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#1
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Color Me Annoyed
Well, my 2007 annual condition inspection ends tomorrow... Yee Old
Crusty Mechanic has been increasingly hard to contact for the past two months and now has disconnected his phone, his airplanes are gone, and his hangar has been sold... I'm beginning to suspect that he does not intend to do the annual on Fat Albert as he has promised several times, right up to recently.. I hear rumours that he is wrenching on diesel trucks for a living now... There indeed, is no joy in Mudville tonight... So, I got hold of another mechanic who promises that we can talk about it next week! Ya see, if general aviation is in such trouble, and mechanics are having to go to wrenching on trucks for a living, then why can't you find a mechanic who will work on your airplane within a reasonable time frame? (mutter, mumble) Anyway, I am forced to cancel a scheduled flight this weekend and the one for next weekend is likely DOA also... I am going to see if a bargain can be struck for me to pull the inspection plates and have him inspect it and do the compression test, and sign the ship off so I can have it for the 9th and 10th and then he can swing the gear, etc., and do the other things I have been contemplating (new hydraulic hoses, and 'maybe' a top overhaul on the right engine), at his leisure... Putting the RV7 back on the front burner and getting it finished is beginning to look more attractive daily, then I won't be at the mercy of these mechanics who whine they are starving, but just can't seem to find the time... denny |
#2
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Color Me Annoyed
Ya see, if general aviation is in such trouble, and mechanics are having to go to wrenching on trucks for a living, then why can't you find a mechanic who will work on your airplane within a reasonable time frame? (mutter, mumble) Yep. The full time mechanic that has been working on my plane has essentially quit the business, only performing annuals on the minimum number of planes to keep his IA. (Fortunately mine is one of them.) His main problem is getting paid. Owners either refuse to pay or make him wait for the $$$. I don't understand this because they are just shooting themselves (and others) in the foot. Regards, Jerry |
#4
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Color Me Annoyed
On Thu, 31 Jan 2008 00:26:01 GMT, "JGalban via AviationKB.com"
u32749@uwe wrote: Funny, I've always had the opposite problem. I've had the same mechanic for 18 yrs. and every time I show up to pick up my plane (checkbook in hand) there is no bill ready, so I can't pay. Our guy is like that too, as is my favorite avionics shop. I just keep the check at hand and send it off as soon as the bill arrives. |
#5
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Here are your choices: Go to school and get your A&P license, then put in the required 3 years and acquire the IA rating, or build a homebuilt and get a repairman certificate.
Being an A&P in General Aviation simply isn't worth it anymore. Auto shops pay far better wages without the liability and a government agency such as the FAA scrutinizing your every move. Then add in aircraft owners that threaten lawsuits over anything they are unhappy with, or the "I'm gonna call the FAA!" threats when you try to tell them why their annual is going to cost a lot more than they have budgeted. Most aircraft owners view this as their hobby and expect the mechanic to treat it as his hobby also. These same owners will balk and raise hell about paying $60 an hour for an A&P, but gladly pay the Chevy dealer $90 an hour to work on his SUV. I can't count the times when pilots on the airport discovered I had an A&P/IA would come to me wanting "sign off my annual" if they "do all the work". What this really meant was "I'll open up the panels and cowlings, then you take my logbooks and sign them". I even had one guy walk in my hangar with his logbooks and told me "I've done everything, I just need these signed". Needless to say, I don't work on anyone's airplane except my own. So bitch and complain all you want. This doesn't affect me since I can do all my own work. And as time goes by, it's only going to get worse. |
#6
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Color Me Annoyed
Just general comments to the posts...
Yup, Ol Crusty never could seem to get a bill together... He wrenched on my airplanes for 17 continuous years as best I can remember... When I did get the bill some 5 or 6 weeks later I always sent a check by return mail as I knew he was usually in a cash flow crunch... A couple of times I even drove the check 20 miles to him after my office hours on the day I received it because I knew he needed to pay his mechanic... And I did consider him a friend (he still left me twisting in the wind - for whatever it's worth)... Being in one business or another for 50+ years I can cite you chapter and verse on slow pay/no pay people... All business owners have these problems... When I had the auto body shop it only took me one bad customer to set the rule that the car is not pulled out from behind the chained fence until the bill is paid in full... Airplane mechanics who are not getting paid just do not understand how to run a business... The plane does not leave the shop until the bill is paid - period... If the customer needs credit let him get it from the bank, his buddies, where ever... or go to Helen Waite Anytime I have a bill at any of the big guys, Jet Center, Millionaire, etc. my plane stays behind their hangar doors until the eye candy at the front desk calls the shop foreman and informs him the bill is paid and he can bring the plane out to the ramp... They understand what it takes to stay in business... I agree with plane owners being cheap *******s... In fact I told Ol Crusty numerous times that he needed to raise his shop rates, paint the floor, get new tool carts, everyone wears a clean uniform, present the customer with an itemized estimated bill and have it signed in the three places before turning the first wrench, and act like he is a skilled professional... Doing that and having a business manager would have kept him in business.. The auto dealers understand that - and for those who don't it will only be a short time before Roger Penske's name will be out front in place of theirs...... denny |
#7
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Color Me Annoyed
Most aircraft owners view this as their hobby and expect the mechanic
to treat it as his hobby also. These same owners will balk and raise hell about paying $60 an hour for an A&P, but gladly pay the Chevy dealer $90 an hour to work on his SUV. The pilots I know are willing to pay fair value for services rendered. I'm guessing you didn't spend multi-million on a facility, $250 grand in shop equipment and diagnostic analyzers. If you did you are likely to have a 1st class facility that would draw plenty of aircraft repair business that would pay you $90 an hour. Heck you could publish a reasonable fixed rate for inspections and I'm sure you can get plenty of business that way also. But you sound like you have an unreasonable expectation of what a mechanics should earn. Keep you A&P/IA to yourself, the world doesn't need another service provider with a chip on their shoulder. |
#8
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Color Me Annoyed
On Jan 30, 7:26*pm, "JGalban via AviationKB.com" u32749@uwe wrote:
* *Funny, I've always had the opposite problem. *I've had the same mechanic for 18 yrs. and every time I show up to pick up my plane (checkbook in hand) there is no bill ready, so I can't pay. *They've always been able to get the We have the same problem with late billing. The year before last, our A&P was so busy that he did not have the time to take care of the billing. The next annual, we got a big bill for the two annuals along with several big jobs that he did over the year (installing a photo window, JPI engine monitor etc). It was nice that he did not charge interest. However, in checking out the details, we found that he had charged us labor for a recall item which was supposedly to be paid by Lycoming. It took few phone calls to find out that Lycoming had paid him but his secretary did not record it properly so he corrected the bill. Hai Longworth |
#9
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Color Me Annoyed
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#10
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Color Me Annoyed
On Wed, 30 Jan 2008 08:41:18 -0800 (PST), wrote:
Ya see, if general aviation is in such trouble, and mechanics are having to go to wrenching on trucks for a living, then why can't you find a mechanic who will work on your airplane within a reasonable time frame? (mutter, mumble) Yep. The full time mechanic that has been working on my plane has essentially quit the business, only performing annuals on the minimum number of planes to keep his IA. (Fortunately mine is one of them.) His main problem is getting paid. Owners either refuse to pay or make him wait for the $$$. I don't understand this because they are just shooting themselves (and others) in the foot. In all the years I've been flying, in a partnership or outright owning, I do not recall even once finding the bill ready when the annual was finished. That is with a couple exceptions where it took a week to catch a ride between storms to pick up the Deb. He even delivered it a couple times (without charging for his time flying it down), but even then the bill came in the mail at the end of the month. Avionics work has been the same. Get the work done and the bill comes later. Roger (K8RI) Regards, Jerry Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member) (N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair) www.rogerhalstead.com |
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