Nothing like owning a plane, especially when it is in for its annual inspection and your mechanic finds an item that needs to be fixed that will cost a pretty penny. In all of history, I wonder if there has ever been a time when any kind of mechanic has called with good news.
Luckily, I have a mechanic who is decent, honest and not willing to cut corners. And that, at the end of the day, is all I care about. This item could possibly have been covered over and the plane gotten its annual certification, but why would I ever want such a thing? I love flying and I will always want to do it, but I am well aware that it is a risky proposition. One of the reasons I bought my own plane was this exact scenario. Who wants to be in a rental where you don't know what the mechanic has done? Do you want to find out at 5,000 feet that the owner cut corners? It's just not worth it.
As I was discussing the repairs with my mechanic, he told me about a recent crash in New Jersey. Turns out that the pilot had found a crack in his propeller and, instead of paying for the propeller to be repaired by a professional, he filed two inches off of each side. When a piece of metal is turning at 2500 rpm and it is not balanced, the plane becomes uncontrollable. I can't imagine how any pilot could justify such a silly, dangerous home repair to himself.
That's why I may bellyache a little about costs, but I will never say no to getting a professional to repair the plane.
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12 comments:
C'mon, Dave, don't be such a wuss.
Put some duct tape on it and get your butt down the runway!
Just kidding. I always insist that repairs to my Millenium Falcon be done by a qualified professional (Chewie).
Alluvial damper?
No, that's not it. Bring me the hydrospanner!
If it can cruise faster than 165 mph, yes it can.
Tony, if you want a car that's not expensive to maintain, perhaps you shouldn't own a Porsche.
People complaining about how their airplanes or expensive sportscars are too expensive to keep up are not gonna get much sympathy from me....
Was I complaining? The point of my post was supposed to be that it is always worth it to spend the money to get the job done right.
The cab driver I had in Wilmington had a Caprice with over 600,000 miles, original engine. It was a smooth ride. It's all about maintenance! Americans like cars, but tend to hate maintenance. Not you guys, though, you guys love it, love it, love it!
Tony,
Cars like Porsche's, BMW's, and Merc's are designed for a different market, at a different price point than a Buick. So are their parts and maintenance. Why shouldn't it be more expensive to fix a Porsche, since it's a higher quality machine? If the car itself is, say, 3 times as good (thus being 3 times as expensive) than you'd expect that the parts and labor would also be 3 times as expensive. Otherwise, you got ripped off when you bought the car itself, right?
Dave,
I dind't think you were complaining that much, just a bit... "I may bellyache a little about costs..."
I understood the point of your post, though.
Chris -
You make it sound as if it's not sympathetic to complain that I spilled a bottle of Opus One on the carpeting of my G5 last week. I thought you were supposed to be the bleeding heart.
D
Come again?
Opus One = Expensive wine
G5 = Gulfstream V private jet
I was asking about the part "You make it sound as if it's not sympathetic to complain..."
I get it now (I think). And yes, as a good bleeding heart of course I'd feel awful for you. Oh, no, wait - I'd only feel awful if you asked for a government handout of new wine.
Dave, be careful now, we don't want you getting pulled over at 20,000 feet for a FWI.
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