Yellowbird
Member
I am treasurer of a flying club that has had N68526, a 1972 Citabria 7ECA for 40 years. Last fall, one of our members bounced a landing and nicked the prop. I suppose one could say it was a relatively light strike, because he taxied in and wasn't sure he hit it until he shut down the engine. In fact, both tips were bent back at about a 30 degree angle over about 1-1/2" on the tips. We got a repair quote for $16,300, which the insurance company agreed to pay (covering a new prop, labor, and engine inspection/reassembly). But then the A&P that we use said we better pull the prop and look at the cavity in the crankshaft behind the prop (for corrosion). We did, and found some pitting. The A&P said this means we will need a new crankshaft, and that apparently means a full rebuild vs. just an internal inspection. Of course the insurance co. isn't going to pay for corrosion, so that means we would have to put $22k (rebuild) plus about $1500 labor, plus $5000 prop into a $25k (??) airplane. Fabric is airworthy but a little rough, it has the original wood spar, and of course, no ADS-B. I think it could be ferried with a new prop. The engine had about 850 hours SMOH.
So the question is, is there a cheaper way through this, maybe a used engine/prop, or are we better off just selling the damaged aircraft for whatever we can get?
So the question is, is there a cheaper way through this, maybe a used engine/prop, or are we better off just selling the damaged aircraft for whatever we can get?