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 (PM) is beneficial for economic reasons and enhances an owner's understanding and confidence in their aircraft.
• A reader questioned the necessity of annual torque wrench calibration for PM work, noting it's not explicitly found in the FARs and is logistically challenging.
• The "certificate of competency" requirement in FAR 43, Appendix A, subsection (c), paragraph 30(i) for owner-performed PM applies specifically to rare "Primary category aircraft," not general aircraft maintenance.

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