Pilotage

"Lacks common sense. A spendthrift. Needs professional help. Doesn't know enough or care enough to get his fingernails dirty. Scares people off from buying airplanes. Deserves to get shafted by the shop." Other than that, the letter writer had no problem with what I said.

What I said was that I have had three annual inspections performed on my airplane since I bought it. Those annuals have cost a total of $6,600. The correspondent was incredulous and critical. He assumed that I didn't participate in the inspections and therefore gave the shops carte blanche to take advantage of me. In fact, I did assist on the first and second inspections and stayed in close touch with the shop on the third.

The writer chastised me for driving fence-sitters away from buying airplanes with my expensive tale. "Unfortunately, articles such as this fall into the 'horror stories' of aircraft ownership," he wrote. "Readers who may be on the fence considering aircraft ownership are even more bewildered, confused, and unsure whether they should proceed." I figure that it is a greater disservice to deceive people about the cost of ownership.

My experience is not typical, especially for a 22-year-old Cessna 172, but it is not unique, either. Stuff happens. I don't wish to sound negative, but anyone contemplating aircraft ownership should have his eyes open to the potential for unexpected and unusual (read big) expenses. My inspections have been costly, primarily because of parts — the airplane needed a new carburetor, the fuel tank had to be welded, I've replaced all three tires, the starter is new, the mags have been rebuilt, and so on. I've put about 350 hours on the airplane in just over two years, and I don't expect to be replacing many more parts over the next few years. That means my per-hour maintenance cost should drop dramatically as the hours pile up.

My solace in spending the money is that I know for certain that the airplane is mechanically sound. I have no second thoughts about flying it in the clouds and making instrument approaches in low weather with my family aboard. It starts, flies, communicates, navigates, replies to ATC surveillance radar — it does just what I expect it to do, each time, all the time.

The real purpose of the letter was not to fire missiles at me but to offer advice on keeping inspection and maintenance costs down. Here is the writer's recipe:

First, make a friend of an A&P mechanic or an IA, or go out and become one yourself.

Second, if you are not good at making friends with people who like big red rolling toolboxes, then find a service shop that will allow you to assist the mechanics when they work on your airplane. Don't be a pest, however, by using their tools and monopolizing their time.

Third, never buy parts through an FBO or let your mechanic subcontract out work for you. Buy the parts yourself and let the shop install them. Be sure that the parts come with all the necessary papers.

Fourth, get service and parts manuals for your airplane and learn its inner workings as well as the techniques for maintaining and repairing it.

Some of the advice is excellent — full of common sense. Buy those manuals and know thy airplane. Assist in the annual inspections. Learn to speak the language of service and repair. (I thought I was bilingual. At my last annual I went over a list of squawks with the mechanic. "Bill," I said, "The fuel tank sending unit gasket is leaking. When I top off the left tank, fuel leaks from around the drain." Well, I had the terminology correct, but I misdiagnosed the problem. "Sorry, Mark," Bill said later, "but the filler neck on the fuel tank is cracked. We'll have to remove the tank and have it welded." I learned two lessons that day: Knowing some of the language doesn't necessarily mean you can read the menu corectly, and resting the heavy metal fuel spout against the filler neck when the airplane is being fueled can cause the neck to crack, as mine did.

I thought the letter dispensed some good advice, but something bothered me. I was taken to task for overstating the cost of maintaining an airplane. I think that the letter does a disservice of its own by lulling potential airplane owners into believing they can do a better job of buying parts and fixing their airplanes than people who are trained and certified can do. Certainly many airplane owners are first-class do-it-yourselfers — the homebuilt and restoration communities are convincing evidence of that. For those of us who are less talented or inclined, however, working on our airplanes isn't a realistic option. It's just not the same as changing the points, plugs, and oil in our cars. Even changing the landing light in a 172 requires specific knowledge of the bulb type, plus a part or two. It's not a big deal, but it takes perhaps half a day to research the needed parts, find a supplier, get the parts, and make the repair. And that's just a landing light.

I also believe it is unprofessional to expect a friendly A&P or IA to supervise do-it-yourself work and sign it off without getting paid. Know any doctors, dentists, or lawyers who provide their services for free? The airport always has been a place where people of like mind hang out and help each other. That's a big part of the appeal of flying small airplanes. But isn't it terribly unfair to expect an already underpaid mechanic to sacrifice his modest compensation to help out an airplane owner who, in all likelihood, has a healthy income? The mechanic who supervises and signs off owner maintenance is a consultant and should be paid accordingly. It's the only common sense thing to do.