Down Time

If youre an aircraft owner like me, you enjoy rolling up your sleeves and tackling various tasks to help maintain or preserve your airborne conveyance. Those tasks can be as simple as a wash and wax, or more complicated, like an engine oil and filter change, or other preventive maintenance (PM) items allowed in FAR 43s Appendix A. And if youre also busy like me, you may find it difficult to work these projects into your schedule. One result is starting a PM project and not having time to finish it. Thats a place I find myself.

Joseph E. (Jeb) Burnside

Friday, February 16, 2018 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

An aircraft owner was prompted to undertake extensive cleaning and maintenance after observing their plane's accumulated dirt, smudges, and minor corrosion.
The project grew to include detailed cleaning, corrosion treatment, interior organization, and troubleshooting "might as well" tasks, which the owner enjoys as part of hands-on ownership.
While the comprehensive maintenance has temporarily prevented flying, the owner anticipates having a much cleaner and better-maintained aircraft, viewing it as a joy of ownership.

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If you’re an aircraft owner like me, you enjoy rolling up your sleeves and tackling various tasks to help maintain or preserve your airborne conveyance. Those tasks can be as simple as a wash and wax, or more complicated, like an engine oil and filter change, or other preventive maintenance (PM) items allowed in FAR 43’s Appendix A. And if you’re also busy like me, you may find it difficult to work these projects into your schedule. One result is starting a PM project and not having time to finish it. That’s a place I find myself.

It all started a few weeks ago with a quick trip to an adjacent state to conduct some personal business. The non-pilot I was meeting with at the small airport asked to see my airplane. As we walked out onto the ramp and approached it, I appraised it with the eye of someone seeing it for the first time. I was unimpressed. Dead bugs were liberally distributed across the leading edges, the windows were smudged and there was a hint of corrosion on a steel component beneath the air filter. I resolved to address those problems and began the process shortly after returning home. I’m still at it.