pitts_pilot(at)bellsouth.
Guest
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 Posted: Tue Aug 01, 2006 1:14 pm Post subject: more on conditional inspections .... again |
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John W. Cox wrote:
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Linn, I respect your opinion
OK, you're on my good side!!! 
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| Quote: | and would just like to restate what should
become more obvious to kit build owners. Each year and especially over
the next ten, a significant percentage of A & P mechanics with IA
designation are retiring. Many are dropping out due to unreasonably
high insurance rates and increasing risk.
That's aparent. And there doesn't seem to be eager, younger, motivated
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candidates to fill those shoes.
| Quote: | The FAA held a seminar on Aging Certified Aircraft at OSH. These risks
are increasing, the payment received is not.
Amen to that! I don't know how my two A&P/IAs can make a living. It
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surely isn't from me since I do all my own work and they do the inspection.
| Quote: | Homebuilts have a
statistically much higher chance of accident and fatalities. When an
owner/builder/repairman sells his prized asset it is seldom with the
volumes of clear, concise instruction for the continued airworthiness of
a certificated production aircraft or with a trained, informed Customer
Service rep back at the factory (required by the FAA). They are all One
of a Kind beauties in the eye of the seller. Their documentation is
often a joke.
And I'm in that same boat. My documentation meets the requirements ....
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more than that? Nah. I hate paperwork.
| Quote: | I think it is wonderful that you have such a mechanic.
Me too. They are friends too!
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| Quote: | Are you aware if
he/she might be operating without insurance. Many are. The statement
an airplane is an airplane is unfortunately naively vague.
I disagree. The shape is different or the construction materials are
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different ..... but all the systems are pretty much the same. I find
that construction issues are something the inspector can't change ......
but a second pair of trained eyes is important ..... it's why us
builders look at each others projects and flying machines with such a
critical eye. I think we're safer for that. My A&Ps love my Pitts, and
every time they get a chance to eyeball it, they point out stuff or ask
questions. We both gain from that ..... I get an educated viewpoint
from them, and they learn about rag and tube construction. And it's the
little things that count. I still have to really think hard about
routing and the twisting of safety wire ..... I'd rather just loop it
over the top of the bolt. But that's not proper (per them) so I spend a
fair amount of time pondering the 'proper' way. It's the little things.
And there's also the signature (if required) that can be withheld when
a homebuilder just plain refuses to do something correctly. I'm not
sure if I'm expressing myself very well here. But bottom line, if one
of my A&Ps makes a comment I have the opportunity to do the research,
learn from the comment, and either accept or refute it. I will have to
say that one of the A&Ps, although his repairs are technically correct
... he's far from a craftsman. More like a neanderthal with a hatchet.
| Quote: | Many
homebuilders gain needed information on continued airworthiness by word
of mouth not through factory guidance. The documentation is frequently
woefully inadequate. I have many close friends who own warbirds and
face such an extreme cost to maintain those great aged assets they look
for Pen 'N Ink Annual Inspections.
The Feds send me airworthiness info if they know what I have .....
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engines, vacuum pumps, bad hardware etc. ..... but you're right. The
only way most of us know about failure modes comes from a support group
of owners. The newbies ask the pro's (nicer than "older folks" )
and the knowledge is passed on. There is that difference though,
between certificated and experimental documentation.
| Quote: | Keep up your optimism
Sometimes it's tough!
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| Quote: | but my friends at work will enjoy reading about
your respect for their professionalism. If the pay was commensurate,
more might stay.
Oh yeah, I feel your pain. The A&P union seems to have fallen down on
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the job .... and there's a lot of owners that I hear from complaining
about the annual from hell ....... yeah, I'm in that pile too .... I've
beat up on my friends every year trying to keep my flying expenses down.
My bad, I guess, but it's always been that way. I think that if more
owners assisted in their annuals (or conditional inspections) the not
too frequent airplane failur failure rate would go down. There is not
anything we can do about stupid pilot tricks though.
Linn
do not archive ......in case it isn't somewhere else in the email!!!
[quote]
John Cox
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