Maintenance costs
I would suggests for your own system of maintenance you would need sufficient data probably gained over several years justifying that your fuel and compass calibration has not changed between checks.
The main thing I learned is that a lot of LAME's can't calibrate properly.
Most of the calibrations that CASA impose do nothing other than raise the cost of aircraft operation.
Price per hour is immaterial if the workshop:
1/. is not managed competently
2/. covers up every mistake
3/. passes off sub-standard work as competent
4/. will not follow their own systems and as a consequence makes major ****ups like pulling the wrong engine and bulk-stripping it.
I have found very few workshops and Chief engineers that are trustworthy and that consider themselves partners in our business (as opposed to simply the beneficiary of a blank cheque every 100 hours)
The biggest fcukup can be fixed but it doesn't take much of a cover-up to ruin everything.
1/. is not managed competently
2/. covers up every mistake
3/. passes off sub-standard work as competent
4/. will not follow their own systems and as a consequence makes major ****ups like pulling the wrong engine and bulk-stripping it.
I have found very few workshops and Chief engineers that are trustworthy and that consider themselves partners in our business (as opposed to simply the beneficiary of a blank cheque every 100 hours)
The biggest fcukup can be fixed but it doesn't take much of a cover-up to ruin everything.
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I've had work done by about 10 of them. One of them has stuck to his word on pricing. Two have damaged my aircraft and refused to repair it. The nine that haven't stuck to their word are varying degrees of thief.
They have obviously been taught that they have the client by the nuts by simply not signing the aircraft out until the bills are paid. Not an ounce of integrity amongst them.
They have obviously been taught that they have the client by the nuts by simply not signing the aircraft out until the bills are paid. Not an ounce of integrity amongst them.
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Another LAME bashing thread. Brilliant!
What is the average age of a LAME ? Anecdotally someone said it was early 60's . Guess you wont have to worry about crap LAME's soon as the wont exist. Anecdotally told the number of licences overall reduced last year too. Like to see data on that but CASA website hasn't updated statistics on that for last 10 years. Wonder why ?
I went into private maintenance for the past two years. Quickly tired of dealing with 4 or 5 different workshops and all their customers different maintenance expectations. Chinese whispers on defects and every ones different price point expectations.
Work for a fleet operator now. He understands the industry and maintenance requirements. Operator gives me the time and support I need . He is happy, I am happy and grossly overpaid. Screw dealing with private owners.
What is the average age of a LAME ? Anecdotally someone said it was early 60's . Guess you wont have to worry about crap LAME's soon as the wont exist. Anecdotally told the number of licences overall reduced last year too. Like to see data on that but CASA website hasn't updated statistics on that for last 10 years. Wonder why ?
I went into private maintenance for the past two years. Quickly tired of dealing with 4 or 5 different workshops and all their customers different maintenance expectations. Chinese whispers on defects and every ones different price point expectations.
Work for a fleet operator now. He understands the industry and maintenance requirements. Operator gives me the time and support I need . He is happy, I am happy and grossly overpaid. Screw dealing with private owners.
Here are my requirements from LAME's. Hasherucf and others, please tell me where I am being unreasonable.
1. When you find something wrong that requires repair, tell me before you start work - not after. I get cranky when I get a $30,000 annual invoice with no warning (true story).
2. Bill the hours that you work. By all means, stop for morning tea, chat with friends. But don't bill me. And remember there are only so many working hours in a day. I can count hours on an invoice and divide by the days you've had the aircraft.
3. If you make a mistake or break something, you fix it at your expense, not mine.
4. Know the AD's for my aircraft. Do them when they are required, not because you guess rather than checking.
5. Have a copy of the maintenance manual for my aircraft. I should not have to supply it for you.
6. Know the difference between a self tapping screw and a metal thread screw. Use them in the correct holes, do not interchange them.
7. Please try and put the proper screws back in the proper holes. Long ones when they are required, short ones when they are required.
8. Silicone was never designed to fix panels because you lost a screw.
9. Have the correct tools. Do not skip scheduled maintenance because you lack the tool.
10. Check what is behind a panel before you substitute a longer (sharp point) hardware store self tapping screws. Its especially annoying when avionics LAME's do this and drive a self tapping screw through a wiring harness.
11. Do not ever use a power drill to do up screws.
12. If an aircraft is supposed to have 8 QTS of oil, then add 8 - not 10. There is a reason dip sticks have lines & numbers.
13. If I booked my aircraft in a month before the 100 hourly and you know it will need oil filters, air filters and instrument filters, surely they can be ordered BEFORE the aircraft arrives? The aircraft not being ready because its waiting for parts which you did not order does not play well.
14. I know how many spark plugs are in my aeroplane and I keep old invoices. If you want to increase the invoice total, find a smarter way.
15. Back on screws. After I go to the trouble of getting a matching set of black screws for the instrument panel, I do not expect to see a mix of black, zinc plated and S/S screws on the instrument panel when I get it back.
16. Do not leave my painted cowl panels lying around on your concrete floor paint side down. I do not like picking up an aircraft with more scratches than when I left it. If you do some damage to the paint and feel the responsibility to touch it up, then please at least try to match the colour.
1. When you find something wrong that requires repair, tell me before you start work - not after. I get cranky when I get a $30,000 annual invoice with no warning (true story).
2. Bill the hours that you work. By all means, stop for morning tea, chat with friends. But don't bill me. And remember there are only so many working hours in a day. I can count hours on an invoice and divide by the days you've had the aircraft.
3. If you make a mistake or break something, you fix it at your expense, not mine.
4. Know the AD's for my aircraft. Do them when they are required, not because you guess rather than checking.
5. Have a copy of the maintenance manual for my aircraft. I should not have to supply it for you.
6. Know the difference between a self tapping screw and a metal thread screw. Use them in the correct holes, do not interchange them.
7. Please try and put the proper screws back in the proper holes. Long ones when they are required, short ones when they are required.
8. Silicone was never designed to fix panels because you lost a screw.
9. Have the correct tools. Do not skip scheduled maintenance because you lack the tool.
10. Check what is behind a panel before you substitute a longer (sharp point) hardware store self tapping screws. Its especially annoying when avionics LAME's do this and drive a self tapping screw through a wiring harness.
11. Do not ever use a power drill to do up screws.
12. If an aircraft is supposed to have 8 QTS of oil, then add 8 - not 10. There is a reason dip sticks have lines & numbers.
13. If I booked my aircraft in a month before the 100 hourly and you know it will need oil filters, air filters and instrument filters, surely they can be ordered BEFORE the aircraft arrives? The aircraft not being ready because its waiting for parts which you did not order does not play well.
14. I know how many spark plugs are in my aeroplane and I keep old invoices. If you want to increase the invoice total, find a smarter way.
15. Back on screws. After I go to the trouble of getting a matching set of black screws for the instrument panel, I do not expect to see a mix of black, zinc plated and S/S screws on the instrument panel when I get it back.
16. Do not leave my painted cowl panels lying around on your concrete floor paint side down. I do not like picking up an aircraft with more scratches than when I left it. If you do some damage to the paint and feel the responsibility to touch it up, then please at least try to match the colour.
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That sounds like some sort of charter to me Akro? Something that other trades and professions implemented 10, 20 years ago? Other trades don't get to hide behind a maintenance release and not signing it with no regard to customers concerns being dealt with.
Good post Old Alro, coincidentally I was talking to a LAME today when he mentioned how another LAME put an extra long screw through a dash and into the top of a VHF radio. It's not just your shop that suffers these problems.
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Having spoken to Akro a few times in the past,I know he is a firm and maybe reasonably serious person, but unreasonable or hard arsed is not my interpretation.
His post is fair and reasonable. I know and have seen all and worse than he has posted.
By the way Akro is not a dumb ass plane owner, he is an engineer who I would respect as being far brighter than I am.
Just like pilots, accountants and lawyers (unlike CASA inspectors)……..LAME's are accountable for their work too.
His post is fair and reasonable. I know and have seen all and worse than he has posted.
By the way Akro is not a dumb ass plane owner, he is an engineer who I would respect as being far brighter than I am.
Just like pilots, accountants and lawyers (unlike CASA inspectors)……..LAME's are accountable for their work too.
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CTRE
Yeah you would think so…… Sadly I have seen (not my bills but associates bills) payment in gold bars and not peanuts and had results even a monkey would be embarrassed about. One springs to mind very close to my location. So bad that the majority of planes on that field will not be maintained there. Was once a premium shop.
The sad thing is the peanuts and monkeys analogy should hold true but seems not to. Well not always anyway.
YMMV of course.
You pay peanuts? You'll get monkeys.
The sad thing is the peanuts and monkeys analogy should hold true but seems not to. Well not always anyway.
YMMV of course.
CASA insisted on attempting to ground the aircraft due to multiple engine falterings (failures) during the mock battles.
That reminds me of an incident at YSBK a little while back --- one Saturday morning, turning up to use his Chieftain, a very well known character found a large orange CASA "Unserviceable" sticker on the aircraft --- the problem being damage to propellers from an unreported "gear up" event.
Needless to say, the owner's weekend was completely screwed.
The "damage" was that the aircraft was fitted with Q-Tip propellers, in perfect condition.
Sadly, such abysmal ignorance is a bit too common amongst AWIs and FOIs.
Tootle pip!!
If that story is true, Leadsled, the owner is as stupid as the arseclown that applied the U/S sticker. I would have just gone flying. Perhaps the U/S sticker was a joke?
Reminds me of the joke patch that clamps to a propellor blade and looks like someone's riveted a carbon fibre doubler patch to a blade to 'repair' a crack. It takes a special kind of ignorance or stupid to take that seriously.
What I don't understand is why, in this world of cameras everywhere and instant downloads to the electric interweb, no one videod the CASA arseclown in action at Avalon. Public official on official duties in public - fair game for the cameras.
Reminds me of the joke patch that clamps to a propellor blade and looks like someone's riveted a carbon fibre doubler patch to a blade to 'repair' a crack. It takes a special kind of ignorance or stupid to take that seriously.
What I don't understand is why, in this world of cameras everywhere and instant downloads to the electric interweb, no one videod the CASA arseclown in action at Avalon. Public official on official duties in public - fair game for the cameras.
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I would have just gone flying. Perhaps the U/S sticker was a joke?
I haven't asked for the miscreant's permission, so I'll keep it anonymous.
The caption in the original post says:
The caption in the original post says:
Eventually an FAA guy came buy and Red-Tagged the airplane! I laughed my ass off. I simply took the red tag and wrote on it, "Inspected, found airworthy, and returned to service" and handed it back to him. He was having a stroke! He demanded that the airplane not move. I said I was going to fly it in about an hour.
After this went on until it no longer amused me, I simply rotated the prop and removed the fake repair sleeve. Then the guy was really pissed. As he walked off,his red tag in his hand, the fairly large group that had gathered was laughing uncontrollably.
After this went on until it no longer amused me, I simply rotated the prop and removed the fake repair sleeve. Then the guy was really pissed. As he walked off,his red tag in his hand, the fairly large group that had gathered was laughing uncontrollably.
