This is an excellent time of year to inspect all of your airplanes. One of the easiest ways to cover all your components is to use the IMAA Safety Inspection Form. I inspect my planes several times through out the year. I also re-inspect my plane after a hard landing.

One item that is often missed is the joints throughout the construction of the airplane. While we all like to think our planes are built tough, there are places that it wouldn't take much of a bump or hard landing to crack a joint.

I thoroughly check all the tail surfaces. I inspect each hinge to make sure that they are tight, and not worn. I check the construction joints on built up surfaces and look for any broken ones. I inspect the inside of the fuselage thoroughly looking at joints as well as stress cracks. Stress cracks are hard to see so you have to be attentive to what you are looking at.

Make sure to check all your formers. I also look for wood that has been saturated in oil. I try to remove the oil as best as I can by using paper towels, acetone, and if it is really bad, I use a heat gun to boil most of the oil out of the wood. Do not use a heat gun on epoxy joints, as this will destroy the epoxy!

The engine box also needs to be inspected. I have seen planes where the covering is all that held the firewall in place. I have even seen the stab/fin held in place by covering as well. This is a scary thought when you think about it. Check the wings as thoroughly as the rest of the airplane. Don't forget to inspect clevises, horns, and linkages.

Landing gear mounts can develop cracked joints during the course of a flying season. Props are another item that will stress crack. Again, a close inspection is required. Check canopy attachments also.

Any single failure of a component of structural joint can cost a pilot an airplane. A thorough one-hour inspection can assure that you will have many more uneventful flights.