Just finished an extenvie annual (my first). I learned a lot about my plane and aircraft mx in general thanks to my A/Ps patient coaching and letting me doing as many things as she could.

One thing we found I think might be useful to others. A previous owner had installed LoPresti Speed Spats on my aircraft. The bolts that were used to attach them were very long. Not sure if they were supplied with the kit or not. The problem is that the three forward nut plates are very close to being directly under the aileron cable. If the cables are not tensioned correctly (mine were not), the cable is able to rub on those bolts. Those two issues along with some corrosion required getting the airleron control cables rebuilt by WEBCO (they did a great job with super quick turn around). In discussions with WEBCO they mentioned that a lot of Comanches they see have control cables in dire need of tensioning.

If you have speed spats installed, I highly recommend taking a look behing the wheel well liner to make sure that your control cables arent rubbing the speed slipper screws. Also, ensure your cable tensions are getting checked at each annual. It was very obvious that the previous A/P that completed annuals on my aircraft had not been doing this.

Blue Skies

Jim