Preventive Maintenance

It was great to see Jeb Burnside’s February article, “Doing It Yourself,” on owner-performed preventative maintenance (PM) tasks allowed by the FARs. Beside the economic benefits such effort, an aircraft owner will be much more in tune with his or her aircraft and its operating condition. Having been fortunate to have A&P/IAs willing to allow me to help and learn the aircraft during annual inspections and other maintenance endeavors, I am much more informed on issues that arise with continued aircraft operation, and I can give an A&P a heads up on something that may or may not need attention, and I have greater understanding and confidence in the aircraft systems. As Jeb stated, “...it can be a natural extension of your ownership experience,” and I will add rewarding as well.

Key Takeaways:

• Owner-performed preventative maintenance offers economic and operational benefits, but raises questions regarding specific regulatory requirements like torque wrench calibration and competency certificates for certain aircraft categories.
• The article clarifies that a "certificate of competency" for preventative maintenance, as referenced in FAR 43, Appendix A, applies specifically to the rare Primary category aircraft.
• A reader highlights the distinction between ground and flight visibility for IFR approaches, noting potential safety implications of FAR 91.175 allowing landing with reported ground visibility below minimums.
• Caution is advised regarding non-standard methods for setting takeoff flaps for short fields, even if suggested by other aviation resources.

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