If you are implying that annuals costing $325 or less are all
pencil-whipped, we need to talk. Or you need to talk to some of the folks
that I do annuals for that cost $200 (max). Of course, they spend three or
four days unbuttoning, buttoning, greasing, and all the rest of it before I
get there. Rarely do you find an unairworthy item on a well
owner-maintained aircraft, so most of the cost is keeping at the maintenance
all through the year.

"Fixing" everything during an annual is not only dangerous, but sort of
silly.

I'm doing a Champ this weekend. Wanna come over and watch what an "annual
inspection" really is? We even have the spar inspection AD and a mag AD to
take care of and I doubt I will be there more than 4 hours. But then again,
the owner rebuilt the aircraft himself (he's built five or six homebuilts
and is a hell of a lot better woodsmith than I am) and could do the
pre-inspection blindfolded.

That's OK, after you do it ten times, you'll get the hang of it. What you
should REALLY ask your IA for is a list of items that (s)he sees that could
stand a little preventive maintenance during the coming year. Fixing it
before it really breaks is the cheapest maintenance you can have.

Jim



"Jon Kraus" wrote in message
...
I think what he meant was that for a new owner's first annual that he has
seen a lot worse. Especially since it appears that our previous owner had a
a "friend" doing the last couple of pencil whipped annuals. I found last
years bill for $325.00. Oh well live and learn...