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Syllabus, Day One
Getting Great Maintenance (Without Going Broke)
We'll discuss what to look for when choosing a maintenance
shop or A&P mechanic, and then how to work most effectively with that
shop or mechanic to obtain top-notch yet cost-efficient maintenance. Maintaining an
 aircraft is a lot like raising a
child: You can throw money at it, but you'll get much better results by
getting personally involved. We'll talk about how owners can
best work with their mechanics to achieve the desired results, how best to stay
"in the loop" and participate in maintenance decisions, and how to
resolve owner/mechanic disagreements or disputes before they get out of
hand. It's not unusual for an owner to feel that an A&P or shop
"has them over a barrel" and we'll cover how an owner should
deal with such situations. We'll discuss why it's so important for owners to learn
all they can about the mechanical aspects of their aircraft, and review some of the
many resources available for of doing that.
Coping With the High Cost of Parts
One of the biggest obstacles to keeping our aging GA fleet flying is the
ridiculously high price of most aircraft parts. You'll learn how an owner can often save hundreds or thousands of dollars on the cost of
repair parts by doing some homework, surfing the Internet, and/or making a
few phone calls. We'll talk about where to find new parts at discount prices,
when to consider overhauled or "continued-time" parts rather than
new ones, buying used but serviceable parts from salvage yards, when to
repair instead of replace, and the little-known provisions of the FARs that
permits an owner to produce his own replacement parts (and exactly what they
do and don't allow). This segment alone will probably repay your seminar
tuition many times over.
LUNCH BREAK
The Rules of the Game
Most pilots are fairly well versed in the Federal Aviation Regulations
that relate to their flying, but most owners are blissfully ignorant of what
their non-flying responsibilities are under the regs, or the regulations
that govern A&Ps and IAs (and owners when they perform owner-performed
maintenance). We'll review the various FARs that establish owner responsibility for
airworthiness, maintenance, recordkeeping, and so forth. We'll talk about what the term "airworthy" actually means (most
owners can't define it, although the FAA says they're responsible for it), why
owners should keep tight control over maintenance of their aircraft and
never abdicate that responsibility to any shop or mechanic.
Do-It-Yourself Maintenance
We'll start by discussing the many "preventive
maintenance" tasks that an owner/pilot is permitted to do without any
requirement for A&P involvement. Most owners are astonished to learn
just how liberal the regulations are when it comes to such owner-performed
maintenance, and the wide variety of routine maintenance tasks they're
allowed to do themselves. For mechanically inclined owners who want to go
even further, we'll review the rules relating to A&P
supervision of maintenance performed by non-A&Ps, and discuss how best
to approach an A&P about supervising owner-performed work. If handled
correctly, there is really no limit to the scope of work an owner may do on
his own aircraft.
Dealing With Mechanicals On The Road
What do you do when your airplane develops a problem on Saturday in Sheepdip,
Nebraska? In this segment, we discuss what information, tools and spares to
carry to help assure that you can get back in the air with minimum delay, trauma
and expense.
Resolving Owner/Mechanic Disputes
It's extraordinarily uncomfortable for an aircraft owner to get into a
disagreement with a mechanic over what maintenance needs to be done,
particularly when the aircraft is undergoing an annual inspection. Most owners
believe that they have no choice but to do things the mechanic's way or risk
never getting the annual signed off. We talk about how to avoid ever getting
into this situation, and then how to handle things if you do. Hint: You don't
have to do things the mechanic's way, and you don't have to re-do the
annual!
Continue to Day Two Syllabus...
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Rapid City SD (Aug 23-24)
95%
Santa Maria CA (Oct 11-12)
80%
For a modest fixed annual fee,
you can now have
your aircraft
maintenance professionally
managed
by
Savvy Aircraft
Maintenance
Management, Inc.
AMT of the Year!
The FAA has honored Mike as its
"National Aviation Maintenance
Technician of the Year" for 2008.
Mike will receivethe award from the
FAA Administrator at EAA AirVenture.
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