Part 43 and annual or other inspections

[marathonrunner]

I guess I am going to get on a soap box. I moved to a new area in the state and of course all the guys who run from trunker to trunker come around to get a "sign off" for their flying pieces of junk. Bummer for them when I have to return it as unairworthy. Here is the deal, I am going to post the FAR's that I have to comply with and explain them in excruciating detail so to speak.

§ 43.13 Performance rules (general).
(a) Each person performing maintenance, alteration, or preventive maintenance on an aircraft, engine, propeller, or appliance shall use the methods, techniques, and practices prescribed in the current manufacturer's maintenance manual or Instructions for Continued Airworthiness prepared by its manufacturer, or other methods, techniques, and practices acceptable to the Administrator, except as noted in §43.16. He shall use the tools, equipment, and test apparatus necessary to assure completion of the work in accordance with accepted industry practices. If special equipment or test apparatus is recommended by the manufacturer involved, he must use that equipment or apparatus or its equivalent acceptable to the Administrator.

(b) Each person maintaining or altering, or performing preventive maintenance, shall do that work in such a manner and use materials of such a quality, that the condition of the aircraft, airframe, aircraft engine, propeller, or appliance worked on will be at least equal to its original or properly altered condition (with regard to aerodynamic function, structural strength, resistance to vibration and deterioration, and other qualities affecting airworthiness).

Note in (a) I have to use the manufaturers maintenance manual OR (emphasis added) Instructions for Continued Airworthiness. This rule has been in place for quite a while and if you have an alteration you do have an ICA in most cases. I need that information to do the inspection correctly. I see a lot of posts looking for lost paperwork because once the installation is in place the paperwork including the ICA disappears. Not cool, poor form. I cannot annual your aircraft without that information and neither can the trunkers but they do.

§ 43.16 Airworthiness limitations.
Each person performing an inspection or other maintenance specified in an Airworthiness Limitations section of a manufacturer's maintenance manual or Instructions for Continued Airworthiness shall perform the inspection or other maintenance in accordance with that section, or in accordance with operations specifications approved by the Administrator under part 121 or 135, or an inspection program approved under §91.409(e).

I think this part is self explanatory.

Guys and gals, keep your paperwork in order and do have it available for your IA or Repair Station when they do your annual.

We are not signing off the future, we are signing off the past. Without complete documentation that is not possible. Do not make us the bad guys because your paperwork is not in order.

O.K. off the box now:)

[marathonrunner]

Oh yes by the way notice that it says in (b) "at least equal to its original or properly altered condition" A lot of people have used the term equal to or better. If is is better it is an alteration and needs a field approval or STC

[FredMa]

"At least equal to" means equal to or better.

[marathonrunner]

I am only stating what the FAA has hammered into us at IA renewals. If you make it better then it is an alteration and you have to decide if it is a minor alteration or a major alteration. By changing something and making it "better" you are changing the TC design. Heck ask a fed and see if we can get 10 different answers from 10 different feds.

[cowboy]

More like 20 different answers from 10 different FEDs. One for their opinion, and one for CYA!

[wingnut]

marathonrunner,
I just copied this from another website. Might be one of the "trunkers" you're talking about? Notice his shop rate is $50. He's charging $250 for an annual. Do the math. Is it possible to an annual inspection in 5 hours? I spend that much time burieds in the logs alone. This guy has got to have roadrunner streaks coming off his arse.......

NEW MAINTENANCE SHOP IN EKY (BESSEMER, AL), FACTORY TRAINED AND OVER 15 YEARS EXPERIENCE (BONANZA'S AND BARON'S) NEW ANNUAL INSPECTION RATES $250 SINGLE ENGINE / $350 MULTI ENGINE. SHOP RATE $50.00 PER HOUR. ALSO WILLING TO TRAVEL TO YOU, AND OWNER ASSISTED ANNUALS WELCOMED.
RHETT <email*@GMAIL.COM>
BXXXXXXX*, XX USA - Wednesday, July 18, 2012 at 15:08:46 (EDT)

[Bill Hart]

Dell,

I may be wrong but I read that as an inspection is $250.00 / $350.00 but say you need your seat tracks replaced then the shop rate would be $50.00 an hour.

[wingnut]

Dell,

I may be wrong but I read that as an inspection is $250.00 / $350.00 but say you need your seat tracks replaced then the shop rate would be $50.00 an hour.

So are you saying $250/$350 is a reasonable amount to pay for an annual inspection?

[marathonrunner]

At 50.00 bucks an hour you should take your car there for an oil change. You are right Del when I get a new plane it takes at least 4-5 hours or more to do the paperwork research. It is usually a mess and that is the start of the discrepancies usually getting the cd from Oklahome city. Then making sure it is according to its TCDS for contorl travels...usually not. The cable tensions...usually slack. The list goes on. I would rather go fishing then look at a plane for 250.00/350.00 for the entire inspection...not possible even at 50.00 per hour especially if all you go by is 43 appendix D.

[Bill Hart]

Dell,

I may be wrong but I read that as an inspection is $250.00 / $350.00 but say you need your seat tracks replaced then the shop rate would be $50.00 an hour.

So are you saying $250/$350 is a reasonable amount to pay for an annual inspection?

No I am saying that by your math his annual takes 5 hours. It reads to me that that is his flat price for an annual.

[HA]

"Send $250 and recent photo of aircraft (in flight if possible) and I will annual your airplane!"

[GAHorn]

It may be unreasonable to condemn the man's work ethics based upon a flat-rate charge for an annual inspection.
An inspection...is just that: Inspection. (not work, or repair, or logbook-error cleanups)
It does not take 5 hours to see if logbooks are accurate and credible. It takes 30 minutes. BUT..it can take 5 hours and MORE if they are not clear, concise, complete with STC papers/ICA's and recently updated with current AD list etc etc.

I'd say this fella's flat rate is similar to a department-stores "loss leader" advertisements. He intends to make his money on the WORK he finds necessary.
One can open up a clean C-170 for inspection in 1 hour, conduct that inspection in 3 hours, and close it in 1 hour....but that would not include any logbook research that required digging, and would not include lubrication (work/service/etc) or any other work. The actual time necessary to complete an annual inspection on a brand new airplane fresh off the assy-line might be only 5 hours.... but clearly is unreasonable on the average fleet airplane. I dare say Rusty Millers or Steve Jacobsens airplanes might make it in only 5 hours. Maybe even Duane Shockey's, but he's one of the rare A&P who keeps his meticulously up-to-date. (Most A&Ps I know have some of the worst airplanes on the ramp. It's like the plumber's or electrician's house or the auto mechanic's wife's car... lots of deferred mx.)
One doesn't have to be an "A&P" to know how to maintain airplanes. (There are thousands of professional maintenance service people out there who do not hold a FAA certificate (most of them work for OEMs/CRS's or under the authority of other shops)....who perform excellent maintenance/repair work.)
And just because one holds that FAA repairman certificate (A&P, etc) doesn't mean their work is good.
I've seen more than just one A&P/IA whose logbooks were the most beautifully-written records of lies I've ever seen. There are real A&Ps (folks who earn their living working on planes) and there are "hobby-est A&Ps (who have the rating but don't use it except as an article of convenience for themselves and their friends.) If I hear of a hobby-A&Ps airplane for sale...I see lots of time to be spent verifying that what's written to be true.
I consider my airplane to be in above-average condition and we spend 12-15 hours each annual to conduct that inspection IF NOTHING IS FOUND other than regular cleaning/inspection/lubrication (which is never the case, ...we consistently find several additional hours of work necessary at the minimum each year.

PS: I've deleted the subject's contact info as I do not wish to promote his business here.

[marathonrunner]

You might be able to open close and inspect and do nothing else to the airframe in five hours but, that for sure does not include an inspection of the engine. Opening, closing and inspection which includes a compression check per Appendix D as well as checking mag timing and spark plug condition would take at minnimum four hours if you are really moving. It also does not include any inspections beyond the scope of part 43 appendix D as may be required by any of the various manufacturers. If you rush through an inspection you are for sure going to miss something somewhere sometime.

Maybe he just opens them up and inspects and closes then hands the guy a list and has to open them up again, check AD's and do all the servicing like change the oil , clean and gap plugs, cut open the filter or check the screen. That is all normal items any mechanic would include in the annual inspection. Why would you look at the plugs and then put them back in and tell the owner" hey we need to gap your plugs" but that is what is implied in defense of this "shop". You for sure have to check the screen/filter in the initial inspection and at least see if the mags need to be timed. Maybe they do and you just put that on the list. Five hours is a visual only and would not include the scope and detail of FAR 43 Appendix D.

[wingnut]

George,
He is advertising doing an annual inspection on a Bonanza for $250. I know what inspection is, and what associated "annual" maintenance is. Two separate issues. I agree the "A&P" license means nothing about capability and/or ethic, but I know beyond a shadow of doubt that you or I cannot do an annual inspection on a 170 in 5 hours. You may know your own aircraft well enough to feel comfortable doing so (complacency is your enemy), but I know it can't be done on a Bonanza unless you have a broken mirror, dead batteries, sharp pencil, and a sucker for a customer.
There are exceptions; the guy may be indepently wealthy and just wants to help people, or maybe he is a top hand and waits to set the hook.
My point is, there is somfing vewwee skwuwee going on. It will take a minimum of 24 MH for a first time annual on an unknown Bonanza, if it's done right, not including oil change/maintenance items usually performed in conjunction with the inspection. Assuming the guy has ZERO overhead, he is making $10.42 per hour. This of course assumes he has a place to work, and all his tooling/equipment are paid for and never need calibrated, technical library never needs updated, and he likes ramen noodles

[jrenwick]

My local shop charges $650 for an annual on a fixed-gear aircraft. The bill for the annual was $1700 the first time they saw my 170, and that included some important repairs. I didn't feel bad about that at all; they used a good checklist, and did a thorough job.