Brandon Martini Hello, I'm Brandon Martini, a commercial pilot
and flight instructor.
Carson Vasquez And I'm Carson Vasquez.
I'm a private pilot.
Brandon Martini And you're listening to the Aviation Mentors
podcast sponsored by Stratis Financial.
Carson Vasquez Just to buckle up because the aviation mentors
are taking off.
Brandon Martini So today, we get to hear from one of our good
friends who's been actually on the podcast a couple of times.
We should almost make him an honorary guest speaker at this point because he's been here
so many times.
I think this is what number three I think, Rich.
But we're going to have Richard Farnacca of Cavalier Air Service talking to us today.
And like I said, we've talked to him several times and we've talked about owning your own
airplane.
We've talked about aircraft maintenance in general.
And today, we wanted to talk about something that's near and dear to my heart and a lot
of aircraft owners' hearts, and that is preventative maintenance.
So we're going to talk about the things you can and can't do on your airplane and when
you should do it and when you shouldn't and when we should have a professional like Richard
work on your airplane.
So I'm really excited to have you on today.
Thanks for being here today, Rich.
Richard Farnacca Thank you so much.
Brandon Martini Thanks for being back on with us, Rich.
So can you explain exactly what is preventative maintenance?
Richard Farnacca Yeah, Carson.
FAA actually defines preventative maintenance under Section 1.1, simple or minor preservation
operations and the replacement of small standard parts not involving complex assembly operations.
Part 43, Appendix A lists everything that is in the preventative maintenance section.
And if it is not listed in Appendix A, it is not a preventative maintenance item.
Aaron Norris That's really interesting.
Yeah, while we're talking here, I pulled up the FAR.
So I looked up Part 43 and there's Part 43 all the way from 1 to 17 and A through F.
It looks like it handles quite a bit of stuff.
What you're talking about Appendix A is major alterations, repairs, preventative maintenance.
That's obviously what we're talking about today.
But the rest of it looks like it's probably more applicable to ANP or an IA.
Is that correct?
Richard Farnacca Yes, that's correct.
Aaron Norris All right.
With knowing that kind of a normal person can only do certain things, who can actually
perform this preventative maintenance?
What can a pilot do?
Richard Farnacca The AC43-12A specifies that repairman and
mechanics ANP, holder of airframe and power plant can perform preventative maintenance.
But also the pilot holding at least a private pilot certificate issued under Part 61 and
who is the registered owner or the co-owner of the aircraft can perform the preventative
maintenance on that aircraft.
Aaron Norris So you have to be one of the owners.
You can't just be one of the pilot's friends and help them work on the airplane.
Richard Farnacca Correct.
If you're going to be working on a plane, you would have to be under the supervision
of a licensed airframe or power plant mechanic depending on the work that you're going to
be performing.
Aaron Norris So if I'm, let's just say I'm not a pilot
and I want to help my friend change the tire, technically that's illegal.
That friend would also have to be a pilot.
Is that correct?
Or under the supervision of an ANP, correct?
Richard Farnacca That is correct.
Aaron Norris Cool.
I know that gets confusing sometimes.
I know that I've done some preventative maintenance on my airplanes in the past.
I haven't done preventive maintenance in a while because Richard takes care of everything
for me and all that stuff in his shop.
But I know that I did do some stuff in the past.
And I asked you, do I need to do a logbook entry for this oil change I just did?
And what is the answer to everybody out there?
If you actually do an oil change or one of the items we're going to talk about in a little
bit, is there, do you have to do a logbook entry or do you just leave it off?
Richard Farnacca Yes, you have to do a logbook entry.
And there is, it is actually written out in the FAR of how it is written.
Looking for that right now.
But yes, there is essentially a logbook entry for the work you performed and you write your
pilot certificate number as your license number for that preventative maintenance.
Aaron Norris Yeah, I've looked at it now.
Now that I'm a CFI, it kind of you have to sign the logbook entry for a pilot, just like
your CFI would.
So you need to have your printed name, you have to have your sign name, you have to have
your certificate number, and then you don't have an expiration date if you're just a private
pilot or an instrument rated pilot or something.
So there'd be no expiration date.
But you would put also like the total time airframe and the total time on the tack.
You have to add those things in to make sure they're on there.
I know that when I looked into it last, you had to have pretty much everything that goes
on a standard logbook entry, except for you can just have a pilot sign off on it, at least
the pilot that actually worked on it.
Aaron Norris What sort of things can I work on as the pilot,
the owner of that airplane?
So what kind of things can a pilot go and do for their planes?
Aaron Norris Carson, port 43, appendix A to part 43, subsection C actually lists out
everything that a pilot can do on their aircraft.
In different aircraft, obviously, you can do different things.
But there's a various amount of things of changing tires, servicing your landing gear
with oil or air, and it all comes down to if you have the tool, the correct tools to
do it.
And if you're in knowledge of how to do it, then yes, you can do these things.
Obviously, if you don't know how to service your threats, you shouldn't be doing that.
And you should call your mechanic and they could help you out with that kind of thing.
Aaron Norris So does that apply to any sort of airplane
that I'm working on that I own?
So if I own a Gulfstream, and I'm the owner and the pilot of it, am I able to go and work
on my Gulfstream and do that kind of preventative maintenance?
Aaron Norris That is a really good question.
And I'm not sure what the actual scope of that is.
I don't believe that applies in this case.
I'm sure there's an outline of size of aircraft or complexity of aircraft.
And obviously Gulfstream are going to be a lot more complex than your small piston single
engine or small twin engine airplane.
Aaron Norris Yeah, it's a little more than just taking
off the cowling.
Aaron Norris Yeah, that's a pretty great question, Carson.
I'm actually looking for it as we speak and I cannot actually find where it states it.
But I'm sure there's some abstract little thing on here that says you have to use a
145 repair station or something like that.
But I'm sure that's actually a good question.
How about if the plane is operated under like part 121, an airline carrier 135, which is
it can be cargo carrier or it could be just for hire or like part 141, which are some
of our flights with airplanes.
Can we work on those airplanes if they're under any of those parts?
Carson Yeah, if you look under AC 43-12A, there's
actually spells out authorization to perform preventative maintenance and approve for return
to service.
And it says the pilot may only perform preventative maintenance on an aircraft used under the
part 135 if the conditions of subsection 43.3H and I are met, which I'm sure we can comb
through that and see what that is.
And then it says note a pilot may not perform preventative maintenance on an aircraft used
under part 121 even if the pilot owns the aircraft.
So it's spelled out right there in the AC for you on that one.
Patrick I kind of answered that question.
Sometimes the FAA is not very clear with any regulations and it's up to the interpretation
of the ASI that works at your local FISDO, which I've had the issue with a few times
as of recently where one ASI will tell me one thing and another ASI will tell me another
thing.
So now I think I'm just going to ask for a letter of interpretation.
But luckily this, we don't actually have to ask for a letter of interpretation.
It's spelled out very clearly and I appreciate that from the FAA.
Sometimes they get some of these advisory circulars and they are very vague and ambiguous.
This one happens to be very clear cut and very understandable.
And I think it's because they want to make sure pilots know what they're able to do.
They want to know if they can go do some of the things.
I know Rich mentioned verbatim off of the advisory circular what you can do, but some
things you can do that are on the list, but maybe in a different order.
You can change your tires and change the tubes on your tires.
You can clean up different parts.
You can grease wheel bearings, things like that.
But just changing a tire on an airplane is a lot different than changing a tire on a
car by the way.
The first time I did it, I screwed it up and I actually ruined the first tube I ever did.
And I didn't realize you need talcum powder.
And I didn't realize all these things and I got a flat tire on my second one that I
ever did.
It was just, it cost me a whole bunch of money because I was trying to be cheap and do it
myself the first time I ever changed a tire.
And I think that might have been the last time I changed a tire by the way.
It just wasn't worth it.
But so for example, Rich, I know that I mentioned a few things, but tires in particular, just
because I messed them up so many times.
What's the difference between changing a tire on your car and changing a tire on let's say
a 172?
As far as you're asking what work needs to be done in comparison?
What's different because I know if I'm going to go change a tire in a car, I'm just going
to pull my wheel and tire off.
I'm going to use a breaker bar and break the bead off the tire and then I'm going to put
a new tire on it and pump it back up essentially.
So pretty straightforward and simple.
I don't have to take apart anything, any part of the wheel if it's just a normal wheel and
tire.
But what's different with the, I know these are tube tires and I know that's a little
different but they're way different than even my bicycle tube tire.
So what's, what do you have to do that's a little bit different in that regard?
So like on a 172 or most small general aviation aircraft, the wheels themselves are held together
by bolts and it's a tube, usually a tubed tire as well.
So you have the tire, you have the tube and you have the wheel halves.
And first thing is you want to let all the air out of the tube before you even take the
tire off of the axle, which is usually a single point castle nut or something similar to that.
And because if there's a problem with the wheel halves that could pop and cause damage
to you or the aircraft.
And so it's just the best thing to do is when the airplane is jacked up properly, you let
all the air out and then you take the wheel off the axle.
And then what you're going to want to do is break the tire bead off of the wheel and then
you take the wheel apart, which then you can get into the bearings and everything like
that.
If you're going to clean them or inspect them, that's the best time to do that as well.
And then you'll take the tube out or either replace the tube or you can use the tube if
it's still good.
I usually inflate the tube and check it out, make sure if there's any rubbing spots or
if the tube is years old, there should be a date stamped on it somewhere.
If I can't see that, I'll just replace the tube.
I mean, they used to be affordable nowadays, they're like $150 for a tube, just the tube,
that's not even the tire.
And then when you're replacing it, yeah, you want to use tire talc or talcum powder or
baby powder to help lubricate the tube in the tire.
And it keeps everything from binding up and getting pinched.
When you put everything, reassemble everything and retorque everything, the maintenance manual
should have torque specs and everything for you.
You should have that handy while you're doing that as well.
And yeah, just inflate it to spec and reinstall on the aircraft.
Yeah, that's definitely a lot more work.
It took you a lot more description to be able to explain how to change an airplane tire
on just a simple airplane like a Cessna 172 compared to my explanation on a car tire,
right?
And we both changed tires on cars before and broken beads and all that stuff.
And we both done tires on airplane wheels.
And I guarantee it took a lot longer for him to explain it takes a lot longer to do it
on an airplane as well.
I don't know anything about jets.
I know Rich, you might have worked on a little bit in your past, but I can't imagine doing
that on a big jet where you have to put wheels and tires in like cages in case they explode.
Things like that is pretty crazy.
Yeah, I think that's a great explanation.
And why is it important for owners to do maintenance on airplanes, like preventative maintenance?
Or is it important?
Maybe it's not.
They want to make sure their AMP does it.
But why is it important for somebody like me or Carson when he owns his first airplane
to go work on my airplane and do an oil change or change the tires or something like that?
Yeah, so I tell all my customers, it's extremely important to know your airplane that you're
flying.
You're in charge of the aircraft ultimately, and you're going to be flying the aircraft
more than anybody.
You would want to know what's going on with your own airplane.
I encourage owner assisted annuals and maintenance.
Every owner of their plane should know how to open up their airplane, what to look for.
And it's always good for more eyes to be looking at the plane than just your mechanics.
Everybody's human, people miss things.
And so the more people looking at your plane, I think the better.
Yeah, and I know one of our friends, we actually need to have him on the podcast.
He's actually, I think, coming out here tomorrow for a golf tournament.
I talked to him this morning, and he knows his airplane better than most people I know.
And he's a Cherokee Six guy, PA32 guy.
You probably see him in some of the PA32 Facebook groups if you're on there.
But he knows his airplane in and out.
When he brings it in for his annual, I've seen him explain, hey, this rivet is starting
to smoke or what.
I'm using that as a random example.
I don't think he's ever said that.
But he'll know exactly where a little drop of oil finally came from.
He is very in tune with his airplane.
And I think that's great.
Because as a mechanic, when you're looking at the airplane later, you're only seeing
so many things.
You're looking through the manual.
You're looking at the airplane.
You're doing a thorough job.
But we're human.
Sometimes you can miss little things.
So if you have another set of eyes, like Rich was saying, to look at that airplane, I think
that's a fantastic idea.
And it just makes you a better pilot too.
Because if you hear a random noise when you're flying, you can probably diagnose if that
was just a gust of wind.
And that's why your blade angle just changed.
If you're flying and you hear a weird change in your propeller, you can try to figure out,
hey, was that like a really strong gust of wind that just did an immediate blade change
and it changed the sound of the pitch?
Or was it actually an internal engine problem?
And I need to go get that looked at like land immediately.
There's things like that.
Radio issues.
Do you know what's wrong with your radios?
Do you actually know how to use your radios?
Sometimes people don't know how to turn up and down the volume properly.
Or the squelch up and down.
And it just goes in.
But if you know it and you've looked at your airplane over and over again and done some
of these preventative maintenance things, you're going to know your airplane in and
out.
So that's why I'm a big fan of it.
It's not like when you're in the air, you can just pull over when you have an issue.
It's a little bit different.
And it's a good idea to know what's going on.
How can pilots and aircraft owners contribute to having an effective maintenance program
with preventative maintenance?
Communication, Carson.
Have good communication with your mechanic.
Keep an open phone if there's ever a problem or an issue.
You should be able to reach out and at least send an email or a text about something.
And the mechanic should be able to help you out and get back to you with some sort of
answer.
I believe that's one thing that is a good thing to have is good communication with each
other.
What other advice do you have for pilots in order to keep the plane in that kind of top
shape that we really want the planes in?
Aside from talking to your mechanic and keeping the open line.
I say good pre-flight and post-flight inspections are the first thing in the chain of events
that need to take place in keeping your aircraft in good, safe and flying order.
Even though you're, if you're the only one who flies your airplane, I know a lot of times
you can just be like, ah, I know what's wrong with my plane or I know there's nothing wrong
with my plane.
I'm going to go fly, but it's a bad habit to get into.
We have a Cessna 182 in our family and there's only a couple of people who fly it.
Me, my father-in-law, my brother-in-law.
And if I was the last person to fly it, I still do a very thorough pre-flight inspection.
And when I land, walk around the plane post-flight, check your tires, check for any leaks, check
your oil and you can have a very long lasting and safe plane to fly.
Yeah.
You've mentioned that to me, multitude of times.
And you've talked about that with like students, you said you want to go show students what
to look for on a pre-flight because CFIs don't do a good enough job on it.
And I agree.
CFIs don't do a good enough job on it.
And everybody out here is a CFI.
You should really get better at doing a pre-flight and check your aerodocs every time you get
in an airplane on a side note, because for some reason that always comes up as an issue,
always at the wrong time.
So make sure you have got your aerodocs in the airplane.
I know that you just kind of think that they're already going to be in there, but they're
on the pre-flight checklist for a reason, right?
You want to make sure that you've got those things in there.
You need to make sure the plane is legal to fly.
But back to what Rich was saying, a pre-flight is really key and a post-flight.
I know that I've had people take off pre-flight looked great.
They checked the fuel, left the fuel cap off.
Fuel cap went somewhere else.
Half of their fuel flew out of the airplane while they were flying.
So that's happened before.
You can also land and skid a tire and not even realize it.
And you've got this giant flat spot on your tire after you landed.
So I even say roll the plane back and forth about a foot or two.
It's a small enough plane.
You can do that, obviously, just to check out those tires a little bit better.
You want to make sure that things are not broken on your airplane.
Heck, you can even hit a bird and a small bird and it could have some crazy dent in
a place that it can't have a dent.
You could nick your propeller on your right before you take off or after landing.
If you're on even a paved runway, you can still get a big nick in your prop and it could
become un-airworthy.
So you need to look at those things.
Actually, I think the biggest thing that people don't do, and this is why people get killed,
is they don't sump their fuel.
And also people will go sump their fuel right after they get the airplane fuel.
So if you go take some oil and water and go take a straw or something, go mix it in front
of you, tell me how long it takes for it to settle.
It's not instantaneous where all the water settles on the bottom.
It takes a few minutes.
And I guarantee in a 25 or 50 gallon drum that's in your airplane wing, it's probably
going to take a little bit longer for that to settle there as well.
So I always say wait 10 or 15 minutes before something and always sump after you've fueled
your airplane, even if you've had somebody else do it or if you've done it.
Don't just put the gas in the airplane and bounce.
I remember seeing a guy, he didn't sump his fuel.
He left his plane overnight and I don't know if just moisture got in or if just the relative
humidity caused moisture to seep in.
I'm not really sure, but I know he had an engine failure and unfortunately he didn't
make it.
So it's a really important thing to check the fuel.
I mentioned two things in my little examples right now on fuel because fuel is your life
blood of your engine, right?
You need the fuel.
With that being said, I want to say thank you so much for Rich for coming in today,
telling us about preventative maintenance.
It's a really great thing to look up and like he said, go check out advisory circular 43
12 alpha and also check out part 43 of the FARs.
It will teach you a lot.
And by the way, that part 43, it's not in your FAR aim.
So you have to go look at it online or you need to go to aircraft spruce and get the
ANP mechanic book or something.
It has a bunch of other parts in there too.
So every time you look up and it says part 121, there's yeah, there's quite a few parts
before that aren't even listed in there.
So it's not an all encompassing guide of the federal regulations.
So thank you again, Rich, for being on this podcast with us.
Yeah, as always, thanks for being on with us today, Rich.
It's always nice to get some of the expertise that you have out there, all of our listeners.
And for those of you listening, I hope our last few episodes made you want to go out
and get an airplane.
And I hope that today's episode teach you a little bit about taking care of it.
Yeah, thanks again for having me you guys.
I always have a good time here and I'm sure I'll be back soon for some more fun issues.
Yeah, those fun issues and topics will be a blast to talk about.
And if anybody wants to reach out to us, you can find rich at Cavalieroservice.com.
You can also send him an email, richard at Cavalieroservice.com.
And for Carson and I, you can reach us at Twitter, Instagram, I'm at Mr. Martini Guy
or at Carson underscore AV 17.
And as you know, our preferred method is email nowadays.
It's Brandon at aviation mentors.com or Carson and aviation mentors.com.
And I've got a couple emails that I haven't got to this week.
So if you're listening to this today, please be patient.
I will be getting back to you, but it'll probably be on Monday.
So thanks again for listening today.
And as a wrap up for the day, remember, we're here to guide you in your aviation journey.
So fly safe and enjoy the ride.