After much back and forth between the FAA and owners of affected Cessna twins, two final Airworthiness Directives about wing spars were issued last week. The final ADs require a spar-strap modification, but allow most owners up to 800 flight hours to comply -- that's four to eight years of flying for most owner-operators. The modification then is good for another 5,500 to 12,000 hours, with no further inspections required. The initial cost to comply is still high -- aviation columnist Mike Busch told AVweb he estimates it will cost $40,000 to $60,000 per airplane, and up to two months of downtime. However, he said, the market value of Cessna 300/400 twins should start increasing now that the AD is on the streets. "It has long been my feeling that the uncertainty of the impending rulemaking was depressing the market more than the certainty of a known AD," Busch said. "Furthermore, the spar-strap mod will instantly increase the market value of the aircraft by very nearly 100 percent of the cost of the modification, so the modification cost will largely be recaptured if and when the aircraft is sold."
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.avweb.com/briefs/faa-issues-final-cessna-wing-spar-ads