Aero-Tips!
A good pilot is always learning -- how many times have you heard
this old standard throughout your flying career? There is no truer
statement in all of flying (well, with the possible exception of
"there are no old, bold pilots.") It's part of what makes aviation
so exciting for all of us... just when you think you've seen it
all, along comes a scenario you've never imagined.
Aero-News has called upon the expertise of Thomas P. Turner,
master CFI and all-around-good-guy, to bring our readers -- and us
-- daily tips to improve our skills as aviators, and as
representatives of the flying community. Some of them, you may have
heard before... but for each of us, there will also be something we
might never have considered before, or something that didn't
"stick" the way it should have the first time we memorized it for
the practical test.
It is our unabashed goal that "Aero-Tips" will help our readers
become better, safer pilots -- as well as introducing our
ground-bound readers to the concepts and principles that keep those
strange aluminum-and-composite contraptions in the air... and allow
them to soar magnificently through it.
Look for our daily Aero-Tips segments, coming each day to you
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always welcome, as are additions or discussion of each day's tips.
Remember... when it comes to being good pilots, we're all in this
together.
Aero-Tips 03.15.06
A reader wrote: "Thanks for the great article" on returning a an
airplane to service after maintenance (Aero-Tips 3.09.06).
The reader continues: "Now on to the other side of the
operation... paying for the work. Owners just can’t seem to
understand the other guy’s view and most think the mechanic
is ripping them off... (well I have to agree with some of them as
some FBOs really soak 'em for nickel and dime things that really
didn't need fixing). But then again the mechanic hates to be
intimidated and so he too gets real selective about which
people’s planes he will work on."
My response
You're right, a few
pilots give owners a bad name when it comes to paying for
legitimate work done on an airplane. The truth is that I can get a
Beech Baron repaired here in Wichita for about two-thirds the
hourly shop rate as my car at the local Chevy dealer. There's a
certain sense of obligation by some pilots to have the airplane
serviced at 1980s shop rates.
I attended the very first of Mike Busch's Savvy Aviator
seminars. The course teaches owners to develop a
working relationship with maintenance professionals. One important
idea from the course is that owners should ask mechanics for an
itemized squawk list, with dollar estimates for repairs. This list
should identify which items are required for airworthiness, and
which are optional on the part of the owner. The owner then
authorizes what is and is not done. The owner pays shop rates for
the preparation of this list, because the mechanic should be
compensated for his/her time. The intent is to open lines of
communication, to avoid surprises when the bill comes, and most
importantly to get owner and mechanic to work together as a
team.
Almost every state has laws that require just that process for
automobiles; similar procedures are the hallmark of a truly
professional aviation maintenance facility, and frankly aircraft
owners should demand that level of cooperation and service. I think
if done properly it works best for everyone.
Aero-tip of the day: Properly maintaining an
airplane is a team effort by the owner and the mechanic. Both
should understand where the other is coming from, and work together
to keep planes flying as inexpensively as safety allows.