May_June_2022 - 21

he fears people may no longer find flying
cost-effective.
" I don't really have a good finger on that
pulse yet, because everybody is still flying
and they're still spending money on their
airplanes. I don't think the economy's
caught up with them yet. You know as well
as I do, a lot of these airplane owners, if they
can afford an airplane, they can afford to
go fly them.
" But some of these guys, to a certain
point, they're going to say, 'You know what?
This becomes not cost-effective for me to
go and have fun. I can go have fun playing
golf for cheaper than I can go fly my airplane
around.' That's a little bit of a concern for
me. I think short term, if we don't get the
fuel prices under control, we might see a
decline in flying, " Cryer said.
So far, it hasn't been the case. Cryer
reports that over the past seven or eight
years, the average flying time of an airplane
they were having come in for an annual
inspection was around 15 to 20 hours at
the most. But last year and this year, they've
seen people flying closer to 35 and 40 hours
since their last inspection.
Patience, Cryer said, is the key to weathering
all the issues the industry faces right
now.
" I think patience is number one, especially
the way it is now. It is like any other
industry, everybody has their challenges.
And we know, as pilots and as mechanics,
that whatever gets thrown at us, we're a
pretty smart bunch, I think, and we can
figure out how to make it through it all. I
don't think we're going to suffer too much.
We just have to know that there's going to
be that light at the end of the tunnel, if it
darkens in on us, " Cryer said.
For Kuti, he doesn't see a real end in sight
for the demand and supply chain to get
caught back up to each other anytime soon.
" I'm hoping it gets resolved soon. I
have spoken with Superior Air Parts and
Lycoming, both of them are doing all they
can to get more production done. They've
opened up some extra shifts. Every time
I talk to them, they're getting back in the
groove and able to start getting stuff done.
" The good news is the vendors and the
manufacturers are talking to us and saying,
'Hey, we're getting this figured out. We're
doing all we can.' Superior just opened up
a third shift, I believe they're running shift
work, trying to produce as much as they
possibly can, " Kuti said.
In the meantime, Kuti's advice is to do
the same as his customers are: plan ahead.
" Order some oil filters, have some on the
shelf, have some spark plugs, oil, all your
general maintenance stuff, make sure you
have it. It's getting where you go in for an oil
change and you can't get a filter, it's really
hard to change your oil. So definitely kind
of stock up on the necessities, put a couple
on the shelf. If you know you change your
oil three times a year, have three oil filters.
When you get down to that last one, go
ahead and order two more, and that way
you have them, " he said.
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