How long to keep VOR check records?

FAR 91.417 (b) (1) says you must keep the record for 1 year or until
the work is repeated. A VOR test is actually an inspection and is
considered "work". Where you keep it is up to you. It does not need
to be in any particular place or location. It does not need to be in
the aircraft either. It is a maintenance record.


On Tue, 30 Mar 2004 12:52:48 GMT, rip
wrote:

No where does it say WHERE they must be recorded. I enter them in the
"remarks" column of my pilot's logbook.

Rip

Ross Oliver wrote:
So here's a question I had never thought of until getting my
instrument rating and owning an IFR-equipped aircraft: how long
should records of VOR checks be retained? Do they need to be
retained at all? Can the FAA come to me and ask, "Remember that
IFR flight to SLO you made 2 years ago? Show us the VOR check for
that flight."

This came to mind because the next VOR check entry will fill up
the form I have been using, and I'll have to start a new one. So
I have to decide whether to discard the filled sheet, or save it
somewhere. Is there any value to saving these with the aircraft
maintenance records?


Happy landings,
Ross Oliver

FAR 91.417 (b) (1) says you must keep the record for 1 year or until
the work is repeated. A VOR test is actually an inspection and is
considered "work". Where you keep it is up to you. It does not need
to be in any particular place or location. It does not need to be in
the aircraft either. It is a maintenance record.

This is the first time I've heard anyone claim that the VOR check is
considered maintenance. Do you have a reference for this interpretation?

If a VOR check is considered maintenance, then we're in trouble (except for
the pilots who also have an A&P), because VOR check is not on the list of
preventive maintenance items given in Part 43, Appendix A. So if it's
considered maintenance, but not preventive maintenance, most pilots would not
be authorized to perform it.

There are several other factors that indicate a VOR check is not maintenance:

- FAR 91.171(a)(2) uses the word "checked," not "inspected," for the 30-day
checks we're discussing here.

- FAR 1 defines maintenance to include "inspections", but not "checks".

- FAR 91.171(d) specifies record-keeping requirements that are different from
those in 91.417 and 43.9 (no certificate number, for example). If the VOR
check is an inspection, then you'd also have to comply with 43.11 and include
aircraft total time in service, and the statement "I certify that this
aircraft has been inspected ..."

It seems clear to me that the VOR check is not maintenance, and thus not
subject to the requirements of 91.417.

Barry

I operated a certificated avionics repair station for years. When we
performed a VOR calibration, at the owners request, which qualifies
for the 30 day check, it was a maintenance function and required the
417 documentation. FAR 91.171 (a) (1) is the reference. Both the
words maintained and inspect are used there. I said that it is a
maintenance record, not maintenance, as far as a pilot performed
function. My comment only referred to the fact that it does not have
to be in the aircraft. There are actually 6 ways to perform the
"check", 5 of which can be done by the pilot.


On Tue, 30 Mar 2004 15:40:07 -0500, "Barry" wrote:

FAR 91.417 (b) (1) says you must keep the record for 1 year or until
the work is repeated. A VOR test is actually an inspection and is
considered "work". Where you keep it is up to you. It does not need
to be in any particular place or location. It does not need to be in
the aircraft either. It is a maintenance record.

This is the first time I've heard anyone claim that the VOR check is
considered maintenance. Do you have a reference for this interpretation?

If a VOR check is considered maintenance, then we're in trouble (except for
the pilots who also have an A&P), because VOR check is not on the list of
preventive maintenance items given in Part 43, Appendix A. So if it's
considered maintenance, but not preventive maintenance, most pilots would not
be authorized to perform it.

There are several other factors that indicate a VOR check is not maintenance:

- FAR 91.171(a)(2) uses the word "checked," not "inspected," for the 30-day
checks we're discussing here.

- FAR 1 defines maintenance to include "inspections", but not "checks".

- FAR 91.171(d) specifies record-keeping requirements that are different from
those in 91.417 and 43.9 (no certificate number, for example). If the VOR
check is an inspection, then you'd also have to comply with 43.11 and include
aircraft total time in service, and the statement "I certify that this
aircraft has been inspected ..."

It seems clear to me that the VOR check is not maintenance, and thus not
subject to the requirements of 91.417.

Barry