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Annual #4


Yetti

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1 minute ago, Creekrat said:

Because he knew he had him somewhat over a barrel.  No better than a common thief if you ask me.

Out my way, Leases for Shop space at airports are getting as rare as saffron.... and if you do find a space available, the airport management is asking something insane to lease it. The overhead is too much for what most shops are charging for an hour of labor to remain competitive. It’s a recipe for indifference towards customers, I think... I am seeing this more and more. And airports on the west coast don’t seem to be expanding on the ramp at all- no new structures being built. Massive waiting lists for T-hangars. Something isn’t right...

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I will have no problems paying a premium for premium level service once I find the a/c that’s for me. What I would have problems with is having that good communication in the beginning and then the mx just doing whatever they wanted to make an extra dollar. I know this is aviation and everything is slow and expensive, except mooneys, they’re not slow . When I had a small business customizing HD motorcycles I would always err on the side of caution and do my best to under promise and over deliver. If you come in with worst case or close to it and are able to get it done faster and cheaper with a quality level of service then you don’t even need to advertise. You’ll have more business than you know what to do with. I would have major issue with what [mention=6921]hank[/mention] went through but then again I’m old fashioned where people treat others with respect and a handshake is worth more than anything.

 

 

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I went to the local IA seminar, which is sort of a Wings program for IAs, where they get credit for some of their required stuff just by attending.    The average age of attendees was probably 65 or so, and there was a few hundred of them.   The students in my A&P class are not even halfway through the program and are getting actively recruited by airlines, local shops, flight schools, manufacturers, etc., etc.    There's a huge shortage and it's only going to get worse before it gets better.   All of those old, grumpy IAs that we've worked with are either in the process of retiring or will be soon, and there ain't much in the pipeline to backfill for them.

It's going to be similar with A&Ps.

So the ones that are left working are going to be getting a premium regardless of the quality or timeliness of their work.

Having an airplane down for 70 days out of the year for an inspection is ridiculous, IMHO.   The last annual my airplane had before I bought it took four months.   Does it make any sense at all to have an asset that is held hostage for that much of a year for an inspection?   A four-month annual essentially increases the operating cost by 1/3 by killing the availability of the asset.

This is going to be the future for some while, I think.


 

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12 minutes ago, EricJ said:

The average age of attendees was probably 65 or so, and there was a few hundred of them.   The students in my A&P class are not even halfway through the program and are getting actively recruited by airlines, local shops, flight schools, manufacturers, etc., etc.    There's a huge shortage and it's only going to get worse before it gets better.

I imagine many of those gentleman's "give-a-darn" cards have expired recently. There's probably very little motivation to keep their name up when retirement is just around the corner. That said, there are always good exceptions to be found as well.

It's a shame those guys weren't trying to train young AIs and A&Ps. Perhaps it kept the competition down.

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5 hours ago, steingar said:

I used to do the annuals on my Cherokee, but they only took a day.  I think it takes a day just to get all the covers off the $%#&##@!!! Mooney, and I swear about half them don't fit back on.  I'd love to stick around and help with the annual, but my mechanic certainly doesn't want it, and I do have this job thing.  I'll never know how it is that this elf you who do this are able to get that kind of time off work.  If I did it I'd have no time left to fly the damn airplane.

One bad annual experience may make a week (or two) off of work seem like small potatoes. Being involved with the annual like the OP looks to have the advantage of minimizing a large financial exposure.

Imagine how bad it could have been if he just dropped it off at a shop and said "call me when you're done."

Edited by David_H
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2 hours ago, Hank said:

In my hangar,  I prepped in advance by removing cowl, spinner, inspection plates, dog house, etc., so it's ready for the IA when he arrived. Then we worked together. I buy lunch, we both go home for supper. Usually done in a 3-day weekend, then I'd put her back together.

Before I moved, the IA would take it to the Maint. Hangar, pull plugs and check compression. I'd stop by after work, remove the rest of the panels; clean, gap and test plugs; grease the landing gear; etc. I'd leave a note with what I did, sometimes he'd be there on Saturday while I was working; sometimes I'd call him during the day when I had a break at work. Usually took 2-3 weeks. Every year I did a little more as we developed a relationship and trust.

This year, my IA retired and stopped answering his phone and email, leaving me up the proverbial creek without propulsion. So I called the only other one I knew, and he was willing to do it and could start before the old one expired, meaning I could fly it to him (15 min, wheels up to wheels down). This guy also doesn't respond much to phone calls, texts or emails; doesn't follow instructions; did things I explicitly asked him not to do; induced failures in things he wasn't supposed to work on; and presented the highest bill for any work ever done on my plane during 12 years of ownership. Took 70 days, then 13 more to finish writing the invoice. Oh, and he no longer has the initial quote where we discussed and I marked which tasks to do and which not to do, although the invoice is (hand) written on the exact same form, all 11 pages of it . . . . Did I mention the logbooks are signed off on 29 March, and he called me on 5 April to tell me it was ready?  :angry:  <-- This doesn't even come close . . . Now I need another drink!

At least it is over.   I got to fly today.   It was glorious.

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On 4/19/2019 at 7:15 PM, Hank said:

In my hangar,  I prepped in advance by removing cowl, spinner, inspection plates, dog house, etc., so it's ready for the IA when he arrived. Then we worked together. I buy lunch, we both go home for supper. Usually done in a 3-day weekend, then I'd put her back together.

Before I moved, the IA would take it to the Maint. Hangar, pull plugs and check compression. I'd stop by after work, remove the rest of the panels; clean, gap and test plugs; grease the landing gear; etc. I'd leave a note with what I did, sometimes he'd be there on Saturday while I was working; sometimes I'd call him during the day when I had a break at work. Usually took 2-3 weeks. Every year I did a little more as we developed a relationship and trust.

This year, my IA retired and stopped answering his phone and email, leaving me up the proverbial creek without propulsion. So I called the only other one I knew, and he was willing to do it and could start before the old one expired, meaning I could fly it to him (15 min, wheels up to wheels down). This guy also doesn't respond much to phone calls, texts or emails; doesn't follow instructions; did things I explicitly asked him not to do; induced failures in things he wasn't supposed to work on; and presented the highest bill for any work ever done on my plane during 12 years of ownership. Took 70 days, then 13 more to finish writing the invoice. Oh, and he no longer has the initial quote where we discussed and I marked which tasks to do and which not to do, although the invoice is (hand) written on the exact same form, all 11 pages of it . . . . Did I mention the logbooks are signed off on 29 March, and he called me on 5 April to tell me it was ready?  :angry:  <-- This doesn't even come close . . . Now I need another drink!

I must be lucky as can be, I really have never had this sort of experience.  I did the owner assist annuals because it saved me some coin and I got to see what was inside my airplane.  I'd love to do that on the Mooney, but like I said, by the time I take all the time off to disassemble, inspect, and reassemble, I won't have any time off left to fly the thing.  And I know exactly zero IA mechanics who will come to my hangar and annual my Mooney.  Given continuing shortages in aircraft mechanics I suspect that's going to be harder to come by in the future.  That said, I am and have always been very picky about who works on my airplane.  I fly 50 nautical to get to mine, and get to go back into the strip where I struck my prop.  I'll still do it though, the mechanic is as knowledgable as they come, and has a good reputation among the local Mooney owners.

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There was a consideration that I let someone else do this one, especially with the major engine work, but I might have issues with control.   The grumpy IA pretty much trusts me at this point so no reason to lose that hard earned respect.   Also I read that they might change the AP to a competency based.   So I have recorded all the hours I have spent on the Mooney.   it's also good to keep the wrenching skills up being able to spin a screw driver with speed is a skill you don't want to lose.

Edited by Yetti
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