FAA wants part-time IA's out?

[magman]

You may want to check out a new ploy by FAA to restrict renewal by A & P's

that hold "Inspection Authorization". The current renewal

requirements are 4 Annuals or 8 Major Alt or Rep , or attend a seminar .

Google < FAA 2010 -1060 > for the NPRM that would also have folks that

are NOT full-time IA's have the determination of " actively engaged " being

made by a FAA ASI. Who ; incidently, would have their requirement waived.

There are a lot of people that would love to be able to work full-time in this

industry. However; there may not be sufficient volume of work to be able to put

food on the table with.

There are IA's that work at Flight Instructing & many other activities to fill in

the gaps.

If these people can no longer do Annuals & approve 337's there will be no choice

but to go to a Repair Station.

Most of these facilities are not really into repairs on light aircraft.

Why should Techs that advanced into management be deprived of their

IA rating even if they meet the FAR requirements?

This doesn't seem like a way to improve safety.

Who ( soon to be WHAT?) does your Annual Inspection?


BTW- AOPA is "studying" the NPRM.

[flyguy]

Re: FAA wants part-time IA's out?

Mine works full time for a turbine repair company. He does inspections "to keep in practice." His quote. They likely would pull his ticket unless he is doing inspections at work. (don't know) It just gets worse and worse with the government. China is getting more like us and we are getting more like China, or maybe Russia.
DC

[magman]

Re: FAA wants part-time IA's out?

Mine works full time for a turbine repair company. He does inspections "to keep in practice." His quote. They likely would pull his ticket unless he is doing inspections at work. (don't know) It just gets worse and worse with the government. China is getting more like us and we are getting more like China, or maybe Russia.
DC

The ironic part of this he is probably working for a Repair Station & does not

use his A & P (IA) Cert. With Repair Stations & Airlines it is quite common

to sign using your employee or clock number.

[freightpilot27]

Re: FAA wants part-time IA's out?

I work full time as a mechanic for a fractional operation. We use our employee number to sign off work. We do have a few techs (mostly avionics) who do not even have an A&P. And none of us are required to have an IA.
But to supplement that income I perform 8 to 10 annual inspections a year locally. Most of them in the last quarter of the year. I rely on these returning customers to get me through the holidays and, in the past, get me through times of furlough (mostly when I was flying commercially).
Where I work, we are sent to an airframe or engine school nearly every year. These schools meet or excede the IA renewal requirements.

I cannot afford to start or sustain the operation of a 145 repair station.
Maybe I should put my 172 onto a progressive type inspection..... only 1 of those required each year to satisfy the IA renewal. At least at this time.......

I know a local FAA maintenance inspector who has an IA. The only annual he does is to his own airplane. I doubt he will loose his IA.

What a goat f@ck the FAA has become.

Its way too early in the morning to get myself wound up...
I need a Tylenol.

[Forrest Barber]

Re: FAA wants part-time IA's out?

Or just do your annual on your own aircraft four times a year!
I agree that the Annual meeting for IA renewal shows a lot of even less than "part-time" attendees . I still do my 18-22 per year ; however the local FAA really never wants my forms showing the "activity". I am known there since Dad was an original DAMI and I have attended the Annual meeting since 1951. Yes I was 9 at that time. This will catch up the records , sort of like the re registration thing.... I will give it more thought.

[astjp2]

Re: FAA wants part-time IA's out?

Actually they are wanting to use the federal labor standard of 36 hours per week to be considered actively engaged. They want to change the regs to reflect this and exclude the ASI's....



Too bad they don't try to do the same to the flight instructors at the same time, then there would be a real uproar!

[lfries]

Re: FAA wants part-time IA's out?

If an AC dosen't get an annual sign off does it still count as an annual for the IA.

[magman]

Re: FAA wants part-time IA's out?

The IA has to report the aircraft as "Airworthy" or "Not -Airworthy" in

the Annual Activity Report.

I believe CFI's have Currency Requirements as well.

4 students to a PPL is what I heard.


There are a LOT of folks in the aviation business theat are NOT really FULL_TIME anything.

Cutting grass, plowing snow, tax reports, aircraft sales ,manual revision, Ferry

Flights, Flight Instruction, Demos , machinery repair ,and hangar repairs

may cut into the "Full-Time" status.

Some of the preceding would be quite normal for a so called "Full-time"

A & P to deal with.

[T-Rex]

Re: FAA wants part-time IA's out?

Very true Magman. This reg already exists for IA's and CFI's, not sure how many annuals and or signoffs a CFI needs but if they don't meet it they need to take a recyurrency type class. Besides no matter how cheap it is if a guy only looks at 4 airplanes per year how good of a job could they be doing. Any active IA that I know would have no problem meeting this criteria. As it is, it is bad enough with A&P's who got their ticket 20 years ago and then drifted away from aviation and then they go to town on their own and more importantly other peoples airplanes when they have no current practical experience. This sounds like a little prevention in the way of very costly AD's and hurt or dead people to me.

[Mark Julicher]

Re: FAA wants part-time IA's out?

Assume it takes 12 hours work to do one good annual. If doing only one annual is grounds for revoking a ticket - then maybe it is logical to take away the certificate of any pilot that flies only 12 hours a year. I don't like where this could go.

The nightly news is not filled with little airplanes falling out of the sky - the nightly news is filled with mindless bureaucrats doing stupid stuff and usurping freedom.

OK move this to Rants and Raves - I feel sooo much better

[N96337]

Re: FAA wants part-time IA's out?

I'm with you Mark...... they're almost ready to get one IA back anyhow. It amazes me how we pay for more, and get less all the time with the FAA. I thought it was a pile of garbage when they went to the 2 year renewall...their reasoning? They have too much to do. HUH????? I could believe too much golf course time...but never too much to do! It's really gotten out of hand! Very few of the inspectors have much maintenance experience, yet they're telling us how to run things... and now they want to play with the renewall again...and at the same time, pat themselves on the back and make sure their guys don't have to live up to the same standard... I tell ya, experimental is the ONLY way to go anymore...that way you only have to deal with them a little. It doesn't seem to bother most of the newer IA's, because they never got to deal with the FAA when it was made up of alot of people with actual experience that LIKED airplanes and general aviation....certainly not the case anymore.

John