I wish it were that simple, but I don't think it is. Others have made
the auto mechanic analogy and I'll add my experience to that. My
mechanic works in a filthy poorly lit garage (pronounced "shack") at the
end of a rutted gravel driveway in a seedy part of town. He's the best
damn mechanic in town at any price. You can't find his name in the phone
book, and you can't get his number from information, because he's got
more work than three people could do. If you walk in the door and he
doesn't know you, he'll likely greet you with profanity and send you
away. I've had many many friends who've had their car fixed by him for
less than $100 after the big fancy luxury dealers had charged them $700
or more to NOT fix them. He KNOWS cars.

Then there was the "60 minutes" (IIRC) piece just a few years ago that
secretly filmed major airline maintenance crews napping for hours at a
time in the first class section of the airplanes they were supposed to
be inspecting and maintaining. After the nap, they just get up and check
off all the boxes on the form...NOT an isolated incident.

Attitude, attention to detail, pride in workmanship -- I've never seen
an indication that they're related to how much you pay someone. I've got
$8 / hr. workers who are every damn bit as good in every measure as the
$20 / hr. guys.


In article 1118517137.02e998fe27851901b8e26c46364fa35d@teran ews,
Don Hammer wrote:



Some observations from an older A&P / IA -

It is a sad commentary on the condition of the field, but I think we
are getting what we have asked for. Over and over on this NG and
others I read owners complaints about the cost of maintenance on their
personal aircraft and the quality of work they get.

In general there is a direct corollary to what a person earns and the
quality of work they provide. As an example let's look at the pilot
side of things and the pecking order on wages and skill level -

Major corporation
Major airline
Smaller airline
Fractional's
Commuter airline
Charter