“Believe in your wings, and the sky is yours to conquer.” – unknown
To believe in your wings, a pilot must be confident in the fitness of their aircraft. In the United States, owner-assisted aircraft maintenance is a viable means to ensure a plane is well-maintained. This alternative is included within strict boundaries to ensure the airworthiness of all aircraft. Boundaries are laid out in Federal Air Regulations (FAR) of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 43.
Generally, one must be an FAA-certified airframe and powerplant (A&P) mechanic to perform any work on an aircraft. However, the owner-assisted preventative and/or annual inspection is an option. To take advantage of this, you must work within the oversight of a certified A&P or someone with an Inspection Authorization (IA) certification.
Developing The Owner-Assisted Inspection Relationship
This provision was no doubt written for those who had some mechanical skills and enjoyed doing the work, but didn’t have the time, desire, or means to go through the A&P certification process. There are several reasons this provision benefits all concerned:
First,
it can help lower the cost of owning an airplane. I began owner-assisted aircraft maintenance of my Aircoupe almost from the beginning. It was in rough shape when I first took ownership. Once it was restored to airworthiness, I turned the annual maintenance over to the shop that restored it. However, once I had a hangar home on an airport, one of my neighbors agreed to oversee my owner-assisted annuals. I did this for over ten years, which included a complete engine rebuild in 2006, overseen by an FAA-certified IA.
Second,
as you can imagine, you learn a lot about the airplane you are flying in this process. It is quite empowering, knowing your plane inside out.
Third,
pilots who have this level of knowledge of their aircraft contribute to the overall safety of the US aviation system. Granted, the more complex the aircraft, the less practical this hands-on approach becomes. Pilots still must know the complexities of the craft they fly, but to be involved becomes unwieldy in terms of knowledge, time, tools, and even space. Where that cutoff point is not a hard line, but it exists.
Finally,
the delegation of tasks is set by the person with the oversight responsibility and by the FARs. In my case, I took on the “grunt” work of the annual inspection, such as:
- Opening up the airplane for inspection, such as removing inspection covers, cowling, and interior floor boards
- Oiling hinges, bushings, and other moving parts inside and out
- Greasing brakes and topping off brake fluid
- Draining the engine oil
- Drafting a “squak” list of items I noted in the above process, with any other things I noticed ahead of the inspection
The A&P/IA would:
- Check all Airworthiness Directives and Service Bulletins
- Conduct their visual inspection of the work I had done while looking over the airplane with a trained eye
- Do the engine compression check, clean and gap the sparkplugs.
- Check the oil filter and other items on the annual inspection checklist and the squawk list.
I would help with the above as directed. Once all was in order, I would reassemble the airplane, starting with the engine oil. The A&P would fill out the required certification paperwork and sign off the engine and airframe logbooks.
Ultimately, the A&P/IA has the legal responsibility and liability for all work done. That is where the relationship’s trust comes into play. Having had a job where I signed off on others’ work as an air traffic controller, I understand the “trust but verify” process and take no offense when questioned or asked to redo something.
Other Owner-Assisted Aircraft Maintenance Benefits
Having a fair amount of hands-on time maintaining my airplane gives me a certain amount of confidence with dealing with situations and talking with mechanics. It also gives me a bit of credibility when I am doing so. Although I have not found that the aircraft maintenance shops try to unnecessarily do things (unlike some auto shops*), I do not hesitate to ask questions when something unexpected arises.
The ten years I spent getting to know the nuts and bolts of my airplane have contributed to my part in the building of my EAA Biplane. No, it was not enough to tackle this build on my own, but at least I developed some skills and an appreciation of the process. Since selling my hangar home, I have returned to having a shop do the annual inspections. I miss the hands-on, but then again, one can only do so much and still have time to fly!
Do any of the pilots here do their maintenance? What are the reasons? Let me know in the comments!
*I once had an unsuspecting auto mechanic try to sell me all new fan belts when I had my car in for a tire rotation. I had just had the belts changed and had spares in my trunk. I asked him to show me, and he sheepishly backed down. Nice try…..