We’re helping a neighbor friend clean out the hangar of her late husband, and running across all sorts of things that he collected as an A&P. One of them is this Grandaddy document originally published by the CAA (predecessor of the FAA) describing repair and alteration techniques acceptable to use on certified aircraft. Does that title sound a little familiar? Flipping through the pages, I can confirm that this was the parent (or by now, grandparent, considering later revisions) of AC 43.13, Parts A&B! Lots of familiar illustrations, telling me that the foundation of AC 43.13 is older than many think—and the reason I always joke that it is a great reference if you’re trying to patch the skin on a DC-3, or B-17.
And while you might think that “Civil Aeronautics manual 18” was a bargain at just 60 cents, AC 43.13 is now free as a pdf on the internet! So much for inflation.
