tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-510895126408960571.post485523296109607229..comments2023-11-10T05:21:02.149-05:00Comments on N631S: 2012 Annual Inspection (viii)Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-510895126408960571.post-66182705430314825832012-04-15T21:02:07.040-04:002012-04-15T21:02:07.040-04:00Hi Frank,
I have been following your blog for som...Hi Frank,<br /><br />I have been following your blog for some time now. I recently reviewed your posts about your annual and also looked back at your reports from the last few years. Your annuals have all been very thorough and it seems that you address all your squawks accordingly. That being said, what you are paying seems to be excessive to me. The base annual price seems to be high and I was surprised that there was a separate line item for AD review at $318.20. If the same person has been maintaining your aircraft it shouldn't take more than an hour to review each year and in my opinion this should be covered in the $2600. Even at $100/hour this is still 26 hours and I believe the base inspection could easily be done in 20-25 hours. Another thing is the brake linings at $247. I'm guessing this includes labor as well as I replaced mine at annual for $55 for all 4. The wheels and bearings should come off at annual anyway and the linings are easily changed. It seems to me you are getting gouged. I think I'd be looking around a bit. I could understand the first annual being expensive but I would expect the costs to drop on in future years except to address something a bit bigger every few years.<br /><br />Regards,<br />Jeff FreyJeffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05273434660276942470noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-510895126408960571.post-19909026556602591062012-04-08T09:58:18.922-04:002012-04-08T09:58:18.922-04:00You've broken the code, sir! We all need very ...You've broken the code, sir! We all need very badly for these maintenance operations to be at least decently profitable. Of course, no one should be unfairly treated, but there are consequences to being excessively flinty about costs. We really don't want all of our great mechanics to go off repairing Toyotas!<br /><br />Thanks for stopping by...<br /><br />FrankFrank Van Hastehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10821687850881538546noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-510895126408960571.post-7687587683087401872012-04-07T02:44:53.076-04:002012-04-07T02:44:53.076-04:00Well Frank, as you know... operating an older airp...Well Frank, as you know... operating an older airplane in safe condition is not inexpensive. It is all part of the flying budget: one can afford it or not. Parts are always expensive, labor rates are rightly high, but I suspect that some of the 'book hours' are excessive. Not much you can do about that and you DO want to keep your maintenance folks happy. Again, it is part of the annual operating costs. On the bright side, 631 is in full compliance with the various ADs and that you can fly with confidence, knowing that the mechanicals are in good order. You'll still do your due dilligence before every flight, but any found faults ought to be minimal. There are vary good reasons for calendar, time and cycle-related inspections and you just gave us a $7k list of important ones. Your detailed list is a very good example of why periodic (professional) inspections are required. Thanks!!<br />-C.Cedarglenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00468497492189762095noreply@blogger.com