Some examples from the MD900:
- removal of the NOTAR Fan Drive Shaft; you have to work lying upside down in the NOTAR inlet to remove the several fairings then the four mounting screws at the bottom of the shaft (assuming that that the NOTAR Fan is installed). The shaft itself is a thin walled aluminum part, so you have to be extremely careful not to damage it while sliding it through a narrow cutout towards the transmission.
- you need to perform fuel transfer and fuel tank integrity test every 100 hours. The tests take about 20-30 minutes each; however, it may take several hours to set the initial fuel levels required for each test through the two small fuel drain valves at the bottom of the fuselage.
- when the test fails, you have to remove the forward cabin floor panel to gain access to the fuel tank. The floor panel is installed with more than 100 screws and bolts (Air Methods universal floor panels). If the helicopter has the center console extension towards the rear, eight bolts will be installed within the console. You have to remove all console installed equipment in this area and somehow reach through the cables and connectors to remove these bolts. This task is not for mechanics with large hands.
- on each annual, you have to disassemble the landing gear, remove the paint from the crosstubes, inspect them with a 10x magnifying glass from outside and with a borescope from inside, and have them NDT-ed. Then, of course, apply new primer and topcoat before reassembly. It is really disappointing when, after all this, the crosstube fails during a normal landing a few months later...
- almost all work on the Automatic Flight Control System/EFIS/IFR instrumentation STC; not because it is so badly designed, but because it is so badly documented.