What is Preventive Maintenance ?

The FAA permits a pilot to perform preventive maintenance (PM) on an aircraft owned or operated by that pilot, provided the aircraft is used strictly for non-commercial operations. Pilots may do PM without any A&P involvement, which is pretty cool. But what exactly constitutes PM? In FAR Part 43 Appendix A, the FAA has listed 31 specific tasks that they consider to be PM. But in 2009, the FAA's Rulemaking Division issued a little-known legal interpretation that expands the definition of PM far beyond those 31 items. In this webinar, maintenance expert Mike Busch takes you through these regs and legal interpretations to shed light on the question of what maintenance tasks it is really permissible for a pilot to do on his own recognizance.
Savvy Aviation offers Professional Maintenance Services to owners of General Aviation aircraft, such as: SavvyMx (Professional Maintenance Management), SavvyQA (Expert Consulting), SavvyPrebuy, SavvyAnalysis (Engine Data Analysis) and Breakdown Assistance. Savvy also publishes a monthly newsletter with lots of interesting information for the general aviation enthusiast; subscribe to it at www.savvyaviat.... For more information, visit us at savvyaviation.com. This webinar was hosted by the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA).

[@williamkumley5135]

I know this is an older video but it sounds like the report makes owner allowed maintenance very subjective and in the eye of the owner and their mechanic. I imagine it would be smart to have the discussion with your mechanic first so they don't dispute owner allowed maintenance at the next annual inspection.

[@BetterAircraftFabric]

Thank You for posting this, appreciated! Always enjoying your books and postings! - I could not be agreeing with you more! -Glad you have this channel here. Best Regards from Alaska!

[@TheReadBaron91]

I would say most likely FAA was thinking items that would get a pilot stuck somewhere and that are relatively simple meets the requirements for this list. I.e. a NAV light may get you stuck in certain situations where a courtesy light would not. Definitely do not want to give Pilots for clearance to repair all types of wiring. Seen some really bad jobs that I’m pretty sure it was done by a pilot who wasn’t a mechanic. Again, landing light wiring may get them stuck somewhere, so it would be allowed. As for the transponder I would say they do not want the encoding to get messed up or if they changed to a new transponder it would require checking the encoder.

[@jamesg291]

Here is the pdf link to the Coleal interpretation from the FAA: www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/agc/practice_areas/regulations/interpretations/data/interps/2009/Coleal%20-%20(2009)%20Legal%20Interpretation.pdf

[@fbr767]

If tire change is specifically allowed, how about flat repair?

[@joemomma3572]

Isn’t doing a preflight inspection include doing oil level check anyways. Why mention it in a FAA.

[@daleyingling4868]

Thanks Mike...!!! I have been doing maintenance for 15 years on my part 91 aircraft, and want to get my A&P. Where would I get work experience after passing the tests to get my A&P?

[@bradleypeterson2208]

I got mine at a Part 121 airline as a mechanic's apprentice. You have to get loggable experience before you pass your written, then oral and practical tests. You can work under an A&P on your own plane and have him sign on a logbook all the work you've done. I'm not sure how many hours you need, that is generally up to the FAA Inspector you interview with. I got my Powerplant license with ~ 500 loggable hours of experience, and I'm working on my Airframe as we speak. You could also moonlight as an apprentice at an FBO, smaller airline under part 121, 125, 135, etc. I know a lot of guys who did it this way; far cheaper than going to an A&P school, although they do emphasize a lot of GA knowledge in school if thats all you want to work on.

[@TheReadBaron91]

www.faa.gov/mechanics/become/basic/ School or apprentice. School would probably be quicker; if you can find somebody willing to apprentice you that would work too.

[@alje311]

After you passed your tests to earn the A&P any regional airline would hire you as an entry level mechanic but United will also hire you right out of school if you are willing to work at the SFO hub. It's hard to attract and retain employees at that hub due to cost of living but you can transfer to any other UA station that has inhouse mtx after 1 year.

[@randyiverson7590]

Can I change a rudder peddle on a C 180? Thanks

[@CM-010]

Doubtful... You can't even spell Pedal correctly 🤷‍♂️