I would place myself in the category of reluctant maintainer. Originally due to my location, I had to take it on due to the lack of conventional maintenance repair organisations (MRO) here in Thailand. We have basic SEP shops or very heavy Jet shops, and nothing in between. The King Air is the nearest comparable aircraft with any kind of presence, and the owners of these have their own teams taking care of them.
Later on, as I branched out in Asia I learnt the hard way that the lack of specialised airframe type knowledge and the lottery of finding good versus completely indifferent mechanics meant I had to resign myself to macro managing the entire process, right down to parts sourcing.
I would rather not have to do it, and I thought I could take a “holiday” from it when I brought the Jetprop over to the UK, but to my horror I found the same lottery system present at supposedly reputable shops. One hanger in particular I was based at had four mechanics, three who were IMHO criminally negligent, and one who was an absolute star, and I wanted to kidnap back to Thailand.
I was very disillusioned by this experience and five years on, I am now starting to enjoy the knowledge and skills I have had to forcibly learn. I currently have a very intimate knowledge of the aircraft and it’s systems, and on several occasions have either been able to make a determination that a problem was ok to continue flying with , or been able to repair AOG issues in the field sufficiently to get me home safely.
Naturally like Peter, I carry a healthy spares bank with me, which is essential! The primary mission of my aircraft is that it gets me all the way back home safely. Being stranded in some remote airport is not an option. If you want to use a small aircraft as a serious travelling machine, with that policy, you have to get deep down and dirty with it out here.
I have through trial and error found specialists who can either help me remotely (normally US based) or on site (KA guys moon lighting) with the really specialised stuff. I will however not let them turn a screw without me being involved. Some resent it initially, until they realise I have a much more indepth knowledge of the aircraft than they do, and I am not looking to catch them out, or show them up just want the job done right.
Unless you have access to a model specific shop that deals daily with your aircraft type, I cannot see how you can “trust” your aircraft to someone with “no skin in the game”.
E
How do you plan to get that? I thought Part 66 wouldn’t be issued anymore in EASA land.
What do you mean? Part 66 is just certification for maintenance engineers as persons, as opposed to maintenance organisations where these engineers are employed. For anything other than complex maintenance tasks, a Part 66 engineer can sign a CRS on his own authority, without a maintenance organisation (see Part M, subpart H).
Being closely involved with maintenance of my aircraft, as with anything else I own, is for me an intrinsic part of the ownership experience.
I think the weather and storage conditions for the aircraft would have a lot of impact on this. In a tough climate, and with the aircraft stored in a highly regulated group hangar, the situation could be a challenge.
Local to me (N-registry US base) I know of only one pilot/owner who takes his plane to a shop for repair, as opposed to buying his own parts & overhaul services directly and using independent A&Ps to work on the plane ‘at home’. Even that guy changes the oil on his DA40-180. Some of the aircraft are antiques or homebuilts so ‘maintenance facilities’ wouldn’t work well in any case. Anyway, if you asked me where to take my planes to have repairs done on the ‘taxi up and hand over the keys’ basis I wouldn’t have a clue. It’s just not generally done like that.
Recently I’ve been facing some maintenance challenges (propeller problems again) and some of this stuff can take years to figure out properly. I think paying somebody else to independently figure out a few of the problems I’ve had would’ve been cost prohibitive and ultimately very frustrating.
Ultranomad – do you think an EASA66 guy can sign off an Annual on say a TB20? If not, what exactly can he do? “EASA non-Complex” is anything below 5700kg, SEP or MEP, single pilot, under 19 seats, SET or not a jet.
What I have heard is that a G-reg TB20 could be (hypothetically – I have no requirement for this myself) done wholly by the one EASA66 guy, and then another (different) guy has to come in, look at it, and sign some papers. The latter guy can work out of a car i.e. no need for the plane to be moved to any workshop type facility.
Valerio -
Any horror stories to share about Cirrus maintenance shops in Europe
OK if no company names or other identifiers are posted openly.
The problem with mentioning names in connection with a negative comment is that you might get litigation, which nobody wants to defend even if you eventually win. These firms are richer than most of us here, and EuroGA itself has no money.
Peter,
if you – as a private individual – write about your experience with a maintenance facility then there is nothing to fear. If something was done the wrong way and if you explain that in a factual and credible way then I do not see a problem. But of course I do not plan to post any names here.
if you – as a private individual – write about your experience with a maintenance facility then there is nothing to fear. If something was done the wrong way and if you explain that in a factual and credible way then I do not see a problem
That’s not so in the UK, for example.
If somebody goes after you for libel, it is for you to prove that you were right. That could be quite difficult, even when it’s “obvious”.
Being a private individual means nothing. It just means that they might not go after you because because they think you aren’t worth much (your house is owned by the bank, etc).
Yes, of course, same here: You have to be able to prove what you are critisizing. But in many cases that can be easily done (eMails, photos, witnesses)
I for one do NOT plane to do this on your forum – on the other hand I reserve the right to critisize any company that worked on my plane, car, health …
ONE of the reasons why there is little quality in many maintenance organizations is that it’s all a big taboo and that nobody talks about it. If there was an internet portal with maintenance reviews – that would have big influence today.
I do not intend to be scared of companys i pay a lot of money to
ONE of the reasons why there is little quality in many maintenance organizations is that it’s all a big taboo and that nobody talks about it.
I am sure you are right, but my direct experience is that there are bigger reasons why people keep quiet
If there was an internet portal with maintenance reviews – that would have big influence today.
I agree, but they would have to be basically positive reviews, otherwise you need to watch the site 24/7. Here in the UK, we have a similar system for “verified” builders, electricians, etc. It gives only positive suggestions. My guess is that they set it up to avoid litigation and also to avoid competitors slagging off a company anonymously. The scheme is always very easy to get around e.g. the tradesman leaves the feedback card only with customers who are happy with the finished job There are many such sites and they are worth very little (like a positive review on Tripadvisor, but that suffers from different problems).
If you want to set up a website where people can post their experiences, please do so. I am sure many, myself included, will contribute some content 
But be ready to remove any comments which the said company complains about. That’s the UK legal position which is generally sufficient, but I am the main mod here and I am not awake 24/7 and I am certainly not checking the site 24/7, so we can’t do it here.
The MAIN reason is that everybody (me included, somehow, i have to admit …) cares about HIMSELF. Why shold I make these people my enemies … maybe I will need them the next time the damn thing will not start, breaks….
Let me cite Alexis from another EuroGA post:<<And don’t go to Berlin, go to Cirrus Europe instead.>>. Alexis specified in the same post the reason for this recommendation (it was not just an unmotivated recommendation, which, I agree, should be avoided). I find sharing these maintenance experiences VERY useful. In COPA very famous people in the US Cirrus Community (Mike Busch, Jim Barker, etc…) openly quote the names of bad and good shops (prop shops, engine shops, frame shops). I understand that here we should follow the rules of the landlord (Peter) and of UK Law, but we really should find a way to discuss these things openly to try and make Europe a better GA place (like US is).
