I also claim to know very little.
Sorry Creamy, I did not answer your question.
If you endorsed an MR with “Aircraft hard to land”, what rule would you break if you flew the aircraft with that endorsement ‘open’ on the MR?
I'll give you a fairer example, C172, day VFR Charter, in addition to all the standard equipment fitted from the factory, the owner spends some money on the latest and great shadin fuel computer, which is installed in an unfilled hole in the instrument panel ( everything is serviceable ).
The Shading does not power up and is deemed U/S.
The aircraft does not have a MEL, which is pretty common for GA aircraft.
The pilot writes it on the MR.
Pilot flies to destination, the CAsA ramp said Pilot, and quotes:
10.1 In the case of a charter or regular public transport aircraft, all instruments and equipment fitted to the aircraft must be serviceable before take-off, unless:
(a) flight with unserviceable instruments or equipment has been approved by CASA, subject to such conditions as CASA specifies; or (Does not apply)
(b) the unserviceability is a permissible unserviceability set out in the minimum equipment list for the aircraft and any applicable conditions under subregulation 37 (2) of the Regulations have been complied with; or (Does not apply)
(c) CASA has approved the flight with the unserviceable instrument or equipment and any applicable conditions that CASA has specified in writing have been complied with; or (Does not apply)
(d) the unserviceable instrument or equipment is a passenger convenience item only and does not affect the airworthiness of the aircraft. (Does not apply)
So, it would be suggested that, you have no right to fly this aircraft, as it has an open item on the MR, and you're a very naughty boy/girl. { insert pineapple here }
So sure, MEL all aircraft, which in itself is a painful and expensive process.
But, again, snags are not defects, how about we call it the "stitch in time saves nine" book.
And whether there is an underlying “huge issue with the aircraft that will be imminent safety issue” is a question of objective fact rather than subjective
opinion, which question is not for a mere pilot to answer.
Really, what if a pilot hits a kangaroo on a remote strip and the roo puts a ding in the leading edge of the wing, the pilots find him/herself standing in the middle of a paddock in the middle of the Barkly Tableland, no one within 50 miles ( least of all an engineer ) who can decide if the aircraft is airworthy or not ?.
I may sound really down on CAsA, I'm actually not, there are some awesome Team Leaders, FOI's and AWI's in CAsA, more often than not the ones trying to re-invert the wheel are the other type of Team Leader, FOI or AWI.
Justinga, that is also subjective, what you might call a hard landing might be normal for me
.