What to Expect During Your FAA Annual Inspection

How much is this going to cost? Do I have to do all the repairs? Is everything they find mandatory? These are everyone's questions during your FAA annual inspections and here are some of the answers.
The FAA Annual Inspection is mandatory, and there is a list of items and AD's that need to be complied with. Basically, the airplane gets taken apart and every plate and opening gets opened up and inspected. All this is done for safety, and you want to make sure you are flying a safe airplane.
Annuals can be expensive. It depends on what condition your airplane is in. There are a list of required items that need to be inspected. Each manufacturer puts out and that is what the guides the mechanic along. There are a list of mandatory things that have to be looked at and must be complied with, but it is also a good time to do smaller things that you even be able to do yourself.
My mechanic let me assist him this year, and he kept a good eye on my work. This really didn't save me any money, but it did save time. Also, this was a great learning experience for me.
Have you always wanted to learn how to fly but now you are over 50? Get out there and start and learn! There are so many people in there 50's and 60's who are just starting to fly so what are you waiting for?

[@dennisballew8247]

As an IA I genuinely appreciate an owner that gets involved in the maintenance of their aircraft!

[@mikefromuniontown3809]

YOU have come a long way and are demonstrating it is possible to start over again in your 50's. God Bless your sir for being a tremendous inspiration!

[@Over50andLearningToFly]

Absolutely!!! Thank you!

[@earthsciteach]

Well, this is a timely video...

[@lvmypepper]

Love these videos. Keep them coming.

[@paulburgess8527]

Awesome video Ted. This has been one of my questions for some time now just all the maintenance duties needed on an aircraft. Thank you for putting this together. I look forward to volume 2 :)

[@Parr4theCourse]

Great video....

[@PhotographyEnthusiast]

I love your attitude on this. Things I own that are utility, like cars to get you around, I sort of reluctantly pay the bills, but spend on leisure on descretionary 'toys' like boats and planes feels so different, especially where there is a safety element. The only time I quibble is when I think the shop is taking advantage or not done the job the agreed, unfortunately in the uk, poor customer service occurs a bit too often.

[@challenger2ultralightadventure]

One of the benefits of building my own airplane, is that I'm the mechanic. This is course is not an option for everyone, but for people like me, it's an amazing benefit.

[@muhammadsteinberg]

That's exactly why I'm looking at doing a RV build. Ham radio operator, GROL and worked in the communications field most of my 50yrs (+). I have to pay 2-3x the cost for someone to upgrade my stack when I can do it myself. $36k to get the stack I want in a 172. Ridiculous!!!

[@haidercoversynthpianomusic747]

Good video good aircraft

[@nelsonfarias181]

Nice presentation! Best regards from a brazilian Cardinal owner....

[@usslindstrom]

Haven't had it for a year yet, so there's nothing to compare, but I'm hoping my experimental conditional clocks in significantly lower.

[@thelastengineer2315]

I love power flow exhausts, I don’t fly, I’m a mechanic and they keep me busy.

[@Over50andLearningToFly]

Swapping out the core was pretty easy- the plastic wrap around the core stays on - and burns off during the first few minutes of operation... does that make a good seal when the foam expands?

[@thelastengineer2315]

Over 50 and Learning To Fly! Every insert I have replaced has been a fairly snug fit but I guess they do expand a bit with vibration that said the most common failures I see are due to a lack of compliance with the ICA’s, prop balancing and failure to apply anti seize compound when reassembling after inspection.

[@dh-flies]

The annual on my E-LSA was $1200 which included an exterior detailing. 😎

[@Over50andLearningToFly]

Yes the new or the airplane the lower the annual and if my airplane had no problems and I didn’t do any upgrades it would cost $1200 as well. Thanks for watching the next program will be all the upgrades I did and the costs broken down ...

[@dh-flies]

@@Over50andLearningToFly I have 2 friends with 172 Cessna's. Both of their annuals were over $3000, one was close to $4000... Thought it had to do with the "certified" aspect. One of the many reasons I chose Light Sport. Mine is also certified Experimental. Which allows me to do upgrades and basic maintenance on my own. I prefer to have an experienced professional going over my plane. I couldn't believe all those inspection covers you have on your plane...It looks like a lot of work just getting it open to do the inspecting..And people do need to get paid for their efforts. Love the channel.

[@sactu1]

Good one Ted. I've taken a leaf out of yours and Kelley's books and gone and bought an aeroplane (pending a satisfactory engineering inspection). It's a 1978 Mooney M20J-201. Should have a video of it in a month or so - it's currently over the other side of Australia, and I'm trying to get permission to travel to Western Australia to pick it up and fly it back to the east coast. WA's border is closed and one has to get special permission to enter that state. Hopefully, it will all work out :)

[@Over50andLearningToFly]

That is fantastic! Congratulations and make sure to get that video out there so we can see it I think that’s so cool also start your own KZbin channel about your adventures just to encourage others because it’s really working!

[@sactu1]

@@Over50andLearningToFly Cheers. Already have heaps of videos under 'Sactu1' of my Glasair adventures and IFR journey - looking forward to adding Mooney adventures to it. Later, Jim.

[@GeneralSirDouglasMcA]

Retractable gears can be rather costly to maintain.

[@sactu1]

@@GeneralSirDouglasMcA It can indeed. My last plane (Glasair) had hydraulic retracts, which took a bit of mx. The Mooney is electro-mechanical, so less to go wrong IMHO. But they all need regular maintenance, which increases the cost of annuals over fixed gear.

[@briankilby6417]

Where’d you find an LED beacon? Would love the efficient draw against the alternator/battery vs. incandescent.

[@Over50andLearningToFly]

Absolutely!!!!

[@workinonhouse]

Good video! Thanks for not screaming 😛

[@Over50andLearningToFly]

No worries!

[@lmartinez3633]

Nice presentation and informative

[@Over50andLearningToFly]

Glad you liked it

[@ozelot250]

$1200? Ok thank you

[@ozelot250]

How much is just the annual inspection without repairs just the actual inspection itself?

[@Over50andLearningToFly]

The inspection by itself is just $1200

[@MrBradley34]

Question: is this C150 with engine has 1280 hours on and is on condition and propeller has 1025.1 hour a good buy?

[@Over50andLearningToFly]

Sounds good- do you have a link that you can send over?

[@MrBradley34]

@@Over50andLearningToFly Thanks for responding. The link is www.planesales.com.au/ and the registration (tail number) is VH-ZPY a C150

[@yorinov2001]

ALWAYS, ALWAYS, - get a pre-purchase inspection - NEVER assume that a plane with a current annual is OK. Items discovered during a pre-purchase can effect final price you pay. I hope it is a good deal for you

[@GeneralSirDouglasMcA]

Check the logs and make sure it hasn’t been sitting.

[@Ryan-hi6zg]

If you have to send oil out to be analyzed in order to find out what’s going on, you shouldn’t be anywhere near machinery

[@MikeP-we2ve]

Why? I'm genuinely curious...