LeadSled Reely340,
The short answer is yes, if your are suitably qualified, or a pilot carrying out the limited maintenance allowed under Schedule 8 of the Civil Aviation Regulations.
In both legal and practical terms, Richard Green was suitably qualified. He had successfully completed a raft of courses at the factory, both theory and hands-on was required, he was passed out by the factory (in Germany) to their standards.
Based on the above, and on assessment of the record, the CASA AME licensing in Canberra issued him with all the necessary MAs (maintenance approvals) to maintain his helicopter. It has been said that Greg Vaughan issued the MRs, this is not true, the MRs Richard carried were as the result of normal CASA processes, even if opposed by the below.
<snip>
Thx for the patient and elaborate answer. Very interesting information for me.
Needless to say, this got up the noses of certain persons in a particular CASA office, who are apparently of the devout belief that a long and often meaningless apprenticeship, <snip>
Besides The Authorities always and everywhere being the enemy of GA, maybe these persons had friends in the maintennance industry which might have expressed their dislike of DIY repairing pilots? Along the lines of "imaging if people become qualified and start doing repairs themselves, like him! Do something about that!"
Based on his knowledge of manufacturer’s instructions for continuing airworthiness, he carried out the repairs to those requirements. What he didn’t do is comply with the CASA requirements of (in this case) having the damage assessed by a CAR 35 engineer, having the temporary repair carried out by a LAME, and getting a ferry permit.
So, are you saying that even with his factory repair training, he couldn't legally repair the blades in the outback?
He should have gotten a CAR 35 engineer to the incident location to have the temporary repair done, right?
Or was he required to drag/cart/haul the untouched ship to a LAME to get the blades fixed, no field repairs allowed?