Aircraft Maintenance Shop Operations and FAA Regulations

Posted on Feb 1, 2025 in Business Administration and Innovation Management

Introduction

Goals of the Maintenance Shop

  • Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requirements
  • Customer Satisfaction
  • Profitability
  • The ability to recognize and address changing market and technological situations

Changing Issues

  • Fractional aircraft ownership
  • Technology
  • Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen)
  • General Aviation Revitalization Act (GARA)/Tort Reform

Maintenance Regulations

Federal Aviation Regulations and Guidance

  • Part 43 – Maintenance, preventative maintenance, rebuilding, and repair
  • Part 65 – Certification: Airmen other than Flight Crew members
  • Part 145 – Repair stations
  • Part 147 – Aviation Maintenance Technician Schools
  • Related Advisory Circulars covering many aspects of aviation maintenance

Maintenance Definitions

Maintenance – The inspection, overhaul, repair, preservation, and replacement of parts, but excludes any preventative maintenance

Preventative maintenance – Simple or minor preservation operations and the replacement of small standard parts not involving complex assembly operations

Major repair – Repair (a) that if improperly done might appreciably affect weight, balance, structural strength, performance, powerplant operations, flight characteristics, or other qualities affecting airworthiness; or (b) that is not done according to accepted practices or cannot be done by elementary operations

Major alterations – An alteration not listed in the aircraft, aircraft engine, or propeller specifications that might appreciably affect weight, balance, structural strength, performance, powerplant operations, flight characteristics, or other qualities affecting airworthiness; or an alteration that is not done according to accepted practices or cannot be done by elementary operations

Maintenance Department

Organization

  • Manager
  • Administration
  • Powerplant division
  • Airframe division
  • Electronic division
  • Parts division

Personnel

Qualifications

  • 18 years old
  • Able to read, speak, write, and understand the English language
  • Passes all the required tests within 24 calendar months
  • Meets the requirements of the specific rating required

Training

  • Airframe – 1150 hours (400 general plus 750 airframe)
  • Powerplant – 1150 hours (400 general plus 750 powerplant)
  • Combined airframe and powerplant – 1900 hours
  • Propellers

Personnel Continued

Certification – Must apply on FAA form. Must show proof of requirements of knowledge, experience, and skill areas.

Capabilities and Limitations – Can perform or supervise maintenance or alteration of aircraft for which they are rated. Excludes major repair and major alterations. Must have had recent experience – served as a mechanic for at least 6 months of the previous 24 months

Inspection Authorization – Can return an aircraft to service after major alteration or major repair. Can also perform an annual inspection and perform or supervise a progressive inspection. Must have been an Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) mechanic for at least 3 years. Must have been actively engaged in maintenance for the last 2 years. Must pass a written exam. To remain current, the certificate holder must have signed off at least one annual every 90 days. The Inspection Authorization (IA) expires on March 31 of every year. Mechanics must show proof of recent experience to FAA

Repairman – Certificate may be issued to personnel employed by a certified repair station, a certified commercial operator, or a certified air carrier.

Facilities and Equipment

To qualify for a repair station certificate, the FAA requires certain facilities:

  • Housing of equipment, proper storage of parts and supplies, workspace, cleaning area, bench space, room for machine tools and equipment, suitable ventilation, adequate lighting, temperature, and humidity control.
  • Equipment Requirements include: The equipment and materials necessary to perform the job, and the equipment must be tested periodically.

Managerial Concerns

Managers are concerned with additional requirements in developing and operating the business. Included are:

  • Economic efficiency of facilities and equipment
  • The working environment for the employees
  • The image presented by the facility to customers
  • Fire, safety, and construction laws promulgated by city, state, and federal agencies
  • Requirements of manufacturers and distributors, if operating under a franchise agreement
  • Special requirements that may be generated by the manager or other source

Parts and Supplies

The equipment needed to furnish a maintenance shop for business is a large capital investment. Rapidly changing technology represents a need for different construction materials, components, and systems. Problems include:

  • Determining the acquisition and inventory of test and repair equipment
  • Control of equipment and tools
  • Replacement and repair of facilities and equipment
  • Maintenance capability and capacity
  • Utilization of facilities
  • Whether to make further investments in other areas (avionics, engines, etc.) or contract these needs to other Fixed-Base Operators (FBOs)

Inventory Control

You will need some sort of system to track your inventory. You need to make decisions about how much inventory to keep on hand. A good system will provide information on the following:

  • The right quantities to buy
  • Items no longer popular
  • The amount/season/time of a given item sold
  • Popular items, slow movers
  • Best buying sources, best buying prices (ex: – Oshkosh)
  • Possibilities for new lines or kinds of goods
  • Whether stock is in appropriate balance

Three ways to secure this information: observation, physical check, and perpetual inventory.

Quality Control

Necessary to ensure the maintenance department is consistently producing high customer satisfaction.

Does not need to be “policing” the employees.

Let employees know that good work is desired and expected.

Specific Steps for Quality Control

  • Provide training
  • Provide checklists and guidelines
  • Have the finished product be inspected by another employee
  • Ensure recognition of quality of work and the individuals responsible

Competition

  • Nonexclusive Rights
  • Referrals
  • Subcontracting
  • “Through the Fence” Operations
  • Tailgate, Shade Tree, and Gypsy Mechanics
  • Corporate and other self-maintenance

Administration

Functions can and should require a fair amount of time. It is important that the manager gives attention to this department. It is very important to make sure all applicable FAA requirements are being followed. Maintenance administration duties should include:

  • Developing, understanding, and administering the overall maintenance organization and system
  • Developing and maintaining the maintenance procedures, records, archives, and library
  • Complying with records and entries required in accomplishing maintenance, repair, or alteration
  • Maintaining necessary internal records associated with accounting, budgeting, job and work orders, and time cards
  • Dealing with FAA regulations, procedures, and inspections

The Bottom Line

  • There are some advantages, some disadvantages to flat rate pricing.
  • Price of work includes materials, labor, and overhead.
  • Use a Management Information System (MIS) to help determine operating costs

Using an MIS

  • An MIS can generate status reports, monthly maintenance due lists, budget performance, productivity
  • With this information, we can make decisions, take corrective action, and make progress reports to management/owners
  • We can analyze the data in four ways: compare with established goals, compare with the previous period, compare with another FBO, compare with generally accepted measures
  • Once analyzed the manager can control operations by: hiring/firing, changing suppliers, changing procedures, attracting new customers