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Where the wing spars are, I just cut out a little of the material that you would squeeze into the gap and the rest will lay on top. It doesn’t slide in easily. I just worked it about an inch at a time.

@@BlueSkyFlight Thanks for the reply. I managed to get half of the seal installed but pulled it back out after hours of frustration and it was getting dark. I seen a video (unrelated )were a preflight check reveled a worn wing bolt bushing allowing the wing to rock fwd and aft increasing the "gap" at the wing root. I thought "OH, maybe remove the wing bolt to get clearance" I havent tried it or investigated that idea any further. Only have 1/8 in clearance at some areas. Trying to aviod the easy way out by cutting the seal. Cold weather put a hold on the seal Item. The dishwash soap really helped where i had success getting the seal pushed in. On to the door seal and window. I scewed up one aft window by not allowing clearance for the foam tape.than trying to remove the foam tape with goo gone stuff (other chems). It scewd the plexy up. I couldnt believe how difficult it was getting the foam tape off once it was applied! Lesson learned "dry fit window but remember to leave room for the foam tape.

Sounds like you’re having fun :). I wouldn’t remove the wing spar bolts. Each time they come out you risk damaging the holes…. And they are pretty important. You also are supposed to replace with new bolts if you do and they are about $50 each.

Thank you for the compliment. Glad you enjoyed it!

Thank you very much for the feedback. Glad to hear you like it. Let me know how the build goes. I think you’ll really enjoy the process.

@ Cheers Bob and all the best for 2025. I’ll be watching!!

Taking them out is quick. Just remove screws from the top bottom left and right metal braces and the window pushes in. Replacement is just the reverse if no trimming is needed. Put the window in and screw in the braces. Last step is to add the sealer around the outside edges.

Most days I worked on it for 4-5 hours. Probably 2 days for removal of interior and clean out. 2 days for removal and replacement of insulation. 2 days for headliner install. But could be done in one now that I know what I’m doing. 1 day for carpet. 1 day for wall panels. 2-3 days for seat re-upholstery. 1-2 days for window removal and installation of new. Repaint and restore plastic trim is a couple days in the garage, but install in the airplane is quick, hour or 2. Hope this helps…

@@BlueSkyFlightthanks for the reply, I’m going to see how it turns out on a PA-32-300.

Let me know how it turns out!

It’s a lot of fun for sure!

Great story! Love it.

It is an amazing airplane….

Agreed… got to be in the right mood with plenty of patience to enjoy the build. Thanks for watching!

Indeed

Yeah would have been nice to get and email when your plans change, but just something to keep an eye out for.

I definitely think there should be a better process in place such that revisions to plans would be emailed to people working on an aircraft. They certainly know who we are and what we’ve purchased. For now it’s just up to us to be diligent and check for updates.

Happy to help…. Guess I’m taking one for the team :)

Glad you caught it. I felt the same way. Really frustrating, but like you, I’ll just make a point of checking for plan changes and bulletins on a regular basis. Thanks for sharing, and for watching!

Guess I posted just in time… glad to hear it :). Definitely going slow build on everything. The build is a huge part of the fun for me…. Mistakes and all. Wings are on order… probably delivery in January, plus or minus.

Glad this was useful... I've read the "proposed" changes to the AD, and from what I've gathered the only real change is that all of the listed Pipers will now be required to have the eddy current inspection done at 12000 total time, regardless of the factored service hours. Some have said it would require a wing replacement at 12K, but that is not what I see in the doc. Replacement is still only required "if" you find cracks. Here's the proposed language: th-cam.com/users/redirect?event=comments&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbmZUUmdBUFRaaDNLSDktRFdsOFJhSDJQV1Q2d3xBQ3Jtc0tsMngyV2F3SHdiVHBlbHc2eUwzdnBPQ1VKRmZDaElRUjBmcnBFb080M3FBRk56M3o0NWZ0bDh1bHZ4T3hVdGVVNG5QT3FXUkhsendvMF90QVRFODhtd3Jic3pWcU1LNzFHTUJsOWtxS0IxUkgxX2dmbw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.federalregister.gov%2Fdocuments%2F2024%2F09%2F19%2F2024-21209%2Fairworthiness-directives-piper-aircraft-inc-airplanes&stzid=Ugztz8DxNxyNabki1JR4AaABAg.AA1hu60ZyvuAA3EXo2nC1t

Glad you like it. When the time comes I’ll definitely post a video here. Thank you!

Glad to hear it. Let me know how it goes!

@@BlueSkyFlight Will do. You're a bit ahead of me, I'm starting the vertical now but these videos have been really helpful. Thanks again!

Thank you ! It’s a sticky mess isn’t it :)

@@BlueSkyFlight My EAA Technical Counselor gave me the best advice: Double nitrile gloves. I you get the tiniest bit of sealant on a glove, shed it and put on another because it'll get on everything. Warned that I'd go through about a dozen gloves total. Think I shed at least six total just on this one job. My wife helped by managing the curled-back skin. She went through four gloves. The trailing edge is clecoed (every hole) in aluminum angle. Flame Master's info sheet lists 114-hours for full cure. I'll respect that.

LOL yeah it’s a mess

That’s great to hear. Keep me posted on your build!

Thank you very much… and thanks for watching!

Here’s the latest “proposed” changes from the FAA www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/09/19/2024-21209/airworthiness-directives-piper-aircraft-inc-airplanes

I would probably pay to have it done as part of the prebuy inspection that way you can back out of the purchase if cracks are found.

This video has the total cost breakdown for you. It’s a rewarding project. Let me know how it goes. What's the Cost for a New Interior in a Piper Arrow airplane th-cam.com/video/fdyj4vQPOPM/w-d-xo.html

I haven't seen any language on that. Do you have a link to a recent change in the AD. Didn't see anything in the FAA database that changes the language.

Not worried at all. The eddy current revealed no cracks, and my aircraft was never used in a training environment or lots of low level (pipeline inspection) type of flying and still has well under 6000 total time. I disagree about it being a ticking time bomb any more that any 50+ year old airplane. Well maintained and well inspected is important for every airplane of that age. No signs of corrosion and flown well within g limits - I think there's plenty of life left in her.

@@BlueSkyFlight I get it that owners don’t want to make a big deal of this and have prices drop, but the difference is the FAA has given the Piper PA series a 12,000 mandate to change the spar now So it IS a ticking time bomb. At some point it WILL time out. And just because it passed inspection today doesn’t mean it will tomorrow. I have freinds w archers and arrows they aren’t school planes but they still fly a lot of practice landings etc not to mentions turbulence. Certainly the lower the hours the less the worry but also cant say it’s the SAME as any other old airplane because most don’t have an expiration date. This has also been updated on OCT of 24 w a new spar being available from what over read. But I’m also new to this, situation. Personally I think Piper should be on the hook for the non cold bent spars at cost . Which is what is used in new airplanes.

I just read the new “proposed” AD revision. It does NOT mandate replacement. It will require another inspection at the 12000 hour mark. And says replacement IF cracks are found. And no, as an owner I would not compromise safety of myself, my passengers (including my family) over concerns about my plane losing value. According to the report, out of 2800 eddy current inspections, 100 were positive. www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/09/19/2024-21209/airworthiness-directives-piper-aircraft-inc-airplanes

Here’s what it says: “This proposed AD would require reviewing airplane maintenance records to determine if an eddy current inspection of the lower main wing spar bolt holes was done and depending on the result, doing an eddy current inspection of the lower wing spar for crack(s) if not previously done or if done prior to 12,000 hours TIS, and replacing any cracked main wing spar. This proposed AD would also require sending all inspection results to Piper and the FAA.”

Happy to hear that... Congratulations! You're going to have a lot of fun!.... However, look at your instructions page 09-15 should say revision 2, and page 09-23 should say revision 1. If these don't, your instructions are out of date (like mine were). I'm going to do a video to cover it soon, but in Sept23 Vans put out a Service Bulletin due to some cracking in areas on the skins around rivets in the elevator rear spars. The instructions were revised, at the same time, to add steps to add tank sealant along the joint between the rear spar and the skins after you rivet them to prevent the cracking. I did NOT do this step in the video - so don't do what I did, make sure you do that step... despite receiving my kit in Feb24, they packaged out of date instructions with my kit and I missed this step... so now I have to fix it. If you ever have any questions feel free to reach out to me blueskyflight@outlook.com. Please keep in mind when you watch my videos that I'm not an expert and I of course make mistakes, so follow directions closely and if in doubt support@vansaircraft.com :) Here's one mistake that I made and had to fix on the Vertical Stabilizer: th-cam.com/video/_unIGVj8HzE/w-d-xo.htmlsi=krgISL430qGl2j8m

Thank you and thanks for watching!

I’m debating on it right now…. You’re the 3rd person to mention it.. thought about addressing it in the video and apparently should have. Going to talk through why I didn’t do it and my plans to address it in the next video…. Let’s just say I’m not happy about it :)

@@BlueSkyFlight My bad. I posted before I saw an earlier comment about this from one other person. Looking forward to your remedy.

Thanks so much!

It’s a bit of a long story so I’ll be posting a video about that…. Short answer is I didn’t… but I’m going to…, :(

Glad to hear that, thank you!

Thanks for watching!!

@@BlueSkyFlight always. Thanks for doing what you do.. and allowing me to live through your vids. Lol

Glad to hear people enjoying them. It’s why I do it.

That would be great

Thank you!

Thank you sir :)

Will do thank you

The tape cover is only removed on the bottom side of the trailing edge wedge initially. the top is removed, like you said, when the TE ribs are inserted with the proseal... it should all be clear once I post the final part of that build video... which should be soon!

Sadly, I didn't look closely enough at that SB because it came out in Sept23 and my kit shipped in Feb24 so I wrongly assumed that the instructions that shipped with my kit were current and the SB likely didn't apply.... Just found out yesterday how very wrong I was... they shipped my kit 6 months after the revised instructions came out (which addressed the SB) with the previous version of instructions... so I just built a pile of crap! wonderful...

Glad you enjoyed it... it was an absolutely beautiful day!

Thank you for the feedback! Really appreciate it and happy to hear that you are enjoying them!

@@BlueSkyFlight what kind of primer are you using?

I went with the sherwin williams p60g2 wash primer. Same stuff that Vans uses on the QB kits..

No way…. That would take all the fun out of it…

I agree. Great to see him there this year.

Thank you! Will do!

Thank you! I try…

Thanks for watching