Avstar Aircraft of Washington, Inc.

10415 172nd St. E., Hangar A1
Puyallup, WA  98374
office (253)770-9964
or (253)770-0120
email:  avstarair@att.net

Corrosion is bad, very-very bad.

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This debonair had some leaking window and door seals that had been ignored for too long.  When the interior was pulled out enough to perform the spar carry-through inspection, we found some bad corrosion.

Corrosion inside a Debonair  Debonair interior corrosion  Beech Debonair corrosion

And the further we looked, the worse it got, in both cabin sidewalls.

Corrosion patches highlights - Debonair  Debonair corrosion patches Patches of corrosion - Beech Debonair
Detail of corrosion - Debonair  Debonair detail photo of corrosion
Corrosion detail - Debonair  Interior corrosion Beech Debonair

Parts availability was not good.  The few that were available were priced not favorably to keep this old girl in the air.  So, I called Joe at BonanzaParts, an 'experienced parts' reseller, and told him what I had and what I needed.  A few days later, Mark from BonanzaParts called me back and he shared what he could do for us.  I discussed this with the aircraft owner, and a plan was put in place.  While Mark was performing a 'fuselage sides-ectomey' on an aircraft that rolled off the assembly line not long after our patient did, we marked position of and pulled the wings and supported the patient, and began disassembly.

Removing the wngs from a Debonair  Debonair with wing removed
Wing bolts removed from a Beech Debonair  Debonair with side skin removed for replacement

Not long after that, a package arrived from California bearing these gifts...

Donor fuselage piece for a Debonair  Debonair fuselage chunk from donor airplane

Parts harvesting was fruitful.  Components were removed from both donor and patient; donor parts were cleaned, etched, alodyned and primed, then installed to the patient, followed by skin fabrication and fit, drilling then assembly.

Debonair fuselage work  New skin clecoed in place
Debonair donor piece clecoed in place  Debonair with repair in place

Once the same process was accomplished on the left side, aircraft assembly was initiated.  Old skin sections where we had marked wing position were taped into place over the new skins, and the wings were reinstalled with new (lubricated) attachment hardware.

Wing reinstallation process on a repaired Debonair  Debonair wing install
Wing being reinstalled on a Beech Debonair  Beech Debonair with reinstalled wing

Landing gear and flight controls were connected and rigged, wiring and plumbing connections made, fuel and brake system purged, bled and filled, interior going back in.  She's ready for some colors now!

Debonair after repair work  Debonair ready for paint after repair work  Interior - Beech Debonair