Now comes the fun part: I will take airworthiness directives (AD) for $300, Alex. We talked about that, too. As mentioned in the AD article, save some headaches and subscribe to Tdata for AD research. Jim Thomas and the team also have a complement of other maintenance suites to aid in your endeavor. Mention this article, and Thomas will give you three months for the price of four. What? There are plenty of other service documents to keep you busy. Service bulletins (SB) are a good idea, and although not mandatory, they sometimes do turn into ADs. We always tried to do SBs at the shop unless the OEM issued them for commercial reasons. Yes, it happens. Don’t forget to check your components too. You can check Cessna 172 and be done. What about the magnetos, propeller, starter, etc.? These accessories can all have ADs with which to contend. Resources I know what you are thinking: When do we work on the airplane? Please have patience, my young padawan. Regardless of what the chief pilot tells you, you must take your time with aircraft maintenance. Trust me, I have been the root cause of many rescheduled tee times. Sampson and I will start pulling panels soon enough, and FLYING will be there to capture it all. Maybe I will record some video to accompany our work. Would you like to go flying with us? In the meantime, here is some light reading to study until then. So, you heard me drop the term IA up at the beginning. If you want more intel on that rating, check out the FAA Inspection Authorization Information Guide (FAA-G-8082-19). Although it is a bit dated, there are still some good nuggets of knowledge there. Another key resource is Advisory Circular (AC) AC 20-106: Aircraft Inspection for the General Aviation Aircraft Owner . The Feds put this out in 1978, and the original is still the latest and greatest. Hey, if something works, then keep flying it. Next are the wonder twins, two heavy hitters from the Code of Federal Regulations : FAR 91.409 Inspections and FAR 91.417 Maintenance records. Learn them, love them, live them. OK, kids, that’s all for now. Remember, I will be back soon with some real, live- action commentary and maybe even some flick action. Until then, remember to stay safe and keep the blue side up. ] RICHARD SCARBROUGH is a U.S. Navy veteran, A&P mechanic, and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University graduate. His experience ranges from general and corporate aviation to helicopters, business jets, and commercial airliners. Former owner of a 145 repair station, he’s currently a Program Manager for a major airline and MRO and a member of the T-C-Alliance. Follow him on X (Twitter) @RScarCo.
You’ll learn a lot about the parts that go on your airplane, and what kind of approvals they need.
Inspection can denote a myriad of things, usually the airframe, powerplant, and propeller. However, before cracking into that, a best practice is to conduct a document recon first. I like thoroughly reviewing the main logbooks, airframe, powerplant, and propeller. Has any major maintenance been performed since the last annual on any of these? As Sampson is the owner-operator, he has an intimate working knowledge of his aircraft, its history, and maintenance schedule. When taking on an annual inspection job for a client, it is paramount to gain an understanding of how the aircraft is maintained. A review of the logbooks is a start. There can be telltale signs of potential trouble based on historical records. For instance, you see a logbook entry for an engine repair—the camshaft failed and contaminated the engine with metal. Did you also see an entry where the maintenance provider also flushed the constant speed propeller? If not, congratulations, you now have dirty, metal-laden oil introduced back into the fresh engine. Great.
Even a humble Cessna 172 can prove a worthy source of education for you.
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