Chapter 27 - Section 3

DAR Inspection

The time has come for me to get the ultimate check on the quality of my work on the Cozy - FAA Inspection. I checked around for a Designated Airworthiness Representative (DAR) and was able to locate Mr. Adam Valdez. Mr. Valdez had performed quite a few canard inspections around Southern California (including Chino Airport). According to other builders, Adam was a real detailed person and a knowledgeable inspector. The entire inspection process takes about 4 hours - not bad for checking out all the bolts, nuts, electrical connections, mounting methods, all the FAA required placards and so on...   After a few e-mail exchanges and phone calls, Mr. Valdez arrived on Sunday morning (8/21/2016) with his inspection tools, while I had all the necessary forms completed and notarized.

Adam went right to work and within 5 minutes, he found my first blunder - a missing cotter key at the nose...I am doomed, wonder what he is going to find in the remaining 3 hours and 55 minutes! However, its a good thing because I did not catch it when I went through the entire Cozy, from head to toe, 3 times before Adam arrived and I certainly want to keep an open mind. I added in a new cotter key right away as Adam moved towards the radio stack wiring. I nervously watched Adam perform his inspection, yet enjoyed his "silent treatment". All in all, I got about 5 dings - mostly minor, such as tightness of a stop nut, a wire bundle lying too close to the edge of a sheet metal part etc. The only ding that requires a bit of effort is safety wiring the turnbuckles I used to keep the rudder cables taut. At least nothing serious enough to undermine the airworthiness of the aircraft. All in all, it was a good day.

Here's a couple of pictures showing my dings. They look "ordinary", but Adam picked them out effortlessly. Personally, I really appreciated his effort! Here's a few pics:

Picture#1 - Missing cotter pin at end of dowel pin. Corrective action - added cotter pin.

Picture #2 - Lock nut at rod end needs to be tightened. Corrective action - tightened accordingly.

Picture #3 - Nut for positive cable needs further tightening. Corrective action - tightened accordingly.

Picture #4 - Wire bundle too close to top of sheet metal bracket. Corrective action - added wire tie base (black plastic) at top of sheet metal bracket and secured wire bundle to it.

Picture #5 - Need safety wire to secure turnbuckle barrel. Corrective action - added single wrap safety wire to turnbuckle to prevent turnbuckle from rotating.