You're fired

As aircraft owners, it’s nearly impossible for us to determine a mechanic’s skills before employing him. Sometimes we get lucky and find a gem, someone who is careful, follows the regulations, is safety focused, and is reasonably priced. And sometimes we get a mechanic who calls saying we need four new cylinders before he even explains what’s wrong. Extracting yourself from the latter situation and moving into the former isn’t easy.

Firing your mechanic is almost never straightforward. You may have a long-term relationship with the person, trust his work, and appreciate his competitive rates. But you also find that he is a parts changer whose definition of troubleshooting involves your credit card and a call to Aircraft Spruce, leading to unnecessary downtime and costs. Or maybe your mechanic listens to your feedback and does good work but charges 20 percent more than everyone else in the area. Are these fireable offenses? It depends.

Changing mechanics isn’t necessarily the same as finding one the first time. First, there are sunk costs with your current mechanic. If you need someone to change a tire, this isn’t an issue. However, if you are trying to find someone to do your annual or progressive inspections, relationships matter. That’s because each time you go to a new mechanic, he or she is going to take the time necessary to thoroughly get to know and understand your airplane. For something easy like a Piper Cub, that doesn’t take much time. For a Beechcraft King Air on a progressive inspection schedule, it’s big-time hours. In that case, switching mechanics is a lot more like changing attorneys or accountants than it is barbers. It takes time to get up to speed on your case.

Then there’s the issue of access. If you live in an area with few choices, getting upset and firing your mechanic could make your life challenging. It might be better to suck up your concerns than to fly 100 miles every time you need maintenance. Also, a shop is much more likely to help with an AOG airplane if that person is an existing customer than if it’s Joe Smith off the street. Having a mechanic you can call for problems big and small might be more valuable than saving a few bucks on the annual.

Let’s say you are like most owners and are somewhere in the middle. You like your mechanic, but you don’t love your mechanic. Mike Busch, Paul New, and Colleen Sterling got this question on an episode of AOPA’s Ask the A&Ps podcast, and their answers were surprising. The owner’s mechanic said he wouldn’t sign off on the annual once the airplane’s engine reached time between overhauls. That’s an extreme position that could prematurely cost the owner thousands of dollars. But that was still a few years away and the owner was wondering what to do.

Busch suggested the owner have a conversation with the mechanic, stressing safety as the primary goal. Tell him that, “You, the owner, want the mechanic to do the safest thing,” he said. And that the safest thing in this case is to continue to operate the engine without unnecessarily removing cylinders or overhauling engines.

Sterling was suspect. She thought the owner’s conversation with the mechanic would be futile and that so long as the owner liked most of what the mechanic was doing, he was probably best to keep using him unless there was a major issue. The overhauled engine fits that definition but wouldn’t become a problem for a few years. “Good mechanics aren’t a dime a dozen,” she said.

The final decision may come down to how well the mechanic responds to your needs as an owner. If he or she is flexible and understanding of your priorities, then it could be worth continuing. As Busch said, “Is he willing to do things the way you want them done?”

The final decision may come down to how well the mechanic responds to your needs as an owner.In my own case, two of my cylinders had lower compression, but under questioning, my mechanic admitted they had passed the test performed under Continental’s guidance. Two were still low after flying (again, I pressed he use Continental’s guidance). I suggested inspecting them via borescope. He said that was a waste of time but agreed to do it. I suggested lapping in place, and he refused. I reasoned that making him perform a procedure he was uncomfortable with helped neither one of us, so I begrudgingly let him remove two cylinders to lap the valves. Both cleaned up nicely, and after a dozen or so hours, I haven’t had any issues.

Will I go back to the same mechanic for my annual this year? Yes, but only after a conversation about expectations. He’s an expert in antique tailwheel airplanes like mine, and I find that experience to be highly valuable. However, we need to have an understanding about engine work prior to the start of the inspection.

Ultimately these conversations are how best to deal with the situation. If everyone is on the same page before the maintenance starts, and your philosophy as an owner matches his as a mechanic, then you are probably safe and can move forward, even if problems arise. And when they do arise, you can negotiate to make a plan that you are both comfortable with.

Because problems and disagreements will arise, especially if you are an involved owner who believes in maintenance only when necessary. If you think those fundamental disagreements can’t be resolved after a conversation, it’s best for everyone if you move on.

Ian J. Twombly is a CFII and flies both fixed-wing aircraft and rotorcraft. He is a former senior content producer for AOPA media, has been flying for 27 years, and owns a Piper Cub.