You and Your IA

[dcasali]

'The following is a copy of a posting to the Taylorcraft mailing list
that is equally applicable to owners of Fairchild and other antique
aircraft. I'm posting it here with permission from Bill, the author.


Date: Sat, 24 Feb 2001 23:19:08 EST
From: WildBill1550@aol.com

Today I attended a full day of Inspector Authorization renewal training
sponsored by the Robert C. Byrd National Aerospace Education Center,
Fairmont State College, and the FAA FSDO-09 of West Virginia.

I would like to recommend to each of you TCraft owners to find you a
good IA
that you can rely on and build a good relationship with him/her. This
IA
doesn't necessarily need to have all the required knowledge of TCrafts
and
all their particulars. This is where you have to educate him. Most FAA

inspectors and a lot of IA's can walk around your airplane and not have
a
clue what they are looking at. I have only been an IA for a little over
a
year and I admit that I am still learning about the TCrafts, and that is

because I love and own one. The nasty little way that our trim tabs
seem to
behave are not known by most mechanics and IA's, but we as owners know
their
personalities and you can educate your selected IA and it should work
for
you. In return he can help you with that might save you some real
grief.
That is where this story begins. When it comes to legality, there are
two
sides. One is the FAA and the other is the civil side. (courts,
insurance's, etc.) The FAA can slap your hand or maybe suspend your
license
or ground you for a couple of weeks. A civil court can put you in deep
chit.

When an IA signs your annual it is to certify that an annual was
conducted
and the aircraft was determined to be in airworthy condition. Notice
there
are two references made to the word "was." Five minutes later, the word

"was" will not hold up in a court of law. Now, Federal Regulations
state
that the Pilot in command is responsible for insuring that the aircraft
that
he flys is airworthy. You have a fresh annual signed in your log book
and
there is a statement that states that all AD's have been complied with
as of
the date of the annual. What you may not know is that there is an AD
that
was not due at time of Annual, but it is due in 5 hours. Some AD's are
required at 50 hours time in service and you only had 45 at time of
annual.
Ok, so why did the IA not tell you about this AD and that it is due in 5

hours. There is no requirement that says that he has to. Are you
getting my
drift. You now bore a smoking hole in the ground and your passenger is
killed. You immediately turn to the insurance company and they let you
know
right quick that the plane was not airworthy (AD was not complied with)
and
they ain't paying chit. The spouse of your passenger now goes to civil
court
and guess who they go after. Yup you guessed it.

Another scenario: Your plane is financed and the new AD that went into
effect 15 days ago is mailed to your bank. Now, what do banks know
about
AD's. They trash it and you are not aware of the requirements to check
a
stand off pipe in your gasolator (this is just an example) and you
repeat the
above Scenario. Shame on you the FAA says, it is your responsibility.
You
turn to the IA and he sides with the FAA, and they are both right, it
is
your responsibility. For those of you that are renters, the same
situation
applies and we all know that a good portion of rental aircraft is being
kept
in the air with as little maintenance as they can get by with. Most is
due
to the lack of money.

Familiarize yourself with the responsibilities of an aircraft owner, and
a
pilot and don't get caught like the poor soul that we heard about
today. A
good IA that you know and trust and that will help you not only for the
money, but because he cares will tell you that your ELT must be checked
annually in accordance with FAR 91.207 d each 12 calendar months. He
will
tell you when your ELT battery is due. For those of you who have
Transponders, Altimeters, and static systems, he will tell you what the
requirements are for each of these. He will tell you what AD's need to
be
complied with and when each are due. He will tell you that the
Airworthiness
Certificate must be displayed in view of the passenger when he enters
the
aircraft. Some of these do not render an aircraft non airworthy, but do
you
see where I am going with this. If I am doing an annual on a plane for
the
first time I give the owner a completed AD compliance record and a
recurring
AD compliance record that is printed from ATP navigator. He knows when
the
AD's were complied with and how and what page in the logbook will verify
that
it was done. This covers my ass when I sign that a complete AD audit
was
conducted and all AD's were complied with as of the date of the annual,
and
he can look at the recurring list and tell either by flight hours, time
in
service, when the AD is due again. An example would be AD 00-00-00 Seat

Belts, not due this annual - due again 12 months or 100 hours whichever
occurs first due tach time 0000.0. This way you know when the AD is due

again. If you fly more than a hundred hours before the next annual, you

should have the AD complied with before the next annual.

I know this is rather lengthy, and repetitive, but my point is who's
responsibility is it and how can we use a system of checks and balances
to
make sure it doesn't happen to you. A good IA that you can work with
can
make the difference, but be prepared for rejection. A lot of IA's are
intimidated by these wonderful old airplanes and like to work on new
shinny
Spam cans that smell like diesel fuel. They are classic examples of
everything that he learned in mechanic school and he doesn't have to
worry
about a wood spar that has to be inspected, and most likely he will want
you
to cut your pretty wing full of holes so that he can see that piece of
wood
that he thinks has been rotting for over 50 years. You should discuss
which
method he plans to use and educate him. I also own a Champ and I ain't
cutting my wing full of round holes. There is another way and it is
perfectly legal.


Bill'