170 Mechanics in San Diego

KMac · Post by **KMac** » Wed May 18, 2005 4:52 pm

I know there are some association members in San Diego area. Could any of you recommend a mechanic? Are any of you mechanics in San Diego? I have used the Cessna dealer - and they are very good mechanics but are so busy they have little time to devote to my plane. I would like to find someone who is particularly familiar with the 170.
Thanks for your help.

Kevin

zero.one.victor · Post by **zero.one.victor** » Wed May 18, 2005 5:32 pm

IMHO the 170 is not a particularly hard airplane to maintain, insofar as requiring any special knowledge specific to the model. Of course it's nice having a mechanic who is already familiar with 170's, but it seems like any A&P who is well-versed in single-engine Cessna's (like 150's & 172's) will do fine. I would recommend that you get a copy of the type certificate data sheet (TCDS), the Illustrated Parts Catalog (IPC), as well as the parts catalog & overhaul manual for the C-145/O-300 Continental engine. And maybe the early Cessna 100-series shop manual ( don't have one iof those myself). There are some particulars (such as the stall warning system being optional,not mandatory) which you should find out about that some mechanic's may not be on top of.
The Association's 170 Book, SRAM book, and the upcoming installments of the Assn's own maintenance manual are nice to have also.
I would recommend finding a mechanic who will do "owner-assisted" annual inspections & maintenance/repair work. Even if you do more tool-fetching & watching than actual wrench-turning, you will learn a lot and maybe even save some money to boot.
I knew Jim also, I'm glad his airplane ended up with someone who's gonna be into "the 170 thing"!

Eric

cessna170bdriver · Post by **cessna170bdriver** » Wed May 18, 2005 9:02 pm

If you haven't already, look up Duane Shockey in the association directory and give him a call. I don't recall him ever posting here, so a phone call might be the best way to contact him.

I don't know whether he's an A&P or AI, but he would be more than happy to steer you in the right direction. He has been a member of the association for 26 years, is the current President of the association, is the SoCal Area Rep, and restored his ragwing from the ground up. Besides all that, he's a great guy to boot!

Hope this helps,
Miles

Post by **GAHorn** » Thu May 19, 2005 4:25 am

cessna170bdriver wrote:If you haven't already, look up Duane Shockey in the association directory and give him a call. I don't recall him ever posting here, so a phone call might be the best way to contact him.

I don't know whether he's an A&P or AI, but he would be more than happy to steer you in the right direction. He has been a member of the association for 26 years, is the current President of the association, is the SoCal Area Rep, and restored his ragwing from the ground up. Besides all that, he's a great guy to boot!

Hope this helps,
Miles

Miles, just because you're a past president ... don't expect others to pick up on your attempt to establish a "suck-up" attitude towards presidents present and past.

On a more serious note, Kevin, Miles is actually steering you in the right direction, as is Eric. But Eric might have made an inadvertently misleading comment....many times the average C-172 mechanic will miss some features of the 170...such as the rudder cable system differences which can be serious oversights, and the stall warn system is only optional on earlier models. It's required equipment on the B. I agree with your idea to try to find someone more familiar with the 170 than the average repairman.

KMac · Post by **KMac** » Thu May 19, 2005 4:28 am

Thank you for your advice Eric, Miles and George. I do have some of the books that you listed - I imagine that it'll take a little while before I get the directory.

Kevin

cessna170bdriver · Post by **cessna170bdriver** » Thu May 19, 2005 3:37 pm

Kevin,

If you're already a member and just haven't received your hard copy of the directory yet, you can go the "Members Only" page of cessna170.org and access the electronic copy.

Hope to meet you at a fly-in soon!

Miles

KMac · Post by **KMac** » Thu May 19, 2005 4:39 pm

Thanks Miles. I am learning as I go. I'll check out the electronic version. I look forward to getting to one of the fly-ins soon.
Kevin

zero.one.victor · Post by **zero.one.victor** » Thu May 19, 2005 4:48 pm

As a 170 buff, I'm well aware of (at least some of) the differences between the different years/models such as the revamped rudder-cable system in the 55-56 models. A mechanic performing maintenance or an inspection on Kevin's airplane may or may not be aware that these differences-- but it doesn't matter as long as he properly addresses the features in place on that particular airplane. The TCDS & proper IPC should give him the information he needs. But like I said, it doesn't hurt to have a guy who knows 170's (or at least taildraggers),I just don't feel that it's mandatory-- after all, this stuff ain't rocket science.

Eric