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peter.schuttinga

peter.schuttinga

New member
Victoria BC
Aircraft Year
1973
Aircraft Type
112/A
Serial Number
30
Hi there,
My name is Peter Schuttinga and I live in Victoria BC, Canada. I've been flying for almost 5 years, mainly rental 172's (M and S), and co-owned a small STITS SA11A for a few years. Fun little plane, but little.
I just spotted an ad for a 1973 Commander 112A in my area, which really caught my interest. I'm not familiar with this type, so I've been doing some research into this type and came across your site. Lots of good information here for sure.
I'm hoping to take a look at this plane soon, and if it looks as good as the pictures, I'll get a mechanic to go over it tip to tail. Speaking of the tail, one of the pictures shows some metal fatigue on the lower rudder near the outer edge, some small cracks that have the ends drilled to prevent spreading. Is this something common?
Looking forward to conversing with you folks, and if things work out, maybe become an owner in the process.
Peter
 
Re: Hi there to all

Hi Peter; which S/N is it? '73s are not A models, maybe you hv the year wrong? I'll see what I hv on file for that one.
if it's S/N 30, that's a straight '73 112. appears Canadian as far back as I can tell and I don't hv any info. on this one. You can research and run a history check on it, however.

Judi
COG Admin
 
Re: Hi there to all

Hello Peter and welcome. Snap a photo of the cracks you mentioned and post here and we can help you further.

And if you haven't already found it, make sure you go through the FAQ posted on the main site. Lots of good background info.
 
Re: Hi there to all

Peter, there are a couple of BC members and I am pretty sure one owner lives on your fine island in Nanaimo. You should meet up with him.
 
Re: Hi there to all

Hi Peter,

If you proceed to a pre-buy inspection, Aerodyme offers a special inspection list to help any mechanic scan for the known potential issues with any model and serial Commander. This service includes full access to Aerodyme's vast library of defects/solutions information, and unlimited consultations informed by our 10 years / 50,000 hours of exclusive support of these wonderful airplanes.

Jim
 
Re: Hi there to all

Hi Peter, if you have any questions, C-FFOM is s/n 27 out of CYKF
 
Re: Hi there to all

Hi all,
Found the plane on this site and sent an email to the owner. It appears the plane I'm looking at is serial number 30. The tail picture is attached:
jhimage
 
Re: Hi there to all

unless just bad camera angle/exposure, but I don't like the way the tail sits or how it appears to line up w/the main wings in this pic.
if rudder has been drilled out that much, a much closer inspection is in order.

Judi
 

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Re: Hi there to all

She does look a bit off....

janderson said:
unless just bad camera angle/exposure, but I don't like the way the tail sits or how it appears to line up w/the main wings in this pic.
if rudder has been drilled out that much, a much closer inspection is in order.

Judi
Click to expand...
 
Re: Hi there to all

Well, she looks a bit better if the picture is level... :rolleyes:
 

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Re: Hi there to all

:rolleyes: ..still some bad jui jui going on. had a 112A in San Diego many yrs. ago that also had multiple cracks in the rudder. why? who knows?
 
Re: Hi there to all

Peter - cracking in that area is not typical. If it were me I'd want to tear down the rudder/elevator assembly and really check out what's going on.
 
Re: Hi there to all

Hi Peter,

The rudder does not appear to be airworthy. The previous repair has failed. Commander rudders carry significant loads in flight and a failed rudder could foul the elevators.

There are no replacement skins available and another attempt to repair this rudder is unlikely to succeed due to the compound existing damage, the difficulty of forming doublers to the skin beads, and possibility of balance problems. I would suggest a good serviceable rudder from salvage as the appropriate course of action.

Jim
 
Re: Hi there to all

During my research on the Commander series I ran across an article about an AC11, in England I think, losing a control surface with tragic results. Don't know why but that has stuck with me over the years. I would not take a chance with non-standard repairs on a control surface.

James Cole in Jax Fla is parting out 3 x 112's He 'may' have serviceable part. Think I saw one on Ebay recently as well.
Good Luck, John
 
Re: Hi there to all

Thanks all for your replies to date, much appreciated. I'm still waiting to hear from the owner (going through a broker) and will update once i get a chance to kick some tires.
peter
 
Re: Hi there to all

Just an update, although the broker gave the owner my contact information, I have yet to hear from them. Back to the drawing board.

thanks all
 
Re: Hi there to all

Update,
Met up with the owner, and we went up for a spin. Now I see what you all have been talking about, these planes are very nice indeed. My wife sat in the back, and thoroughly enjoyed the flight, lots of room fore and aft, and visibility is awesome.
The plane is serial number 30, initially a 112 which went back to the factory to get the vertical fin dealt with, as well replaced the fiberglass doors with aluminum doors, hence calling it a 112A.
We did look at the fin/rudder and talked about the small cracks on the trailing edge on one side only. They were drilled to stop progression, well before this owner purchased the plane, and they have not changed.
We will get the plane checked out, as we are very interested. Can someone here point me to a pre purchase checklist specific to a 112A if such a list exists? Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Lucky for me is the CFI at club I belong to here is very familiar with the plane and will check me out on it, as he he did for the previous owner, a bonus.
peter
 
Re: Hi there to all

Peter,

There is an Annual checklist form in the Books and Publications section you can download and use as a pre-buy guide. Obviously some of those items wont be done on a pre-buy. Some others might have a good prebuy form. Also Jim Richards at Aerodyme provides phone assistance with pre-buys.

Tim
 
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