Cost of annual?

Where are you located? It might make a difference if you are in the
boondocks compared to the metro

At a small airport in SE Florida. KLNA

whoa!!!! please remember that "annual" refers to the inspection only.
Any repairs, new gadgets, etc, are not officially part of
the annual.

So how many hours does it take to inspect a Cessna 172. I do not rent the
plane, but have a 100 hour inspection done every 100 hours. Change the oil and
filter every 50 hours or less, Send oil to lab every 100 hours.
I do not think 55 hours at $70.00 is resonable for an inspection

IA's need additional time the first time
they inspect an aircraft to assure themselves that the paperwork is in
order and that mandatory work previously signed off was, in fact,
correctly done.

If the last 5 annuals were done and the logs state that all AD's were coplied
with,
why would the next IA have to spent more time. Just make sure that new AD's are
complied with.
Again why do shops give an estimate to do the annual, then add for additional
parts and labor. One shop will say $700.00 for the anual another $1000.00 and
the third at 1400.00. I am sure that inspection tome should be the same. Shop
rates can vary, but how much??

hat, and I'm very upfront with the owner that (a) they are going to get their
hands greasy; (b) I'm not going to sign off an unairworthy aircraft for ANY
reason; and (c) they are going to get a list of stuff that I'd like to see
some
preventive maintenance done on in the coming year. The list is a checklist
and
I want to see that checklist punched BEFORE I start the following year.

I ain't as cheap as you might think... {;-)


Jim

Jim Weir (A&P/IA, CFI, & other good alphabet soup)
VP Eng RST Pres. Cyberchapter EAA Tech. Counselor

Jim you are so correct. You are doing it the correct way and I would never have
a problem if shops in my area would have this approach. I do not want to fly
any aircraft that is not safe. I also pay for any work that is required. I have
a problem with shops that state x amount for the annual then parts and labor.
BTW I do remove all the plates, the seats. Give them a clean engine with the
cowling removed.

If the last 5 annuals were done and the logs state that all AD's were coplied
with,
why would the next IA have to spent more time. Just make sure that new AD's
are
complied with.

The first annual I ever did to a Commanche is a good example of what can happen
from trusting the previous IA too much. Since I had never done a Commanche I
wanted to get as familiar as I could by reading every AD against the aircraft
and then inspecting them on the aircraft to see what had been involved. I
found no less than three ADs that had been completely pencil whipped years
before. At least one of them was a recurring AD illegally signed off as not
needing future compliance.

Personally I never trust an "All ADs complied with" entry. To be precise you
are legally signing that you complied with every AD regardless of previous
compliance. The local FSDO's really hate to see that type of sign off. Better
to write "All ADs checked for compliance" through the particular bi weekly
issue current at the time of sign off. I also write up each individual AD
compliance that I do in the logbook as well as keep a listing of AD compliance.
That way I am covered. Because ADs are published in the Federal Register they
have the legal strength of Federal law, I want to be sure I have done it right.

John Dupre'

One shop will say $700.00 for the anual another $1000.00 and
the third at 1400.00. I am sure that inspection tome should be the same. Shop
rates can vary, but how much??

In the New England area shop rates vary from $50 an hour to $80 an hour on
averag. My shop is $67 an hour. Lots of shops give away annual labor in order
to gain money on parts sales and follow on business. Other shops have decided
to bill accurately and completely for every job from the start. I always
stress that the fixed price is for the inspection and the labor to gain access
but does not include service items and repairs. We record time in tenths of an
hour increments.

Again why do shops give an estimate to do the annual, then add for additional
parts and labor.

Because I generally know how long the actual inspection will take. That is one
fixed cost in the entire annual process that I can guarrantee. Our shop
decided some time ago that the fixed rates established by the manufacturers
seem to low and addded 5 to 10 hours to most of them based on our own time
reports provided by our mechanics.

The cost of parts and additional labor to correct discrepancies cannot really
be known unless you see the aircraft regularly between annuals and sometimes
not even then.

John Dupre'

My first annual was $14850.00 by a shop that did the prebuy. The price went
from 10K at 5 pm to 14850.00 by 7 PM. When I ask "why" they said we found
some
things. They did not even work after 5.
Most of the $$$ was for labor. Like 55 hours of inspection, after the prebuy.

Sounds like you bought a neglected twin or a really neglected complex single.
There are pre buys and there are pre buys. My company is owned by a large
corporation and they don't even want us to call it a pre buy or pre purchase
inspection. If the customer wants to call it that then I have to do a complete
annual inspection. I can do an aircraft evaluation but I can't call it a pre
buy inspection. Seems they got sued for just the sort of situation you are
describing.

As for the price jumping nearly $5,000 it is not unheard of but it is
inexcusable that they could not tell you sooner or explain it more fully.

John Dupre'

So how many hours does it take to inspect a Cessna 172. I do not rent the
plane, but have a 100 hour inspection done every 100 hours. Change the oil
and
filter every 50 hours or less, Send oil to lab every 100 hours.
I do not think 55 hours at $70.00 is resonable for an inspection

Inspection of a 172 is about 10 or 12 hours including decowling and pulling
panels and interior. That time could go up if there are lots of STCs that
require separate inspections but not to 55 hours. If they put 55 hours on the
inspection entry that was wrong.

Depending on how time is recorded it is possible that mechanics were
incorrectly recording time against the inspection squawk that should have gone
elsewhere but that should have been resolved before you saw a bill.

John Dupre'

Hankal wrote:

I do not think 55 hours at $70.00 is resonable for an inspection

55 hours is absolute piracy for an inspection. If you do none of the grunt work at
all, a 172 should take about 15 hours. Check Jim Weir's post in this thread.

George Patterson
In Idaho, tossing a rattlesnake into a crowded room is felony assault.
In Tennessee, it's evangelism.

Hankal wrote:

If the last 5 annuals were done and the logs state that all AD's were coplied
with,
why would the next IA have to spent more time.

Because the new IA is guaranteeing that all the ADs have been taken care of. The new
IA is going to have to verify this or risk losing his or her license.

George Patterson
In Idaho, tossing a rattlesnake into a crowded room is felony assault.
In Tennessee, it's evangelism.