get home from Greeley than it is from Mena. I can get to and from Greeley on Ubers and airliners. If I want to get home from Mena, I'm probably gonna have to get my wife involved and there's no telling what that's gonna cost me!

slowmover wrote:.... But I have had good success with Beegles in the past and there's a relationship factor there......

That's enough reason to go there IMHO.

The 185 I am working on has been put on hold. The more rivets I removed, the more issues I found. The tail issues, combined with several other issues this aircraft has, and the fact that the owner can no longer fly and has no desire to put money into it means it has to go back to it's hangar so I can make space for other work in mine.
If someone is looking for a project 185, this may be an okay base for that. I am willing and able to do the work for an owner who has the money and the desire to spend it. This could be a nice 185.
I am not comfortable with publicly posting the discrepancy list and pictures, but I can get the owners permission to send that info to someone interested.

NOTE: I am in no way brokering or offering this aircraft for sale here, or representing it in any way. I am just an IA who feels bad for a sad 185 and would like to see it re-homed before it rots away in a T-Hangar in Chelan.

David

slowmover wrote:I'm taking my 180K out to Beegle's to have this done at the end of this month. They did it five years ago and I think I operate my 180 gently so I'm hopeful that all will be OK. I'll report back if they find something significant.

I got the report from Beegles today on my tail inspection. They did the AD in 2021. I've flown 400 hours since then and am in good shape. The only thing they found was a cracked dorsal fin attach bracket on the upper tail cone skin at station 180. They said that 70% of the wagons that they inspect have a crack in this spot.

Good for another five years...

slowmover wrote:.... The only thing they found was a cracked dorsal fin attach bracket on the upper tail cone skin at station 180. They said that 70% of the wagons that they inspect have a crack in this spot. ...

Is that the little u-shaped piece?
That has always looked awfully light duty to me.

Is that Item 54 (P/N 0712304-1) in the Pre-63 Parts Manual below:

If so, did Beagles replace it with new, NOS, or fabricate it?

Thx, Ron

Part number 0712001-3. They replaced it with one they had on hand.

I'm not exactly sure which part that corresponds to on that parts diagram but item 54 looks about right.

Thanks, Slowmover

Your C180 is a later model, so unsurprisingly, it has a different P/N. The P/N I referenced above is about $110 new from Yingling plus shipping; I haven’t heard back from Textron. Given Textron’s bureaucracy, I wouldn’t be surprised if it is more. BAS sells them for about $40 used, plus shipping. Mine was fine, last time I looked at it. I don’t consider removing the dorsal fine a necessary part of the 5 yr AD, which on my A/C is coming up in Sep.

Thanks, Ron