As few ppl have said an owner/ppl can do his own 50hr and it is a good idea to save money and become better aquainted with the aircraft.
I don't really agree witht the comment of if you are flying it then you will look closer than anyone else.
I colud give you a long list of things owers either didn't look at or ignored in the past.
One such owner flew the aircraft to my location and said he had already inspected it and it just needed a signature.... yeah right.
My first question was did you find anything abnormal under the cowlings ? his answer NO.
Did you do a preflight ? answer YES.
Then how come you have 4 birdsnest under the cowlings, 2 very old and two with very well cooked chicks in which are clearly visible from the air inlets.
Another owner when told he would need to overhaul his mags appeared with two in the boot of his car still with leads connecting them both together. When I commented that all the mud on them made them look like they had just been pulled from a crash site he blushed, slammed the boot lid and drove off saying he would never use me as an engineer again. Opppsss too close to the truth was it.......
There are some very good and sensible owners out there but also a lot who do not even begin to realise the danger they put themselves and others in.
BTW I am an LAE and a PPL and even once owned an aircraft.
