Preventative Maintenance - maybe more than you think.

[PT20J]

According to Mike Busch's column in the October AOPA PILOT,  a 2009 legal interpretation from the FAA says that the list of preventative maintenance tasks in 14 CFR Part 43 Appendix A (c) is not all inclusive. You may be able to do more than you think. 

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Coleal - (2009) Legal Interpretation.pdf

[cbarry]

That article was a very interesting read and I agree with you.  

[kris_adams]

I think I agree with you but based on the government"ese" speak I always wonder...my favorite snippet "Our response to your request takes no position on the propriety of any of the cited examples"...I think they are not either agreeing or disagreeing or providing guidance lol

-KA

[1964-M20E]

Interesting:

I've always wondered why I could replace a tire and tube but could not undo 4 nuts and one wire connection to change a starter??

I agree that there are many times when replacing parts with like for like falls within in the realm of the owner operator and" preventive maintenance".

 

On the other hand  there are many very well qualified and licensed fairies tinkering about.

Maybe that is why my plane is named Tink.

 

 

[RLCarter]

Wasn't there talk about freeing up more things an Owner/Pilot could do on the older aircraft? Might have been wishful thinking 

[carusoam]

Holy cow...

• 219 psi in a lear’s tires...
• Letter only covers checking the pressure...
• Didn’t mention putting air in them...
• What if the pilot goes rogue and wants to put N₂ in them?

I spoke with my airplane mechanic today...  he called me while I was working on my engine... (my chevy’s engine)

To swap out a pair of engine knock sensors, it takes about 54 individual steps.  Using calibrated tools like torque wrenches...

The the pair of knock sensors are sealed beneath the fuel injection system, and air intake system, and are covered by wire bundles that operate the fuel injection system...

 

If the 54 steps go as planned... I’ll drive the Chevy to the airport and check the plane’s tires...  

The Why... the check engine light came on... downloading its error message codes... it indicated one of the sensors is bad... 

the reason... wanted to see if I could still execute these ordinary tasks...

It would be nice if we had a list of the top 100 Mooney specific maintenance related tasks we could do...

Get trained, use documents, have proper tools, log the details... check your work...

maybe next decade...

Best regards,

-a-

The Old Chevy knock sensor... circa 2002.

[ilovecornfields]

So you CAN’T check the tire pressure of your Learjet under part 135 and you have to have an A&P check it daily?! That makes a lot of sense...

 

[cliffy]

1 hour ago, ilovecornfields said:

So you CAN’T check the tire pressure of your Learjet under part 135 and you have to have an A&P check it daily?! That makes a lot of sense...

 

YUP!  Different set of rules to operate under BIG difference.

OH and by the way the A&P must be on a drug program to be able to touch the airplane just like the pilots on 135 and 121   Not just any A&P qualifies. 

Edited September 20, 2019 by cliffy
added text

[steingar]

The really big problem with all these rules is they were all written in blood.

[Hank]

6 hours ago, steingar said:

The really big problem with all these rules is they were all written in blood.

Someone died in a Lear whose tire pressure was adjusted by a non-certifed person????

[EricJ]

21 hours ago, cliffy said:

YUP!  Different set of rules to operate under BIG difference.

OH and by the way the A&P must be on a drug program to be able to touch the airplane just like the pilots on 135 and 121   Not just any A&P qualifies. 

One of the A&Ps at my field will only work on Part 91 airplanes because then he won't be subject to drug tests.   He was working on one of my hangar neighbor's airplanes and found out that they were making it available to one of the local charters as a backup, which meant it had to adhere to 135, which meant he'd be subject to testing if he worked on it.   He noped out of there.   

So, recently on MS I've learned that the FAA has published legal opinions or ACs that:  Preventive Maintenance is not limited to that listed in Part 43 App A(c), an STC does not necessarily require a 337, like-for-like TSO-compliant replacements probably don't require 337s.   And, mostly, whatever you think you know, somebody else thinks they know differently, and everybody can point to "legal" rationale to back up their position.   This includes IAs with differing opinions, and FAA FSDO folks with differing opinions, FAA reps at events, etc., etc.

In other words, the status quo is maintained. 

[jetdriven]

3 hours ago, Hank said:

Someone died in a Lear whose tire pressure was adjusted by a non-certifed person????

Tire failure can certainly lead to a fatal accident. Easily.