As a student pilot, it amazed me how many nooks and crannies there were on the training airplanes I flew, plus the number of openings, doors, covers and access panels. I don’t know what I was expecting, but the fact all this is designed to be opened up for inspection and put back together took some getting used to.
As I progressed through training, certification, an instrument rating and, finally, ownership of a previously owned Beech A36 Bonanza, I got used to it. I even helped my A&P-IA with the annual inspection a few times. That just exposed me to even more nooks, crannies and access panels, of course. I made it a habit to closely inspect them after any maintenance was performed and during my preflight preparations.
