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 through the Aero-News Network. Suggestions for future Aero-Tips are 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 03.09.06

If you own an airplane (or manage one for somebody else), you have to deal with maintenance and repairs.  That means picking the plane up after work or inspections.

My most common frustration when accepting post-maintenance/inspection airplanes has been incomplete documentation. "The job’s not done 'til the paperwork’s done" is not a cliché, it’s the law when talking about certified airplanes. All work must include a permanent logbook entry and a written return to service. Violations could have severe regulatory and, if something goes wrong, insurance implications.

NOTE: An FBO’s assurance that a logbook sticker is "in the mail" may not satisfy the FAA requirement for logbook entries to be complete before the airplane flies. This means you need to take the logbooks with you when you pick up the airplane, if you didn’t have them when you left the plane at the shop.

FAR 91.407 tells us plainly what it takes (my emphasis added):

§ 91.407 Operation after maintenance, preventive maintenance, rebuilding, or alteration.
(a) No person may operate any aircraft that has undergone maintenance, preventive maintenance, rebuilding, or alteration unless --
(1) It has been approved for return to service by a person authorized under §43.7 of this chapter; and
(2) The maintenance record entry required by §43.9 or §43.11, as applicable, of this chapter has been made.
(b) No person may carry any person (other than crewmembers) in an aircraft that has been maintained, rebuilt, or altered in a manner that may have appreciably changed its flight characteristics or substantially affected its operation in flight until an appropriately rated pilot with at least a private pilot certificate flies the aircraft, makes an operational check of the maintenance performed or alteration made, and logs the flight in the aircraft records.
(c) The aircraft does not have to be flown as required by paragraph (b) of this section if, prior to flight, ground tests, inspection, or both show conclusively that the maintenance, preventive maintenance, rebuilding, or alteration has not appreciably changed the flight characteristics or substantially affected the flight operation of the aircraft.

Aero-tip of the day: Make logbooks available to mechanics that perform or supervise work on your airplane. Bring logs along on trip in case you need work away from home (you may wish to keep a copy of the logs at home just in case). Insist that all log entries be complete before you fly.

FMI: Aero-Tips