owners of piston-powered aircraft desper- ately want to hear, “It’s all good with acceptable compressions, and the bore- scope inspection is good as well.” Normally at that point, the owner will stop pacing the floor and stop thinking he’ll have to sell a body part to support his flying addiction.
Experience as Teacher Zach hadn’t done this type of mainte- nance outside the school environment. Could he have done it without me? Possibly. But, for sure, it benefited him to have me there to coach him through the work. What we mechanics and pilots bring to the table is experience. Experience in doing a task our students haven’t done before. I heard many years ago when I was a
US Army pilot: the basic flight instructor is the pilot in command, not the unit instruc- tor pilot. That’s a true statement. As they progress in their careers, mechanics and pilots will absorb the most lessons not from their instructors but from the people around them every day—their fellow line mechanics and line pilots. It is such an aviation tenet that we shall mentor those starting out in the field that the FAA has memorialized it in a rule. I remember when I took the oral and practical exam for the A&P certificate some years ago, the designated mainte- nance examiner (DME) took his time after I passed to ensure that I understood 14 CFR 65.81 (a)(b), “General Privileges and Limitations.” Specifically, part (a) of the rule states
that “[a certificated mechanic] may not supervise the maintenance, preventive maintenance, or alteration of, or approve and return to service, any aircraft or appli- ance, or part thereof, for which he is rated unless he has satisfactorily performed the work concerned at an earlier date.” The point of the rule is to make sure new mechanics are supervised by experienced mechanics who’ve already demonstrated they know how to perform the task at hand.
It’s been my privilege to work on air-
craft. Consider how few have earned the right to do so. It’s also my honor to have motivated
Zach, to have taught him how to jack an air- craft, do a landing gear swing, run engine compression tests, and perform a bore- scope inspection. (Wait—he left the hangar without bleeding. I must have missed a step!)
Zach will soon be off to begin his new career as an A&P mechanic, having already secured a position with a prominent aircraft operator. Now, he can supervise a new mechanic
on the tasks I helped him with because he meets CFR 65.81, having “satisfactorily performed the work concerned at an earlier date.” Fugere tutum!
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JUNE 2023 ROTOR 61
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