mrollag

I am looking for someone that has a picture of the wing spar on a 1968 Cherokee Arrow. I am trying to determine if mine has had an illegal repair or is normal.

philiplane

No repairs are authorized by Piper for any part of the actual spar.

It is possible to have a repair engineered by a DER. He will issue an 8110 form with the instructions, and that would be part of the permanent records, along with the 337 that would reference the 8110 as approved data for the repair. So if there is any apparent repair, it should be well-documented. If not, it is certainly illegal and possibly unsafe.

Tom

Reminds me of a pre buy I did a few years back, on a PA28R-200. The airplane had been hard landed necessitating wing skin replacement. The person who replaced the skin had enlarged the rivet holes from #4 to #5, which is not legal, unless engineering approval from Piper or a DER. The process, to render the wing airworthy, from Piper Engineering and a DER was lengthy and expensive not to mention a few tickets pulled...

Jim_M

My friend and business partner is going through a similar situation with his PA-28-160. We are both IA's. He discovered a small pocket of exfoliation corrosion on the face of the front spar, traveling upward to the underside of the spar cap. According to the repair manual, there is no approved repair and the manual states that the spar must be replaced. We are now preparing to make a 300 mile trip up north to inspect and possibly purchase a wing from a salvage yard.
Philiplane is correct that a DER might be able to engineer a repair. But I think that would probably be a very expensive proposition. You'd have to compare the costs of wing replacement vs. other options to be sure.
Good luck.
Jim M

magman

There are a lot of materials & techniques available in 2011 that did not exist when your aircraft was built.

With STRUCTURAL Epoxies there can be a different approach to the repair.

I went through this a few years ago with 172 door frames.

FYI- The fuselage hangs from the door frames & engine mount stringers as well.

A DER came up with a fairly easy fix.

His fee was about $300.

Why not call one before driving & buying a wing?