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AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE AND OTHER STUFF |
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WHO IS HE ANYWAY?
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BY DOG BRENNEMAN
AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE 101 -- VOL. 1 You have just concluded the sale (which included an annual) and taken delivery of a nice twin Comanche. You have an uneventful and enjoyable flight back to the old “home drome.” Just as you taxi in to parking, you notice two gentlemen strolling the ramp with badges on their pocket. As you exit your “new” bird, they introduce them selves, as being from the local FSDO and you are now being ramp checked. You show them all the required paperwork and so far they are happy. They ask to peek inside your airplane and of course you allow the look. Then they ask you a question, “Where is the Vmc 90 and Vne 230 placards as required by an airworthiness directive?” You look around the panel and come up with the standard “deer in the headlights” look. You attempt to give them the name of the IA who just did the annual, but they only write down your address for the license suspension. What!!! My license is being suspended because of the lack of a decal or two that the mechanic didn’t put on the panel? Yep—that’s right they say, because the owner is responsible for maintenance—not the mechanic. They refer you to part 91.403 and 91.9 and off they go with another example of an airplane owner that was not pro-active in the maintenance of the airplane. If you are one of those airplane owners who just keep those “dime-store” logs in a sack during the year and give them to the IA for each annual; and then put the sack back in the closet for another year, you are without a doubt vulnerable for a violation yourself! If you trust the shop/IA implicitly and are not active in the log entries and compliance with the airworthiness directives and other items, I can guarantee you something has “fallen through the cracks.” After many years of logbook reviews, I have yet to see what we call a “legal” airplane. Even a new 172 straight from Independence, Missouri did not have a good, clear sign-off of 91.207d—the date was in question due to the typist format. There is always some discrepancy either small or really significant that has been overlooked or misinterpreted or not understood by the mechanic. The older the airplane, the more we can find. We just finished an annual on a 1966 Cherokee 180 of spring 1966 manufacture date and confirmed and entered in the logs compliance with an AD of late 1966 that was NEVER addressed by any IA. We even did an annual on the aircraft of a retired FSDO (like the one who would ramp you) employee and found an altimeter with a 30- year old AD still applicable. While we are thinking of ADs, let’s get one point perfectly clear. The airworthiness directive is federal law! The compliance with an Ad is not optional—you have to do it! I was once explaining to an airplane owner the problem of complying with ADs and the fact that we usually find one or more not done or incompletely done and the owner said that he felt that his mechanic surely did the important ones! You can’t pick and chose—you have to do them all if they apply to your aircraft, no matter how insignificant they seem. If the AD says to put a decal on the panel (like the old parking brake AD), the decal has to be there to pass an annual even if you know perfectly well how to use the parking brake. If the IA doesn’t see much importance in the non- presence of the decal, you are the one who is getting “set up” for the ramp check. Additionally, the FAA can also take the mechanic to task if they so desire. This article is the first in a series. Print and save each one for review of concepts and information later when needed. Let’s now review today’s concept: THE OWNER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR MAINTENANCE.----- COMPLIANCE WITH ANY AD ISSUED AND APPLICABLE AGAINST THE AIRCRAFT OR AN ITEM INSTALLED IN THE AIRCRAFT IS MANDATORY WITHIN THE TIME FRAME SPECIFIED ON EACH AD. As a preview to 002, open your logs and look for nice, neat printing of entries with listing of part numbers installed and removed, sentences with verbs to delineate action and work done, etc.----- old Dog over n out don’t call me Shirley. Logbooks 102 - Vol 2 Open up that brown paper bag/handbag/case and look in your logbook stuff and see if you can find and read the actual ADs (the entire text from the FAA for what applies and the work to be done) that apply to your aircraft from your past annuals. If you cannot find these ADs in their entirety, I can generally guarantee that something has dropped thru the cracks in the compliance with the ADs and you do not have a legal aircraft. Generally, all you will find is an AD list (by numbers—like 96-07-02) derived by the IA from the IA’s own computer search with notes scribbled on this list as to whether or not the AD applies or is complied with somehow. The existence of this list usually means the IA read the AD on the computer screen (usually quickly and only once) and didn’t even print it out for multiple readings for comprehension. Aye, now comes the rub! Reading ADs is actually an art, and many mechanics didn’t like their English teacher in high school, so we have in the industry a significant reading for comprehension problem—especially with many complicated ADs. Beware of the annotation p/c/w used by IAs. This annotation is NOT an official FAA term, and is used historically by IAs to indicate, "previously complied with." This entry is probably the worst entry you can find in your logbooks and always bears further examination. For example: An old AD on a United Instruments altimeters (AD 74-24-13) instructed the owner/mechanic to check for certain "bad" serial numbers. Then put a "VFR only" placard on the panel or immediately get the altimeter modified or a new one. In all cases, the altimeter had to be replaced/modified by 30 November 1976. So, many mechanics just made the placard and signed off the AD as c/w-complied with. A subsequent AD log review by another IA later led to a p/c/w and so on through the years and the owner flew with an illegal altimeter for all those years since December, 1976. I even found one of these altimeters in use 30 years later by a retired FAA guy in his airplane! Some ADs are needlessly done at the owners expense due to the reading for comprehension ability of the IA. There is a Hartzel AD for a prop on an IO 360 that was done for the props on a twin Comanche which had IO-320s and to which the AD did not apply. The owner never knew he wasted the money. Had that owner been able to read the AD and been pro-active in the logbook review, this event may not have happened. Sometimes the actual English words used in writing the AD can fool some mechanics. "Subsequent to" is a common usage and one shop read these words as meaning before the specified time and just didn’t do the AD at all. What do you think these words mean right now? That computer search for ADs by the IAs is not perfect. They have to look under various sections in their disc such as engine, airframe, prop, appliances, etc. and then the FAA may go crazy and list a piston under appliance and be easily missed by the IA. Give a dozen IAs the same airplane and have them pull up the ADs each one thinks apply to that airplane and I’ll bet you lunch you don’t get the same items on the 12 lists. If you are paying shop rate for each of these searches, you are wasting much money year to year. Back to my soapbox: Just subscribe to the ADLOG (adlog.com ) system of maintenance and they will track ADs for you, send you the text of each AD and send you a current list for each annual. Follow their format and you’ll have a system that meets all the FARs and will be easy to use and save you time and money. Another hint—don’t let the mechanic write in the book. You do all the PRINTING and make sure to enter all numbers (serial, model, mods etc.) in the book to save time later. This action will keep you in the loop and up to speed with the maintenance. How to read an AD will be our next subject. Old Dog over n out—don’t call me Shirley
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Website is sponsored by: Background photo courtesy Curt Far |
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