AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2017 - 92

P&E

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SAVVY

like mandatory, required, must, or shall. No
manufacturer has the authority to compel
you to perform any maintenance task you
don't want to do. Only the FAA has that
authority.
I'm not advising you to ignore all manufacturer when-to guidance. Some of it
makes sense and is prudent. For example,
it certainly is a good idea to do 500-hour
magneto IRANs (inspect and repair as necessary) and 50-hour oil filter changes. But
a lot of manufacturers' when-to guidance
is gross overkill for most owners. While it
might make sense to do six-year propeller
overhauls on an aircraft tied down outdoors in Tampa, it makes no sense for one
hangared in Denver.
A Part 91 operator is never required to
comply with any manufacturer's service
bulletins-even those marked mandatory or critical-unless compliance is
mandated by the FAA by AD. Again, I'm
not saying that you should blindly ignore
all service bulletins; some of them are
quite important. I'm simply saying that
whether you choose to comply with any
particular service bulletin is totally up to
you-compliance is not required by regulation, and lots of service bulletins aren't
worth complying with.
DON'T BLAME YOUR MECHANIC

Why do so many mechanics persist in telling their customers that their engines,
propellers, magnetos, trim tab actuators,
and oxygen regulators need to be overhauled at certain manufacturer-prescribed
intervals? Usually because they believe it to
be true. When I was studying to obtain my
A&P certificate, all the training materials
stressed that manufacturer's guidance is
always to be followed to the letter. It wasn't
until I started reading obscure FAA orders
and notices and letters of interpretation
and discussing the issue with rulemaking
lawyers at FAA headquarters that I discovered that most of what A&Ps (including
me) have been taught about this subject is
simply wrong.
AOPA
MIKE BUSCH is an A&P/IA.
EMAIL mike.busch@savvyaviator.com

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92 | AOPA PILOT September 2017

http://www.AOPA.ORG/FINANCEMYTRAINING http://www.aopa.org/financemytraining http://www.savvyaviation.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2017