Ever since I have been in the Grumman Fixin’ business we have learned to check the three AN-3 (3/8” head) bolts that hold each of the 4 front seat mount8ing brackets to the center spar in all AA-5 series models. On Tigers, especially, we usually find they need tightening. If this is not done, and they come really loose, the bracket(s) will move around and the seat may not want to latch in the selected position requiring the “butt giggle” maneuver most AA-5 pilots are familiar with. Now and then I encounter something that demands that old slap on the forehead and something like; “Why didn’t I ever see this before now” to spout forth from the mouth of the guy who is supposed to know everything..

A few weeks ago I got a call from a regular customer based at Boeing Field in Seattle. He said he had a stuck seat and lurched backward to free it and it all came loose from the right side. I made a trip to his tiedown to meet with him and see what was the problem, having with me what I thought could possibly fix the situation. He had tried to loosen these three bolts on the left support thinking that was the way to get the seat out so, between him and I, we finally got the seat out and found the right bracket had the lower, forward bolt missing, the next one up sheared off, and the back one (on top of the spar) about to come out. I had checked the Parts Catalog for the correct bolts and had them with me. We fished in the console with a magnet and found the one broken off bolt that had sheared at the end of the shoulder and the front one that had just pulled out of the riv-nut in the spar. The riv-nut flange was cocked and partially broken. What startled me was the length of the bolts were one length too short, per the APC (Approved Parts Catalog) and had only engaged about 2 or 3 threads in the countersunk riv-nuts seated in the spar. They also had a full thickness washer, AN960-10, under the heads. The APC calls for an AN3-6A bolt and these were AN3-5A. It also calls for one MS35333-39 (AN936A-10) “star washer” (a lock washer with the internal gripping teeth) under the bolt head instead of a full thickness AN-960-10 washer. (One confusing thing is, in the number of parts called for, there are 6 bolts and 12 washers for each seat. Looking at the pre-1977 APC, it calls for the same thing but breaks out the extra 6 star washers as having one above the spar and under the bracket, the other under the bolt head. This makes no sense to me.)

A week or so later I was able to get a gap in the rain and return to finish the job. I was armed with a reversing drill, battery angle drill, new riv-nuts and hardware, the tool to pull the riv-nuts, and proper drills to get the brackets installed. The sheared off bolt in the top position backed out with a reverse drill and, when I went to drill out the broken and cocked riv-nut the whole thing just pulled out of the spar. It was never “pulled” properly. When I installed the replacement, my “Threadsetter” tool didn’t seem to collapse the area of the riv-nut above the threads that makes the “bulge” that causes it to stay tight. (These are part number S10-266, from the APC, and I got them out of the corresponding parts bin in our stock room.) The top one had not been damaged after getting the sheared bolt threads out, so I retained it in place. Getting all three new (proper length) bolts in place, with a thin washer and a locking “star” washer under the head, I began torquing them. At first, it felt pretty snug, then it relaxed and I was able to get another full turn or more before it came up to torque. This indicated they were only inserted and not fully “pulled”. This would account for the chronic looseness we have dealt with all these years. My thought was; “Is this going to be the condition in other Tigers?”

Returning to my shop I checked a Cheetah we had just installed a Tiger spar in, which still had the wings off, and looked at the inside end of these riv-nuts. Some looked like they were as we had found with Dave’s airplane but some looked like they were only partially collapsed with an uneven bulge against the spar. I didn’t see any that really looked good. I haven’t tried to “re-pull” any yet but expect to see what was going on with the field maintenance operation. A couple of days later we rolled in the nest Tiger in line for its annual and, sure enough, we found loose bolts. This is the first annual we are doing on this plane so no steps will be skipped. When removed, they were, as I suspected, the AN3-5A bolts with only the thick washers under the heads. I did not change these bolts, rather one of our mechanics did, and he said they torqued normally. I made a re-check and it seemed they had. We installed all of these (both sides of both seats) like I had in Dave’s plane and intend to leave them alone. I think it all makes sense they way we did it.

The wall thickness of the 3 spars used in our aircraft are quite different. The Tiger spar is, by the drawings, to be a minimum wall thickness of .281” but they usually measure around .300”. The one used in the Traveler and Cheetah is called out to be min. of .248” but will measure .264” in actuality. Then there is the one from all 2 place models which is quite a bit thinner. (That installation does not use the same brackets and calls out for bolt I never heard of so, since it’s not got a problem I’ll not go there. What is interesting is the two thickness of spars is to have the same countersunk riv-nut and the same bolt and washer combination (except for the early models having a star washer listed UNDER the bracket and above it. Again, this makes no sense whatsoever.

To bring this to a conclusion, share this article with your mechanic before your next inspection. If that is you, then do it whenever you want. If you have experienced any of the symptoms I have mentioned it may be wise not to wait for your annual but get at it ASAP to prevent having a problem. One tip is to remove the triangular pads bolted to each of the 4 support brackets. This allows much easier access to the subject bolts and it only requires pulling two little bolts and nuts each support. (Just be sure to reinstall them on the proper sides of the brackets.)

Ken Blackman,
Air Mods N.W.

photo captions:
[[File:AA-5_seat_support_hwd.jpg | 300 px | center]]
 
This is one of the broken bolts and the broken riv-nut as removed from the spar. Also a new short bolt and washer as installed beside the proper AN3-6A with the single STAR washer. Also shown is a new S10-266 riv-nut.
[[File:AA-5_seat_support.jpg | 300 px | center]]
 
Inboard, right hand, seat support installed with new bolts.

File:AA-5 seat support hwd.jpg

2014-11-28T22:46:01Z

Roscoe:

Loose seat bolts

2014-11-28T22:45:01Z

Roscoe:

Ever since I have been in the Grumman Fixin’ business we have learned to check the three AN-3 (3/8” head) bolts that hold each of the 4 front seat mount8ing brackets to the center spar in all AA-5 series models. On Tigers, especially, we usually find they need tightening. If this is not done, and they come really loose, the bracket(s) will move around and the seat may not want to latch in the selected position requiring the “butt giggle” maneuver most AA-5 pilots are familiar with. Now and then I encounter something that demands that old slap on the forehead and something like; “Why didn’t I ever see this before now” to spout forth from the mouth of the guy who is supposed to know everything..

A few weeks ago I got a call from a regular customer based at Boeing Field in Seattle. He said he had a stuck seat and lurched backward to free it and it all came loose from the right side. I made a trip to his tiedown to meet with him and see what was the problem, having with me what I thought could possibly fix the situation. He had tried to loosen these three bolts on the left support thinking that was the way to get the seat out so, between him and I, we finally got the seat out and found the right bracket had the lower, forward bolt missing, the next one up sheared off, and the back one (on top of the spar) about to come out. I had checked the Parts Catalog for the correct bolts and had them with me. We fished in the console with a magnet and found the one broken off bolt that had sheared at the end of the shoulder and the front one that had just pulled out of the riv-nut in the spar. The riv-nut flange was cocked and partially broken. What startled me was the length of the bolts were one length too short, per the APC (Approved Parts Catalog) and had only engaged about 2 or 3 threads in the countersunk riv-nuts seated in the spar. They also had a full thickness washer, AN960-10, under the heads. The APC calls for an AN3-6A bolt and these were AN3-5A. It also calls for one MS35333-39 (AN936A-10) “star washer” (a lock washer with the internal gripping teeth) under the bolt head instead of a full thickness AN-960-10 washer. (One confusing thing is, in the number of parts called for, there are 6 bolts and 12 washers for each seat. Looking at the pre-1977 APC, it calls for the same thing but breaks out the extra 6 star washers as having one above the spar and under the bracket, the other under the bolt head. This makes no sense to me.)

A week or so later I was able to get a gap in the rain and return to finish the job. I was armed with a reversing drill, battery angle drill, new riv-nuts and hardware, the tool to pull the riv-nuts, and proper drills to get the brackets installed. The sheared off bolt in the top position backed out with a reverse drill and, when I went to drill out the broken and cocked riv-nut the whole thing just pulled out of the spar. It was never “pulled” properly. When I installed the replacement, my “Threadsetter” tool didn’t seem to collapse the area of the riv-nut above the threads that makes the “bulge” that causes it to stay tight. (These are part number S10-266, from the APC, and I got them out of the corresponding parts bin in our stock room.) The top one had not been damaged after getting the sheared bolt threads out, so I retained it in place. Getting all three new (proper length) bolts in place, with a thin washer and a locking “star” washer under the head, I began torquing them. At first, it felt pretty snug, then it relaxed and I was able to get another full turn or more before it came up to torque. This indicated they were only inserted and not fully “pulled”. This would account for the chronic looseness we have dealt with all these years. My thought was; “Is this going to be the condition in other Tigers?”

Returning to my shop I checked a Cheetah we had just installed a Tiger spar in, which still had the wings off, and looked at the inside end of these riv-nuts. Some looked like they were as we had found with Dave’s airplane but some looked like they were only partially collapsed with an uneven bulge against the spar. I didn’t see any that really looked good. I haven’t tried to “re-pull” any yet but expect to see what was going on with the field maintenance operation. A couple of days later we rolled in the nest Tiger in line for its annual and, sure enough, we found loose bolts. This is the first annual we are doing on this plane so no steps will be skipped. When removed, they were, as I suspected, the AN3-5A bolts with only the thick washers under the heads. I did not change these bolts, rather one of our mechanics did, and he said they torqued normally. I made a re-check and it seemed they had. We installed all of these (both sides of both seats) like I had in Dave’s plane and intend to leave them alone. I think it all makes sense they way we did it.

The wall thickness of the 3 spars used in our aircraft are quite different. The Tiger spar is, by the drawings, to be a minimum wall thickness of .281” but they usually measure around .300”. The one used in the Traveler and Cheetah is called out to be min. of .248” but will measure .264” in actuality. Then there is the one from all 2 place models which is quite a bit thinner. (That installation does not use the same brackets and calls out for bolt I never heard of so, since it’s not got a problem I’ll not go there. What is interesting is the two thickness of spars is to have the same countersunk riv-nut and the same bolt and washer combination (except for the early models having a star washer listed UNDER the bracket and above it. Again, this makes no sense whatsoever.

To bring this to a conclusion, share this article with your mechanic before your next inspection. If that is you, then do it whenever you want. If you have experienced any of the symptoms I have mentioned it may be wise not to wait for your annual but get at it ASAP to prevent having a problem. One tip is to remove the triangular pads bolted to each of the 4 support brackets. This allows much easier access to the subject bolts and it only requires pulling two little bolts and nuts each support. (Just be sure to reinstall them on the proper sides of the brackets.)

Ken Blackman,
Air Mods N.W.

photo captions:
[[File:AA-5_seat_support_hwd.jpg | 300 px | center]]
 
This is one of the broken bolts and the broken riv-nut as removed from the spar. Also a new short bolt and washer as installed beside the proper AN6-6A with the single STAR washer. Also shown is a new S10-266 riv-nut.
[[File:AA-5_seat_support.jpg | 300 px | center]]
 
Inboard, right hand, seat support installed with new bolts.

2014-11-08T14:39:26Z

Roscoe:

The following CFIs have submitted their contact information for Grumman-specific training. Please note that this is self-submitted information, supporters and admins of Bondline may not actually know the instructor(s), so the pilot should check the instructor's credentials and seek the opinion of those who do know the person. 
[File:Instructors.jpg]
 
Steve Boyer, CFII, MEI, ATP 
6353 W Old Lincoln Way 
Wooster, Ohio 44691 
boyerwood - at - gmail - dot - com 
330-317-3966 
N9714U 
 
Kyle Colasanto 
Image Aviation Services, Inc. 
288 Christian Street Oxford, CT 06478 
Office (203) 267-6017 
http://www.imavsr.com 
 
Gary Englund 
gbe14 - at - yahoo - dot - com 
I have been teaching in
Grummans for years. (40+) I'll help anyone. 
1970 AA1 
1969 Piper Comanche 
1969 Cherokee 235 
 
Edward Jett 
ej620 - at - aol - dot - com 
I am a flight instructor and own an AA5A 
KBRY, Louisville, KY area 
Cell : 502-331-8184. 
 
Al Hancock 
Phoenix, AZ 
AA5A owner, AA1s and AA5s 
623-935-9195 
a dot hancockjr - at - gmail dot com 
 
Ron Levy 
Salisbury MD 
410-430-4078 
rblevy - at - mindspring - dot - com 
Qualified in a all types from Yankee to Cougar excluding taildraggers. 
 
Joe Plazak 
Bloomington, IL & Montreal, QC 
plazak.1 - at - osu - dot - com 
CFI and owner of an AA-1A 
 
Angela Tarry 
Long Island, NY (KFRG) 
AA5B owner and CFI 
angela dot tarry - at - gmail dot com 
 
Al Starbard 
CT and Southern/Central MA 
pstarbard - at - gmail 
CFI, Tiger owner, long-time flyer 
 
Brian Sandberg 
Based at 2W6, Leonardtown, MD 
sandbag23 - at - hotmail dot com 
(619)392-5911 
 
Rags Rettzo 
Chandler, AZ 
ragsrettzo - at - hotmail dot com 
602-697-4125 
 
Dave Wheeler 
Everett, WA 
dvwhlr862 - at - yahoo dot com 
 
John Diegoli, CFI, IGI, AGI 
Flightwright 
28 years experience flying Grummans 
Own AA-1C with 150 HP Conversion 
Teaching at KOAK, KHWD, and KCPU 

PO Box 4525 Camp Connell, CA 
(510) 917-4618 (C) 
(209) 795-1120 (H) 
jdiegoli - at - comcast dot net 
www.flightwright.com

File:Instructors.jpg

2014-11-08T14:37:40Z

Roscoe:

Grumman-Experienced CFIs

2014-11-08T06:28:21Z

Roscoe:

The following CFIs have submitted their contact information for Grumman-specific training. Please note that this is self-submitted information, supporters and admins of Bondline may not actually know the instructor(s), so the pilot should check the instructor's credentials and seek the opinion of those who do know the person. 
[Instructors.jpg]
 
Steve Boyer, CFII, MEI, ATP 
6353 W Old Lincoln Way 
Wooster, Ohio 44691 
boyerwood - at - gmail - dot - com 
330-317-3966 
N9714U 
 
Kyle Colasanto 
Image Aviation Services, Inc. 
288 Christian Street Oxford, CT 06478 
Office (203) 267-6017 
http://www.imavsr.com 
 
Gary Englund 
gbe14 - at - yahoo - dot - com 
I have been teaching in
Grummans for years. (40+) I'll help anyone. 
1970 AA1 
1969 Piper Comanche 
1969 Cherokee 235 
 
Edward Jett 
ej620 - at - aol - dot - com 
I am a flight instructor and own an AA5A 
KBRY, Louisville, KY area 
Cell : 502-331-8184. 
 
Al Hancock 
Phoenix, AZ 
AA5A owner, AA1s and AA5s 
623-935-9195 
a dot hancockjr - at - gmail dot com 
 
Ron Levy 
Salisbury MD 
410-430-4078 
rblevy - at - mindspring - dot - com 
Qualified in a all types from Yankee to Cougar excluding taildraggers. 
 
Joe Plazak 
Bloomington, IL & Montreal, QC 
plazak.1 - at - osu - dot - com 
CFI and owner of an AA-1A 
 
Angela Tarry 
Long Island, NY (KFRG) 
AA5B owner and CFI 
angela dot tarry - at - gmail dot com 
 
Al Starbard 
CT and Southern/Central MA 
pstarbard - at - gmail 
CFI, Tiger owner, long-time flyer 
 
Brian Sandberg 
Based at 2W6, Leonardtown, MD 
sandbag23 - at - hotmail dot com 
(619)392-5911 
 
Rags Rettzo 
Chandler, AZ 
ragsrettzo - at - hotmail dot com 
602-697-4125 
 
Dave Wheeler 
Everett, WA 
dvwhlr862 - at - yahoo dot com 
 
John Diegoli, CFI, IGI, AGI 
Flightwright 
28 years experience flying Grummans 
Own AA-1C with 150 HP Conversion 
Teaching at KOAK, KHWD, and KCPU 

PO Box 4525 Camp Connell, CA 
(510) 917-4618 (C) 
(209) 795-1120 (H) 
jdiegoli - at - comcast dot net 
www.flightwright.com

Grumman-Experienced CFIs

2014-11-08T06:27:52Z

Roscoe:

The following CFIs have submitted their contact information for Grumman-specific training. Please note that this is self-submitted information, supporters and admins of Bondline may not actually know the instructor(s), so the pilot should check the instructor's credentials and seek the opinion of those who do know the person. 
[File:Instructors.jpg]
 
Steve Boyer, CFII, MEI, ATP 
6353 W Old Lincoln Way 
Wooster, Ohio 44691 
boyerwood - at - gmail - dot - com 
330-317-3966 
N9714U 
 
Kyle Colasanto 
Image Aviation Services, Inc. 
288 Christian Street Oxford, CT 06478 
Office (203) 267-6017 
http://www.imavsr.com 
 
Gary Englund 
gbe14 - at - yahoo - dot - com 
I have been teaching in
Grummans for years. (40+) I'll help anyone. 
1970 AA1 
1969 Piper Comanche 
1969 Cherokee 235 
 
Edward Jett 
ej620 - at - aol - dot - com 
I am a flight instructor and own an AA5A 
KBRY, Louisville, KY area 
Cell : 502-331-8184. 
 
Al Hancock 
Phoenix, AZ 
AA5A owner, AA1s and AA5s 
623-935-9195 
a dot hancockjr - at - gmail dot com 
 
Ron Levy 
Salisbury MD 
410-430-4078 
rblevy - at - mindspring - dot - com 
Qualified in a all types from Yankee to Cougar excluding taildraggers. 
 
Joe Plazak 
Bloomington, IL & Montreal, QC 
plazak.1 - at - osu - dot - com 
CFI and owner of an AA-1A 
 
Angela Tarry 
Long Island, NY (KFRG) 
AA5B owner and CFI 
angela dot tarry - at - gmail dot com 
 
Al Starbard 
CT and Southern/Central MA 
pstarbard - at - gmail 
CFI, Tiger owner, long-time flyer 
 
Brian Sandberg 
Based at 2W6, Leonardtown, MD 
sandbag23 - at - hotmail dot com 
(619)392-5911 
 
Rags Rettzo 
Chandler, AZ 
ragsrettzo - at - hotmail dot com 
602-697-4125 
 
Dave Wheeler 
Everett, WA 
dvwhlr862 - at - yahoo dot com 
 
John Diegoli, CFI, IGI, AGI 
Flightwright 
28 years experience flying Grummans 
Own AA-1C with 150 HP Conversion 
Teaching at KOAK, KHWD, and KCPU 

PO Box 4525 Camp Connell, CA 
(510) 917-4618 (C) 
(209) 795-1120 (H) 
jdiegoli - at - comcast dot net 
www.flightwright.com

Grumman-Experienced CFIs

2014-11-08T06:25:56Z

Roscoe:

The following CFIs have submitted their contact information for Grumman-specific training. Please note that this is self-submitted information, supporters and admins of Bondline may not actually know the instructor(s), so the pilot should check the instructor's credentials and seek the opinion of those who do know the person. 
[[File:Instructors.jpg]]
 
Steve Boyer, CFII, MEI, ATP 
6353 W Old Lincoln Way 
Wooster, Ohio 44691 
boyerwood - at - gmail - dot - com 
330-317-3966 
N9714U 
 
Kyle Colasanto 
Image Aviation Services, Inc. 
288 Christian Street Oxford, CT 06478 
Office (203) 267-6017 
http://www.imavsr.com 
 
Gary Englund 
gbe14 - at - yahoo - dot - com 
I have been teaching in
Grummans for years. (40+) I'll help anyone. 
1970 AA1 
1969 Piper Comanche 
1969 Cherokee 235 
 
Edward Jett 
ej620 - at - aol - dot - com 
I am a flight instructor and own an AA5A 
KBRY, Louisville, KY area 
Cell : 502-331-8184. 
 
Al Hancock 
Phoenix, AZ 
AA5A owner, AA1s and AA5s 
623-935-9195 
a dot hancockjr - at - gmail dot com 
 
Ron Levy 
Salisbury MD 
410-430-4078 
rblevy - at - mindspring - dot - com 
Qualified in a all types from Yankee to Cougar excluding taildraggers. 
 
Joe Plazak 
Bloomington, IL & Montreal, QC 
plazak.1 - at - osu - dot - com 
CFI and owner of an AA-1A 
 
Angela Tarry 
Long Island, NY (KFRG) 
AA5B owner and CFI 
angela dot tarry - at - gmail dot com 
 
Al Starbard 
CT and Southern/Central MA 
pstarbard - at - gmail 
CFI, Tiger owner, long-time flyer 
 
Brian Sandberg 
Based at 2W6, Leonardtown, MD 
sandbag23 - at - hotmail dot com 
(619)392-5911 
 
Rags Rettzo 
Chandler, AZ 
ragsrettzo - at - hotmail dot com 
602-697-4125 
 
Dave Wheeler 
Everett, WA 
dvwhlr862 - at - yahoo dot com 
 
John Diegoli, CFI, IGI, AGI 
Flightwright 
28 years experience flying Grummans 
Own AA-1C with 150 HP Conversion 
Teaching at KOAK, KHWD, and KCPU 

PO Box 4525 Camp Connell, CA 
(510) 917-4618 (C) 
(209) 795-1120 (H) 
jdiegoli - at - comcast dot net 
www.flightwright.com

Grumman-Experienced CFIs

2014-04-25T02:43:10Z

Roscoe:

There are frequent requests on the Grumman Gang for Grumman savvy mechanics. The hope is that we may build a database here, similar to the concept of TripAdvisor. The list should be organized by State, and then by field. Under state, insert the field in alphanumeric order, and then insert your mechanic. Please comment good or bad, but try to be fair. The reality is that someone may be excellent, but an owner may have a bad experience. That's fine, and expected. Just be straight, and at least the reader can make more informed decisions. Additionally, please inject a link to your user page after your comments. This will afford some sort of accountability, as well as give readers a source to query if needed.

'''Policy Change for this page. The intent is to solicit comments and personal recommendations, unlike the rest of Bondline, which is intended to be factual or instructive in the comments, with the content being neutral to individuals or companies. To claim your comments, good or bad, on this page, you must identify yourself with a link to your user page, and begin and end your comments with quotation marks, to separate factual information (name, location, phone numbers, etc.) from your personal experiences, praise, or criticism. Everyone is welcome to add to this page, but do not edit other contributor's quoted comments.'''

Link each of your comments to your user page, e.g. [[User:Bob_Steward|Bob Steward]], like so:

:<nowiki>[[User:Bob_Steward|Bob Steward]]</nowiki>

To learn how to format your entries, look at one of the other entries or read the [http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Help:Wikitext Wikitext Help].

----

'''ARKANSAS'''

D&T Paint, Mena, AR
:[[User:Scoffey|Stephen Coffey]]: "In February, 2008, they painted my airplane, and did an acceptable $3,500 single color job. Communication is horrible. Yes, there are details I would have done differently myself, but didn't have time. I would NOT have them do anything unless you set up a $500 to start, $1000 after you strip it and send me pictures, yaddah yaddah type of plan."

TwelveStone Aviation, 479-799-8065, Springdale, AR
:[[User:Scott_Jernigan|Scott Jernigan]], February, 2008: "John Gearhart has been working on my Cheetah for 10 years now. He was involved in the HyperCheetah conversion as well. John is a very good mechanic who refuses to cut corners, but also knows the difference between required and recommended."

----

'''CALIFORNIA'''

Gary Vogt, AuCountry Aviation, AUN (Auburn, CA; east of Sacramento)
:[[User:davetroup|David Troup]]: "Gary is one of a small handful of true Grumman gurus in the USA. He only works on Tigers and Cheetahs and knows just about everything there is to know about them. He's a perfectionist - with all that entails - but that's exactly the kind of person I want working on my plane. Gary has also designed a number of upgrades for Grummans, including a replacement lower cowling that improves cooling, performance and appearance. His website is http://www.aucountry.com."

Mike McCarthy, Spider's Aircraft, MYF (San Diego Area)
:[[User:Scoffey|Stephen Coffey]]: "In May, 2007, I was looking at an airplane in the San Diego area, and Mike did a prebuy. He did it almost immediately, and called after he found a couple of items, giving me his impression. This decision saved me a good deal of money as I eliminated the airplane before he spent a ton of time on it. I really appreciated that. He seemed very type-knowlegeable."

----

'''DELAWARE'''

Jim Russell, N74 Chorman Airport - Farmington, DE (about a dozen clicks south of Dover AFB)
:[[User:aa1bflyboy|Steve Roberts]]: "In the summer of '07 I wanted to paint 64L. After speaking to Jim and finding out about his back log, I took his recommendation of just painting the parts of my plane that needed painting (only about 25%). I like the kind of businessman who is willing to give away work in hopes that when you are in need of his specific services you will come back. He is geared up to do one plane at a time. The work he has done is superb. There are several Grumman owners in the MidAtlantic Region who have had their planes painted there. I know of one that is on the cover of the Star. Contact me directly and I can point you to the guy who did the paint at 58M."

----
'''GEORGIA'''

PDK (Atlanta):

Steve Sirmer, AP/IA 404-788-3616
:[[User:Scoffey|Stephen Coffey]], February, 2009: "I was referred to Steve in late 2008. Nice guy, very reasonable, and has helped out with that 'needed this week' item for which it didn't make sense for Bob Steward to run over from Alabama. Seems knowlegable and very honest from my limited dealings. Definitely an option."

[[User:Bob_Steward|Bob Steward]], AP/IA
:[[User:Scoffey|Stephen Coffey]], February, 2009: "Experience over 2007-2009. There are just times you don't want anyone else to work on your airplane, if you live in the southeast. If I lived in Birmingham, nobody else ever WOULD work on my airplane. Due to the travel, small things don't make sense to have him travel over, but for most things I absolutely recommend Bob. The job gets done right, and you learn a whole lot in the process. We've installed a new engine, R&R wings, fuel tank work, swapped fuses for breakers, replaced spinner bulkhead, all kinds of things in a short period of time."

Mark Clowdus, AP
:[[User:Scoffey|Stephen Coffey]], February, 2009: "I have occasionally used Mark for two airplanes over the past few years. Mark is thorough, but I've come to question some of his comments. On two airplanes at prebuy, he noted a rotten alternator belt. One of those had been replaced with new 3 months earlier! I've had mixed results, as have others on field. I requested an owner assisted annual at one time, and was turned down. He has insisted that my airplane, despite being 30 years old, needs 12-inch numbers. There are just better options available."

----

'''MARYLAND'''

Roger Robinson A&P/IA, Cecil Aero, 58M (Cecil County Airport)
:[[User:aa1bflyboy|Steve Roberts]]: "Roger is a very knowledgeable A&P/IA. Retired from Delta now he has been maintaining numerous Grumman type AC for many years. He is willing to allow owner assisted maintenance or drop it off and pick it up when she is ready. Roger worked with me and my painter when I wanted to paint 'just the parts that needed paint.'"

Hagerstown Aircraft Services, Hagerstown Airport (HGR):
:[[User:Charlie Bobbish|Charlie Bobbish]]: "Hagerstown Aircraft Services has maintained my Tiger since 2002. They have painted it, replaced the interior, and upgraded the panel. They do things right, at a reasonable price, and with honesty and integrity. http://www.hgrair.com/"

----

'''MISSOURI'''

1H0 (Creve Coeur Airport)
Jaime LeBlanc, AP/IA
:[[User:Bkamen|Ben Kamen]], February, 2009: "Jaime's a crazy cajun who used to work for TWA and has been painting and fixing airplanes for decades. A real craftsman whose prices are reasonable. He knows Grummans as he works on both 2 and 4 seaters regularly. (He usually fixes a few paint jobs from Mena, AR every year too) He's pretty laid back (read: "sometimes slow" with getting the work done. Sometimes it's because his schedule is hectic, sometimes it's due to weather (painting is a touchy thing as we know and he's a perfectionist)), but he gets the job done and the results are well worth it. He did the paint on my 74' AA-1B in 2004, but we had a lot of fixing to do on the plane and everything came out very nice. He also repaired the fiberglass on my front nosewheel and 2 years later you still can't tell."

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'''OHIO'''

Roscoe Rosche A&P/IA, Yankee Aviation, KHAO (Butler County Regional - Hogan Field) 
Roscoe has been working on Grummans for 20 plus years and has studied with the Guru Ken Blackman and the guys at Fletchair. His attitude is a bad day in teh hangar is better than a good day in the office. Passionate about the line and a font of historical stories about the line. He also has the 4-seat prototype, the Patriot - AA2, in his storage bay.

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'''PENNSYLVANIA'''

Jay Shearer A&P/IA, Shearer Aviation, 9D4 (Deck Airport)
:[[User:aa1bflyboy|Steve Roberts]]: "Jay is a very knowledgeable A&P/IA. Has been maintaining numerous Grumman type AC for many years. He is willing to allow owner assisted maintenance or drop it off and pick it up when she is ready. Jay worked with me when I upgraded to the O320. I also had Jay sign off for other work such as Xevision HID light and a Whelen strobe kit. No pencil whipping from this shop."

Ben Travis A&P/IA, Smart Avionics, 9D4 (Deck Airport)
:[[User:aa1bflyboy|Steve Roberts]]: "Ben and his crew at Deck worked with me on my panel upgrade. Like Jay, he allowed me to owner assist when I did this work. He also worked with me when I installed the Superclock and FP-5L."

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'''WASHINGTON'''

WA25 (Green Valley) Granite Falls 
Ken Blackman - AirModsNW
The home of the Guru, Ken's shop is one of our two major supplier of parts for our planes. The work out of this shop is exceptional.

SHN (Shelton, WA)

Harold Haynes, AP/IA
:[[User:Scoffey|Stephen Coffey]]: "In Nov 2007 I bought an airplane that Harold's team had been maintaining. I cannot comment on working with Harold, but there seemed to be a LOT of things unaddressed in the airplane that I now own, and had been under his care for 10 years. I know this is somewhat typical, as I've owned several airplanes, but this one was a bit more disappointing than normal. This may be at the behest of the owner, but I feel that at least some of it should have prevented labeling log books with 'found to be in airworthy condition.'"

Olympic Air
:[[User:Scoffey|Stephen Coffey]]: "In November, 2007, They did the prebuy on my airplane. They did not want to do a wobble test, and talked me out of it. That cost me about 20 grand. They did not notice that the outboard wing section on the left side had been replaced, and unlogged. Fortunately I found the owner from 1974 and resolved this to the satisfaction of the guys I reluctantly contacted at the FSDO (dumb move, by the way). This is noticeable because of the purple glue in a '72 airplane, which I feel a Grumman savvy mechanic who actually inspected the airplane would have noticed. Essentially, I'm quite sure that the list of items to check I had sent was not so thoroughly checked. I'd travel the plane for another mechanic as opposed to using these guys."

[[Category:Maintenance]]