Maintenance Backlog?

[MisfitSELF]

I wondering if anybody else is experiencing this:  I've reached out to 3 shops now to get a quote on a Surefly installation.  None have gotten back with me for a quote.  Two have came back with "sorry, we've been really busy and we'll get you the quote shortly"  -- now it's been about 3 weeks and I've heard nothing from any of them.

 

I've also went to a avionics shop I've done a lot of work with in the past to get a quote on a GFC 500 upgrade and they told me they are booked until at least Feb or March 2022.  I can't even throw money at these people!

Is this just me?

[hammdo]

Nope, I have to book months in advance for some things. Also, having all the parts ahead of time can help too. I booked my November annual in June just for that reason...  Shops are busy! 

-Don 

[ArtVandelay]

I ordered Garmin stuff back in June….still waiting….so looking at at probably 8-12 months to get work done.

[McMooney]

call lasar, yash may be able to sort you

[Ragsf15e]

It’s been like tat for a while. Takes a lot of perseverance to spend your money! Thank 

[MB65E]

Not just you. Even large MROs, and service centers are slammed. 
Gotta stay on them, show up, spread the love, buy lunch,  grease a wheel. Etc. 

I don’t know if a single tech that needs work right now. 

-Matt

[carusoam]

Call it the Covid Era…

Followed by the computer chip shortage…

By the time you get the hardware… you will be offering the installers a ride to the Walgreens to get their vaccine…. Just to keep the system moving…

Some people have learned to fly in shorter times that it takes to have a new panel installed… 

Best regards,

-a-

[MisfitSELF]

I guess I wouldn't so peeved about the situation if I wasn't getting ghosted by the shops--don't tell me you'll get me a quote then never call or email me back.

[steingar]

I found a guy without a waiting list.  I won't do that again.

[carusoam]

Best quote from the Book of Steingar ever!

-a-

[rbp]

in june i booked some avionics work.  for Dec! 

[Marauder]

Every shop (that is good anyway) has a long waitlist. The issue is manpower. There just aren't enough people going into the trades to keep up with the demand. And when a good tech ends up in a Mom & Pop avionics or maintenance shop, it isn't long before they end up working for an airline. The shop I had been using was pretty good at retaining employees but then one left and the wheels fell off. Add in them losing 6 weeks as COVID ran through their shop, they got seriously backlogged. I scheduled my IFR cert 3 months early knowing they were having issues keeping to their schedule. Glad I did.

What I wasn't glad about was the quality of the work that was done. I went to pick up the plane and found I had no manifold pressure. Turned out they never connected the MP line back to the gauge. On the next flight, I went to plug in my iPad to the cigarette lighter. So what's wrong with this picture?

Who in their right mind would remove the power and ground leads and tie wrap them up??

The worst came this Fall. I had the pitot static check done in the summer. A few weeks ago a car hit a 13kV transmission pole and knock one of the wires into the local power lines. It sent a huge spike through our airport. In addition to taking out the pilot controlled lighting module, it fried a number of electronic hardware including every BatteryMinder on the field. Since I had a BatteryMinder, I decided to check on my battery. This is what I found when I opened the avionics bay.

Can I just say I was speechless? It was bad enough that they never replaced the cover, but I was shocked to see how much corrosion built up on the ground terminal after a couple of months. 

Being a nit picker, it's all better now. Cleaned up the terminals and reinstalled with the proper torque on the terminals.