That is the part in question that had the surface corrosion. It does cost over $200K. It might be $300K now. Per leg.

You could also replace the trunnion, 5541306-5, but that would require a rebuild of the gear assembly, which isn't trivial and requires specialized tools per the CMM.

The issue was the corrosion wasn't in an area the CMM provided guidance on corrosion mediation, despite it seemingly being in a non critical area. Stevens policy on that was to replace the part or engage Textron engineering for guidance. Given the prebuy situation, replacement was all they could offer. They apparently had no ability to use common sense and just clean and paint it.

The larger shops tended to create trivial engineering request at Textron. I was aware on one such case where Textron engineering was asked about a spot of corrosion on the small bracket holding the air conditioner hour meter. Hmm. Each such request, no matter how trivial, was at least a few $K of charge from Textron.


It was a quote for addressing the squawk. I don't know if the owner proceeded with it, but I doubt he did. He contacted me asking if I new where to get the gear reworked and/or to find a used one. I didn't have a lot of guidance on that since I was still learning the Citation ecosystem. There are used ones out there and they are sometimes six figures with less than half life left.

I've been to Stevens MQY, actually interviewed them to be my potential shop. While I was talking to one of their reps, another owner was in with the manager complaining about a $20K charge for reworking his EL panels. The owner was upset the shop didn't consult him first about the work. It was impossible not to hear some of that conversation. It became pretty clear Stevens wasn't the right kind of shop for me. This was 2019.

If you want to be hands off, drop the keys and a blank check, and let the shop make your plane new again, Stevens is perfect. Just remember that when you read reports on what it costs to fly these airplanes. What shop you choose and what strategies you employ make a huge difference. There are many viable ways to operate these planes, despite what any given expert may say.

Mike C.

Most people who come up to me on the ramp say they look super cool…

Please document that price.

I really hope you are right! If so, there has been a major price reduction!

Mike C.

Please document that price.

I really hope you are right! If so, there has been a major price reduction!

Mike C.

That's the piston and axle, not the gear leg.


You are right about the date, it was in 2020, specifically Oct 30, 2020. The offices were in temporary trailers and the shop was 90% King Airs at that time.

I confused it with another shop visit in 2019, sorry about that.

Mike C.

how do you know?

I do learn things from the arguments between Mike and Chip. However, their tone and tenor could improve without detracting from the points they try to make.

I remember both of these guys also had heated exchanges with JC. The difference was JC was, by his nature, funny.

Anybody else miss JC?

I just talked to Crandall last Saturday. That dude is wired differently for sure, the funny thing is as passionate as he is about things, he doesn’t care! He just likes to argue, likes to engage and compete. He is a skier not a surfer, but he is the epitome of a laidback surfer dude!

But yes, great sense of humor, I know he could be repetitive and tedious, if he couldn’t win by facts, he would beat you down by saying the same thing over and over until you surrendered.

Great discussions!

That's the piston and axle, not the gear leg.
Mike C.

As given before, 6641000-35, left gear leg assembly.

Potential V buyer is in prebuy at Stevens. Stevens squawks this minor corrosion spot on the gear leg (trunnion part specifically, I believe, I never got pics, described as dime sized paint bubble). That isn't covered in the CMM repair lists, possibly because it was too trivial to mention. Stevens says this is an airworthiness issue with no CMM fix. Stevens says they can go to Textron engineering for a "letter" to fix it, but that takes time and is not assured to be issued. The trunnion part is not available from Textron in a reasonable amount of time (and takes specialized tools to replace in the assembly). The only clear and immediate fix they can offer is replacing the gear leg (6641000-35) and that will cost a bit under $250K. Both seller and buyer are unhappy now since seller doesn't want to adjust price that much and buyer thinks the deal is in jeopardy for a plane otherwise acceptable.

The buyer asked if I knew of a shop that fixes or overhauls Citation gear legs so they could consult with them. I didn't (and still don't). I don't exactly know what it means to "overhaul" Citation gear since the CMM only speaks about "repair". You can't zero time them, they are life limited to a certain number of cycles and that's it. Whatever is called an "overhaul" seems like just wear dimension check and if it fails, you buy a new one, so really just an inspection. Maybe they paint it, but I don't think paint can be called an overhaul.

I don't know what happened to the deal. It felt like a simple clean, prime and paint would have solved the issue and Stevens wouldn't do that.

This was 2019, before my Citation ownership but during my hunt and research into the Citation ecosystem, and I think the prebuy was at the KDAY Stevens facility, though the location wasn't given. Stevens no longer operates at KDAY, closing that shop in early 2023.

Stevens focus is definitely high end work. They used to be Stevens Aviation, now they are Stevens Aerospace and Defense Systems. The name change is informative as to their company philosophies. Those seem to align with your general tendency to favor expensive high end shops. Those don't align with my needs for a shop with more flexibility and options, with better economics. I'm certain I would have spent $200K more had Stevens been maintaining my Citation than I have so far at my local shop.

If a buyer wants to prebuy my plane at Stevens, I'm okay with that, but when we get to the squawk list, I reserve the right to take it back to my mechanic and have him address the issues, then present it to the buyer with those squawks addressed. If that is unacceptable to the buyer, they can walk and lose their deposit.

Mike C.

As given before, 6641000-35, left gear leg assembly.

Potential V buyer is in prebuy at Stevens. Stevens squawks this minor corrosion spot on the gear leg (trunnion part specifically, I believe, I never got pics, described as dime sized paint bubble). That isn't covered in the CMM repair lists, possibly because it was too trivial to mention. Stevens says this is an airworthiness issue with no CMM fix. Stevens says they can go to Textron engineering for a "letter" to fix it, but that takes time and is not assured to be issued. The trunnion part is not available from Textron in a reasonable amount of time (and takes specialized tools to replace in the assembly). The only clear and immediate fix they can offer is replacing the gear leg (6641000-35) and that will cost a bit under $250K. Both seller and buyer are unhappy now since seller doesn't want to adjust price that much and buyer thinks the deal is in jeopardy for a plane otherwise acceptable.

The buyer asked if I knew of a shop that fixes or overhauls Citation gear legs so they could consult with them. I didn't (and still don't). I don't exactly know what it means to "overhaul" Citation gear since the CMM only speaks about "repair". You can't zero time them, they are life limited to a certain number of cycles and that's it. Whatever is called an "overhaul" seems like just wear dimension check and if it fails, you buy a new one, so really just an inspection. Maybe they paint it, but I don't think paint can be called an overhaul.

I don't know what happened to the deal. It felt like a simple clean, prime and paint would have solved the issue and Stevens wouldn't do that.

This was 2019, before my Citation ownership but during my hunt and research into the Citation ecosystem, and I think the prebuy was at the KDAY Stevens facility, though the location wasn't given. Stevens no longer operates at KDAY, closing that shop in early 2023.

Stevens focus is definitely high end work. They used to be Stevens Aviation, now they are Stevens Aerospace and Defense Systems. The name change is informative as to their company philosophies. Those seem to align with your general tendency to favor expensive high end shops. Those don't align with my needs for a shop with more flexibility and options, with better economics. I'm certain I would have spent $200K more had Stevens been maintaining my Citation than I have so far at my local shop.

If a buyer wants to prebuy my plane at Stevens, I'm okay with that, but when we get to the squawk list, I reserve the right to take it back to my mechanic and have him address the issues, then present it to the buyer with those squawks addressed. If that is unacceptable to the buyer, they can walk and lose their deposit.

Mike C.

You are right about the date, it was in 2020, specifically Oct 30, 2020. The offices were in temporary trailers and the shop was 90% King Airs at that time.

I confused it with another shop visit in 2019, sorry about that.

Mike C.

I rest my case.

So in the end you do phase inspections during the purchase process - not “pre purchase” inspections. A pre purchase inspection is an undefined process that buys your customer nothing and a total waste of his money. It can be whatever you want it to be and does little in terms of uncovering defects or adding value to the aircraft or the purchase process.

I guess you like to argue for arguments sake.

I rest my case.

So in the end you do phase inspections during the purchase process - not “pre purchase” inspections. A pre purchase inspection is an undefined process that buys your customer nothing and a total waste of his money. It can be whatever you want it to be and does little in terms of uncovering defects or adding value to the aircraft or the purchase process.

I guess you like to argue for arguments sake.

I rest my case.

So in the end you do phase inspections during the purchase process - not “pre purchase” inspections. A pre purchase inspection is an undefined process that buys your customer nothing and a total waste of his money. It can be whatever you want it to be and does little in terms of uncovering defects or adding value to the aircraft or the purchase process.

I guess you like to argue for arguments sake.