Dear subscribers,

 

I need some help/advise. I purchased a used IVP with 250 hrs. It did not look very nicely and I knew that it needed some work. I had a pre purchase inspection/anual done at Lancair and they confirmed that everything was in a working condition and that the airplane was safe to fly. Based on this I made my purchase decision.

 

I took the airplane apart and I am rebuilding it right now (I did not have the money for a new kit). After painting the wings we got a paint bubble during the buffing in the sun. I dug into bubble and found some of that brown rubber under the primer (the sealer that is used to seal the inside of fuel tanks - unfortunately I decided to just grind of the original paint and leave the primer on) I decided to grind of all the paint and primer around my leading edge and found that brown rubber stuff on several spots along the leading edge. After removing the rubber I found wet spots in the carbon fiber. After looking at the wing closer I found blue stains on the very outside of the leading edge (visible by looking into the wing after removing the winglets). This probably should have been found by Lancair during the annual/pre purchase inspection.

 

I think my whole leading edge is soaked with fuel since I see stains where no fuel tank is. I would also consider this as a safety concern. My friends from the FBO here think the design of a wing without any inspection panels is hazardous anyway. So I won’t find much help there. One professional Lancair builder recommended to paint the outside of the wing with sealer paint – I don’t feel very comfortable with his advice.

 

Can anyone give me advise on how to fix this right. I would also feel more comfortable if I would have professional help on this – any advise on this? Do you think I would have any success asking Lancair for help on this since I purchased the plane based on their evaluation.

 

 

Ralf Bronnenmeier

Bluffton, OH 45817

Phone: (419) 369 12 33

E-mail: bronnenmeier@grobsystems.com