PA32 wing skin crack

dc871f

Left wing skin cracks under doubler. Anyone have experience with this? Sanded paint down on end of crack to make sure it just wasnt paint crack.

empannin

Hi, I would discuss with an AP-IA and/or a DAR. Looks like stress cracks from the rivet holes but you will want a professional opinion on next steps.
I think the skin is available and I also found this post which might help too. I think the best case is stop drilling and monitoring. The cracks heading to the fuselage have no where to go.

https://piperowner.org/talk/discussion/154660/wing-skin-repair-help

Scott Sherer

Good catch, DC! I'm going to look under the rubber molding on my plane tomorrow. Thanks for teaching me something new!

dc871f

Talked to Airframe Components, they see these type of cracks a lot of times. Monitor them, or reskin. Was quoted $1800 for the labor, extra if you want it painted (the entire wing). Removing the wing and shipping is on you.

A patch will probably suffice, but then you will probably get hammered at the sale when that day comes.

Piper's new skins for that area are better engineered now to prevent these in the future.

bocapilot

Interesting find. I had a patch put on my right wing. I am not worried about resale value at all. A properly done and documented patch with pictures should not affect resale in my opinion. See link to my repair. I will add mine was hanger rash and not stress. I think a patch is a viable option https://piperowner.org/talk/discussion/154660/wing-skin-repair-help#latest

dc871f

Thanks for sharing. That was a nice repair. If I patch it will have to be a scab patch, which I'm not really opposed to. The alternative is removing the wing and and reskinning the area. Not really wanting to do that at all.