5 Tips for Airplane Maintenance
Aircraft maintenance is performed at regular intervals, such as every six months, year, and so on, and when the plane reaches certain flying hours. It is scheduled in advance, and the cost of each job is agreed upon before the service and is fixed. Each service takes from several hours to several months, depending on the amount of work.
The decision to perform a service is taken based on the aircraft maintenance log book, whose data istransferred to an electronic aircraft maintenance registry.
If the aircraft is less than five years old, maintenance is usually scheduled at service centers that providewarranty service, which will specify the cost of one man-hour. This will then help to save money in case unscheduled and additional work is required during the scheduled service. And believe me, there will be a lot more work!
Unscheduled maintenance is required when air equipment and avionics malfunction during daily operation. It involves the associated repair work and any additional work identified during a scheduled service.
If malfunctions are detected during a flight, the crew reports them to the airline technical service, after which the problem is classified and a decision is made on how to repair it. For example, before a flight, an indicator on the instrument panel lights up to signal a problem. The first thing the crew will do is reboot the system and check if the fault is still there. If the indicator does not light up again, then everything is in order. But if the indicator lights back up, you need to refer to the technical documentation, and if possible, check the affectedsystem. If this does not work, the problem is classified: it may be possible to fly with it until the next technical inspection, or a deadline for its repair is set, or the aircraft goes into AOG (aircraft on ground) status – in this case the flight cannot continue and the help of an engineer is required.
In the event of breakdowns and malfunctions in the course of scheduled maintenance, the technical center informs the client and provides a quote on the cost of repairing or replacing the faulty equipment. The cost of work and materials for scheduled and unscheduled repairs can be significant, and this has a big impact on thecost of flight hours.
Hundreds of thousands of American dollars are paid by aircraft owners to service centers, but with the right approach you can reduce these costs and have more money to spend on something more enjoyable. The quality and reliability of work, the expertise of technicians and engineers, their inquisitiveness, and their ability to promptly identify potential problems and perform high-quality diagnostics are extremely important.
Undoubtedly, the level of reliability and comfort of modern aircraft is much higher than its predecessors. An airplane can fly for many years (40,000 hours or 40 years with the possibility of an extension). Everymanufacturer offers service programs to cover the cost of repairing aircraft and their engines, the so-called hourly programs, in which the owner pays a fixed amount per flight hour to cover repair work. The level of coverage depends on the chosen program and the cost varies depending on the aircraft type. In practice, the most common choice for owners covers the cost of engine repairs. But we’ll talk about this in more detail another time.
Top Tips for Better Quality Maintenance and Lower Costs
1. Do not try to cut costs on a technician who will supervise the work of engineers at service centers.
2. Keep track of quotes and maintenance bills, ask technicians and pilots to analyze the required types of work.
3. In case of equipment breakdowns, check if you can exchange the equipment, which means you will pay the difference instead of the cost of new equipment.
4. When your aircraft goes in for scheduled maintenance, make sure to send your technician to oversee the work. This minimizes the possibility of any oversights on the part of the service center when drawing up a list of additional required work. I think you understand what this is about. After all, if a monitor really does not work, as opposed to it just being a loose wire, your technician will see it. The process will take place in real time and be fully under your control.
5. Fly your aircraft only after obtaining the required pilot license for this type of plane!
