What do you do if your Cessna Cardinal/ Cessna 210 fails the A.D. Eddie Inspection?
Channel: Over 50 and Learning To Fly!
Date: 29/05/2023

What do you do if you fail the Cessna 177 and 210 AD Eddie Inspection?
This was a huge blow, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. 

My first response was to manage like getting bad news at work - just manage the project, manage the problem through to the solution. 

This is a safety inspection that is Mandatory and you have to comply not only for your safety but for everyone else is safety. It may be expensive and it may be really bad news, but this is why we have the safest national airspace systems in the world - it’s because of our safety compliance. We might not all agree with this and we might not like it but at the end of the day, we have to comply, so here we are.

As far as finding a new spar this is really important. I devoted a few days to getting online and calling places that had carry through spars available. The one thing you want to do is make sure the paperwork is perfect. 

There were a lot of places actually that I found that were selling spars and the prices ranged from $7000-$15,000. I found my spar at BAS Parts sales out in Denver Colorado. They were amazing to work with, their paperwork was perfect. It was perfectly in order and I paid $12,000 for the spar. 

Textron has been really good and they are available and will consult your mechanics through this process. Do not get involved in this part of the process. Let your mechanics work with Textron alone and stay out of the weeds. Keep yourself informed but don’t get in the way. Textron doesn’t charge for their consulting. Remember. this is not a repair where do you want to save money. This must be done right.

So I want to share this experience with you because I know this is going to happen to a lot of other 210 pilots and 177 pilots and of course we also have a 210 that we have to deal with later on down the road which I don’t even want to think about right now. I’m sure that’ll be fine.

So this is a serious blow and it is expensive however, it is manageable and there is daylight on the other side

So remember, here’s what you need to do and keep in mind if you have to go through this.

1) Make sure you were confident and comfortable with your shop doing the repairs. This is a huge job. Posada Aviation in Zephyrhills Florida is doing this job, and I am very confident in their ability as well as very pleased in the progress going so far, the initial inspection failure was about four weeks ago, and if we get good news from Textron, the airplane should be finished in a couple of weeks so the speed of this is going very very well. We’re looking at about six weeks for the complete repair.


2) Stay on top of the project in a support role only. Don’t get in the way and don’t get in the weeds. Let the mechanics do their job. Do not get into the weeds of how this repair is being done. 

3) Do you get into the weeds on the paperwork make sure the paperwork for the Carry Thru Spar that you’re purchasing is perfect if the company asks you for your old spar back that is a red flag. The spar that failed the Eddie inspection is now a piece of artwork. It should never be returned to service and no one should need it back.

4) Before you buy this spar, share the paperwork with your mechanic and talk with him about it and get their vote of confidence. Rely on their expertise.

5) Do not try and save money on this project. Remember $35,000 is still cheaper than a funeral and that’s just your funeral if something should happen. Safety is paramount and remember good decisions are easy to make just consider the alternative. That saying never holds more truth in this situation.

6) And finally, there is light at the end of the tunnel. If you have to go through this, your plane will be better than it was going into it.

So if you have any questions, you’d like to reach out to me to talk about some details, please feel free to do that. Leave your comments in the comment section below. I hope you learn something and if you have to go through this, there is daylight on the other side and it will be OK and yes, it’s expensive but it’s an airplane and Safety cannot be compromised.

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