Tech log / Tach / Hobbs Hours

[skyfarmer]

How does your school log aircraft hours for maintenance, hire rates etc? And what sort of differences do you see between the hours used for 50/100/150 hr checks and tach and hobbs times?

Are there any guidelines regarding the logging of hours? IE brakes off to Brakes on less XX minutes goes in the tech log


NP

[homeguard]

The CAA accept three systems for maintenance logging.


a) Actual airborne times. 'Wheels off - Wheels on.

b) Start up - shut down, minus 10 minutes (0.2hr) for ground time ( more correctly from the moment of taxiing to take off to the brakes on following a landing.

c) Actual tacho readings. Start to finish of each flight.

Take your pick.

We find that in the way that we operate b) makes us about 10% better off over the year. Tacho would be the best and simplest but for schools would appear to be too expensive when setting charges. Most groups that I know use tacho hours. For more complex types, particularly if turbocharged, tacho is used by ourselves to avoid rushing the warm up and to encourage cooling time when closing down.

[skyfarmer]

OK, thanks

I was just wondering (concerned) about times on a/c I have been looking at recently, but the system in place for logging tech hours is as you have described.
As training a/c they probably spend a greater portion of time on the ground with engine running, taxiing, power checks, rwy vacate checks, shutdown checks etc etc than an a/c that is not used for training. This will quite happily explain the differences I have noted.

One less worry

Cheers