MIAO: Confidence

One of the things they never tell you about buying an airplane is that mistakes aren't always easily fixed by just changing what you didn't like.  For instance: You don't like the brakes on the airplane.  They're worn (not worn enough to require the seller to replace) but worn enough that you don't like the performance.  You would think that the fix would be as simple as replacing the offending parts, right?

Wrong!

Well, it might be that simple--but it might not.  You see, there are many mechanics that can perform tasks on an airplane, just like there are many establishments that can make a cup of coffee.  However, those mechanics are just like all of those places you can buy coffee.  Some are green and inexperienced, some are gruff and grizzled, some just plain won't like you, etc.  It's not anything unique to aircraft mechanics--it's human nature.

Of course, the most important thing a mechanic can bring to the table is relevant experience.  All that said, you might find yourself occasionally paying for your mechanic to gain experience with a particular repair or installation (for instance, if you're the first preheat system customer he's had, it might take him an extra hour to acquaint himself with the system).  There's nothing wrong with that, provided you're not bankrolling his practical maintenance education.  Most mechanics are fair and honest and won't bill you for their mistakes or time overruns unless it's fair to do so.  Yes, there are times it's fair to bill you for more than the quoted or estimated time.  Airplanes are just like people--they have their own quirks, especially when they get older.  Sometimes it takes time to sort through the other guy's work or poor documentation.

The reward for finding a good mechanic is more of this and less cursing like a sailor.

After experience, what else is there?  Availability?  That's important, too, since you need someone that can help you in a reasonable amount of time when needed or who will answer the phone when you have a question.  This is not to say that you should be able to drop in whenever you please.  It's great if that's an option, but often, highly skilled and sought-after maintenance providers will have a backlog of business.  Plan ahead for what you can anticipate to make their lives easier.

What else?  Here's the one thing I never thought of: Attitude and personality.  You can have a perfectly capable mechanic who's available and willing to work on your airplane, and it might still be a mistake.  How?  Well, personalities and attitudes can clash.  It doesn't make anyone evil or incapable.  It just means that there is a larger consideration to make when selecting someone to trust your aircraft to.  You see, what they don't tell you is that picking the wrong mechanic can damage your confidence in your airplane.  If you are a type A detail-oriented owner and your mechanic has a more laissez-faire approach to maintenance, you might get irritated by the fingerprints left on the airplane or relaxed timeline for work to be done.  Correspondingly, if you don't mind accomplishing maintenance tasks progressively, but your mechanic refuses to let the airplane out of the hangar without everything done at once, you likely won't be happy.  If you're a cautious person (let's not forget the "dating stage" of aircraft ownership, where everything is still new), you might want someone who's willing to explain things to you or who will take an extra step here or there to make you comfortable.

 So, by now you probably have the grin of a Cheshire cat and are just itching to know how I learned this one . . . and it all started with a leaky carb.  It was discovered that the carb on the Oklahoma Kid had the incorrect throttle body, and the carb was leaking a bit.  No big deal--just remove it and have it rebuilt.  I found a mechanic who had rebuilt several carbs and who was very helpful in orchestrating a near-even trade for my A-65 throttle body with a local engine builder.  It saved me some money and avoided a Cub part gathering dust in the hangar (it's gathering dust in someone else's hangar ;)).  During the rebuild, the mechanic found that the vent relocation service bulletin had not been done on this carb.  The relocation moves the vent higher to prevent fuel from dripping out through the vent (this is unique to tailwheel airplanes with the Stromberg carb--it was designed for a tricycle gear airplane and apparently does not exhibit this tendency in airplanes that sit much flatter).  The mechanic complied with the service bulletin and the carb was reinstalled.  It looked great!

After installation, the airplane just didn't sound right.  I mentioned this to the mechanic and he ran the throttle back and forth to ensure it didn't hesitate.  It ran up just fine, so off I went.  The idle was a real bear to set.  It would run rough at certain rpms and hesitate and then come up in power.  Some of that is normal--there is an idle circuit that the carb uses for idle power and a separate circuit for higher power (don't ask me specifics on this, and definitely don't count on me for mechanical advice).  There is a transition zone that, I am told, starts at about 900 rpm and goes to about 1300 rpm.  During the transition the engine is running on both circuits.  (Note: Someone correct me if I have recalled anything incorrectly)

The power would come up smoothly to a certain rpm, hesitate, and then come up again and act normally.  I wasn't particularly thrilled, but wrote it off as the woes of cracking open a carb, which is known to run on black magic and fairy dust.  I began to feel like I was crazy for thinking this wasn't normal, and the mechanic was getting frustrated trying to continually set the idle so the airplane didn't hesitate.  I once told him that the Kid sounded like a tractor, and his response was "well, it basically is a tractor engine, so that's normal."  So, I went on with the carb as-is. 

Then, I was preparing for a cross-country trip to Lee Bottom in Indiana.  Since the airplane had been down for a few months--and there's another story there--I decided to take it on a shakedown trip to visit the fine folks over at Dakota Cub Aircraft in Brandon, South Dakota.  The trip went just fine, with a stop midway for fuel.  I was a little surprised to calculate that the airplane had burned over 6 gallons per hour, but figured I might have not recalled the exact flight time.  I vowed to pay more attention at the next fuel stop.

More of this.  Less sitting inside.  You won't find a happier-looking Cub on the planet!

I arrived at DCA without a problem.  The next day, a friend wanted to fly the Kid so I gave him my credit card and said he had to put gas in it when he was done.  When he gave me the receipt my eyes bulged a bit.  She had burned 6.7 gallons per hour, which was a heck of a lot more than the 5-5.5 gallons per hour that is typical for an 85 hp Continental.  I departed and got gas midway home again, and this time she burned an even 7 gph.  I was thoroughly puzzled.

I went to take off and the engine really stumbled as I brought the power up.  I aborted the takeoff and did another runup.  It sounded like it had since we put the carb on--not great, but nothing different.  I decided to make another takeoff attempt.  The runway was several thousand feet, so I had plenty of room to land if necessary.  I will say there was no feeling of aloneness quite like being the only soul at an unfamiliar airport 100-something miles from home.

The engine did not stumble as it previously had, and I was on my way, albeit cautiously.  I landed safely at home, but had officially decided something was amiss.

I spoke to the mechanic about the stumble and the high fuel burn.  He told me it could be the prop, which was something I had not considered or heard of.  However, I have flown (and bought gas for) a few Cubs with the same or similar engines and a variety of props and none came close to that fuel burn.  I started asking around.  Please note that I do not claim to be an expert, but what little experience I do have is pretty well concentrated into this aircraft type. 

I learned to fly in a Cub at a flight school that operates three J3s, and one of my instructors also operated the Cub Club type club.  I asked him about it and he immediately mentioned the service bulletin.  Apparently, there is a little gotcha in the vent relocation service bulletin.  As I recall from our discussion, you can't just drill a hole--you need to add a little divot around the hole.  I'm told that this keeps things flowing through the carb smoothly.  If it's not done, things get turbulent and the airplane will run extra rich.  Guess what?  It causes a rough idle and high fuel burn.  I mentioned this to another mechanic and said I would have to ask the carb rebuilder about it.

The next day, before I had the chance to talk to the mechanic who rebuilt the carb, the mechanic came over to chat.  He mentioned he had been thinking about my problem, and that he thought it was the vent relocation service bulletin.  It turns out the other mechanic had said something before I had the chance to.  They removed the carb together and sure enough, no divot (highly technical term, I know).  It was added and the carb was reinstalled.

The Oklahoma Kid was a whole new airplane.  Her idle was smooth, the transition zone didn't sound like an old Farmall, and she hasn't stumbled or hesitated on takeoff since.  It was absolutely night and day, and I had mixed emotions about it.

On the one hand, I realized I wasn't crazy.  The airplane hadn't been running right from the get-go.  On the other hand, there was weeks of a lingering distrust of my gut from being told that this was normal and not feeling as though my concerns were being taken seriously.

That was the tough part.  I was putting up with something I wasn't happy with, ceding to the mechanic's experience and confidence in himself.  Then it turned out I had good reason to not be happy with how the airplane ran.  Sure, I felt a little vindicated in that I was right, but the bigger issue was one of confidence.  What if the next issue resulted in an [unintentional] off-airport landing?  There's not a lot of places to land where I'm based.  I was thoroughly confused because I wanted someone to trust and confide in, but I felt like my concerns were brushed off.

Does this make the mechanic a bad guy?  No, I don't think so.  Everyone is human and aircraft maintenance professionals carry a huge responsibility every day.  He fixed the mistake, and I can't forget that he helped me find an affordable way to get the parts for my carb.  However, I've learned that our personalities just don't mesh.  This mechanic would often talk to another mechanic about the carb rebuild and I'd get the information secondhand.  No one meant ill by it, but it was upsetting to receive updates on my airplane from someone else who got them first and relayed them to me.  If I'm paying the bills, I want to be the one hearing from the shop.  So, lesson learned--for me, the personality and approach to my concerns is something of great importance to me in an aircraft mechanic.  I'm willing to admit that that might make me a little higher-maintenance than some owners.  I've accepted that and I'm ok with it.

Note that none of the aforementioned owner or mechanic stereotypes are bad--they just have different approaches to keeping aircraft airworthy and safe.  It's up to you to find someone that fits with your personality.  Maintenance is inevitable.  If you don't trust or like your mechanic, you won't be happy.  Unhappy people don't fly their airplane, and may end up selling it.  Do your homework ahead of time and don't just pick the cheapest or closest mechanic available.

Obviously, I'm most like the final owner stereotype.  I feel better when I understand what's happening and why.  That means I want a mechanic who is willing to listen to my comments and issues, take them seriously (because they're serious to me, even if they are no big deal to him), and educate me on possible courses of action or explanations.  If my mechanic makes me feel stupid for being worried about something, it damages my confidence (especially if I later discover there was something wrong).  Not everyone is like me, but I found out in the first year of ownership that experience and availability aren't the only important factors in finding a mechanic.  Consider personality and attitude in your search for a maintenance provider.  Check with your fellow aircraft type owners for recommendations, and ask around.  Decide if you want to do things like help on an annual or just hand over a check, and then ensure that your mechanic and you have the same philosophy.  You wouldn't propose on the first date, right?  Don't wait to pick your mechanic until the first time you have an issue to fix.

And when you do find the right one?  Thank them and treat them well.  Send them a card or a gift basket or buy them lunch.  Remember that everyone is human and invest in a long-term relationship.  You can thank me later (I accept a wide variety of frozen treats).




On that note, good luck and happy mechanic hunting!

--Amy

P.S. If you have a Stromberg carb, there is some great reading here!  http://thestrombergspecialist.com/index.php

. . . that sounded way less nerdy when I first typed it . . .