Page 25 - Volume 15 Number 8

they’re on Chip’s list of problems he sees when no pre-buy was performed. There is an inspection that addresses this issue. It entails removal of the interior and all floor boards. This gives a good look at the inside surface of the belly skin – a good place to check for corrosion too. More importantly, cracks in the stringers and other structures below the floor can be found and remedied. You may have heard of this inspection. It’s a Phase 3.
A Prudent Prepurchase Plan
The term “pre-buy” is bandied about in two ways. As a general term, it refers to everything a buyer might do as part of their due diligence. Specifically, it means Phase Inspections 1-4, paid for by the buyer as a part of their prepurchase actions. Used in the general sense, an overall pre-buy strategy would consist of logbook analysis, engine borescopes, perhaps a preliminary check for corrosion, Phase Inspections 1-4, ground runs and acceptance flight – in that order.
Logbooks: Before anything else, a buyer needs to get the maintenance records analyzed by an expert in King Air maintenance. A CAMP report (or equivalent) is a start but nothing replaces the actual logs. I cannot emphasize this strongly enough. I never met a maintenance management program report without mistakes or conflicting data. They always give rise to more questions. When I get to the actual logs, I comb them for corroboration and clarification of the report. Along the way, I learn more about that King Air. A 100-page CAMP report won’t say when the aircraft moved from a dry desert climate to a humid, salt-laden environment, or how long it remained there. Sometimes I have to read between the lines. Damage history can be deduced from studying the logbooks and 8130 certificates. The logbooks tell a story that no amount of data entry into a program can ever convey.
Borescopes and Preliminary Corrosion Check: Do these checks before the Phase 1-4 so you can cancel the phase inspections if either disqualifies the aircraft for you. The corrosion check is not meant to be a shortcut around the Phases. My client from Africa did it as part of his pre-buy to ensure the King Air under consideration was a worthy candidate for a Phase 1-4.
Phase Inspections 1-4: I’ve been working on King Airs since
the 1970s and pre-buy inspections have always been a Phase 1-4. Do them all. Just don’t expect the shop to sign it off specifically as a “pre- buy inspection.” No one does that anymore. Buyers interpreted that as some kind of guarantee and endless warranty.
Final Ground Runs & Acceptance Flight: Once you are at this point, buyer anticipation is running high, but these steps must not be rushed. This is your opportunity to ensure
Having the logbooks of a prospective King Air thoroughly inspected by an expert can tell a lot about the aircraft’s history.
AUGUST 2021
KING AIR MAGAZINE • 23