“CASA strongly recommends guidance should be sought by pilots from a relevant Part 66 licence holder on the correct aircraft maintenance practices and procedures.” Now I find CASA “policy” requires signed training records which authorize schedule 8 maintenance. WTF, it’s a bulb change, my 11 year old could do it unsupervised.
Schedule 8 also permits oil/oil filter changes and spark plug changes.
Would you fly in an aircraft whose engine had just had the oil, oil filter and spark plug change carried out by an untrained, unsupervised 11 year old? (No need to answer that: it was a rhetorical question.)
I have myself (time to change my IP address) flown with known defects to get an aircraft either back to base or to the next scheduled maintenance. The type of flight, (VFR/IFR/PAX/DEADLEG) would determine my acceptance of the level of defect. Sure this is not within CAR 50, but in the light of commercial pressure, level of safety etc., I feel I am able to make a reasonable judgement based on my level of experience.
It's not CAR 50 that prohibits you from flying with certain kinds of defects or damage.
You might find that, had you had a better understanding of the rules, flights back to base or to the next scheduled maintenance, with defects (whether recorded on the MR or not) could have been conducted legally. For example, an aircraft with an MR authorising ops in charter may still be operated in the private category...
But if you were carrying paying fare paying pax, brave call!
Leaddie: You are correct. You 'have no idea'.