10415 172nd St. E., Hangar A1
Puyallup, WA 98374
office (253)770-9964
or (253)770-0120
email: avstarair@att.net
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This debonair had some leaking window and door seals that had been ignored for too long. When the interior was pulled out enough to perform the spar carry-through inspection, we found some bad corrosion.
And the further we looked, the worse it got, in both cabin sidewalls.
Parts availability was not good. The few that were available were priced not favorably to keep this old girl in the air. So, I called Joe at BonanzaParts, an 'experienced parts' reseller, and told him what I had and what I needed. A few days later, Mark from BonanzaParts called me back and he shared what he could do for us. I discussed this with the aircraft owner, and a plan was put in place. While Mark was performing a 'fuselage sides-ectomey' on an aircraft that rolled off the assembly line not long after our patient did, we marked position of and pulled the wings and supported the patient, and began disassembly.
Not long after that, a package arrived from California bearing these gifts...
Parts harvesting was fruitful. Components were removed from both donor and patient; donor parts were cleaned, etched, alodyned and primed, then installed to the patient, followed by skin fabrication and fit, drilling then assembly.
Once the same process was accomplished on the left side, aircraft assembly was initiated. Old skin sections where we had marked wing position were taped into place over the new skins, and the wings were reinstalled with new (lubricated) attachment hardware.
Landing gear and flight controls were connected and rigged, wiring and plumbing connections made, fuel and brake system purged, bled and filled, interior going back in. She's ready for some colors now!