Vent: I think the push for all composite repairs in GA is moving too fast

Honestly, I've seen a big change in the last five years at our shop in Daytona. We went from maybe one composite patch job a month to three or four a week now on older Cessnas and Pipers. Everyone says it's the future because it's lighter and stronger. But tbh, I'm not fully sold. Last week I had to redo a bonded repair on a 172 flap that a different shop did just two years ago. The patch looked perfect on the surface, but moisture got in between the layers and started to delaminate. We found it during a routine inspection. The old way, drilling out the bad skin and riveting in a doubler, might add a tiny bit of weight, but you can see every part of it and it lasts the life of the plane. With composites, if the prep isn't perfect in a hidden spot, you get a hidden problem. Has anyone else had to fix a failed composite repair that looked good from the outside?

3 comments

3 Comments

emery_white1mo ago

Have you considered that the shop that did the original repair might have skipped the proper surface prep or used the wrong cure cycle? Even with aluminum repairs, poor workmanship leads to failures, but with composites the mistakes are just harder to spot until they show up. A good bonded repair should outlast the airplane if the process is followed right, but you're right that it demands more discipline than riveting.

blair_martin1mo ago

Spot on about the prep and cure being critical. But saying a bonded repair should outlast the airframe is a stretch. Every bonded joint has a finite life, even a perfect one, because the adhesive itself ages and loses strength over time. It's more reliable than a bad rivet job, but it's not magic.

joel_martinez1mo ago

Ugh, you're totally right. Nothing lasts forever, even the good stuff. Makes me nervous thinking about it!