That’s the ideal world. But in a shop with 2 or 3 people you neither have the financial resources nor the time to send your mechanics to a Cirrus training in Minnesota for 4 weeks.
I simply prefer mechanics who have experience with a certain type, and I wonder why that simple rule creates so much resistance here. Since I do owner assisted mainatenance, have all the manuals at home, know the right people and since I am aware of the critical points regarding my airplane I do not do my maintenance at Cirrus anymore. But most pilots have no idea about airplane maintenance and simply give the shop the key. In this case I would feel much better if the shop was qualified and experienced with my type.
I did not say any mechanic could not do the maintenace on a SR22. Sure they can. But the result will be better if he has done 100 times before.
@Flyer59 The issue with cars is that they use different engines, gearboxes, tools etc. BMW mechanic is likely to be familiar with notorious issues with their engines which can speed up the process while with MB he might have to do the diagnostic from scratch. This is less so with light GA. However, quality of the job, in my opinion, largely depends on ones approach to it. It might take longer the first time but having a relatively local mechanic is, at least to me, preferable. Even paying for some type specific training might be a good investment. The issue is finding a good mechanic/ shop in the first place.
You might benefit from it but I don’t see why Joe Mechanic couldn’t do the Cirrus just like all the others.
Of course they “can do it”. The question is whether they can do it aswell as somebody who has experience with the type. A BMW mechanic can repair a Merceds too, but you bet that a good Mercedes mechanic can do a better job. And that’s not only true for the Cirrus but for all brands. Why would i let somebody train on the job if I can just aswell find somebody who has experience with the type.
I had enough problems with CIRRUS mechanics who did not really know what they were doing.
mh wrote:
And if the work is as well documented, the problems shouldn’t be more an issue than with any Mooney or Cessna or Piper.
I agree. There’s no reason why a Cirrus should have dedicated service centers and a TB20 can be maintained by just about every mechanic. 75% of maintenance is drive train related anyway and the rest isn’t rocket science either.
In the US there are far more specialized shops. I know one that basically only does Cessna 210. In Europe it’s rare for piston GA, only Cirrus has this sort of dedicated infrastructure. You might benefit from it but I don’t see why Joe Mechanic couldn’t do the Cirrus just like all the others.
The other day I saw a very rare Fuji plane at my shop for the annual. I asked them about it and they said “yeah, we only have one of this type, but it’s just an airplane, isn’t it?”.
Is it practical to fly to the service center for the caps work and then do the annual somewhere else?
If the service center and the next trusted shop or mechanic are about the same distance, Iguess it wouldn’t matter that much. But if it meant flying from North Norway all the way to Germany or the Netherlands, Iwould suggest it would be a more viable option to have a trusted mechanic nearby. If he is good and a constant companion of the aircraft, he will become knowledgeable automatically. And if the work is as well documented, the problems shouldn’t be more an issue than with any Mooney or Cessna or Piper.
I think a lot is to do with relationships.
The less you want to get involved in “non-flying activities” the more you will be relying on the various companies and the more careful you need to be to not p1ss off any of them.
It’s the same in a syndicate where one person deals with the maintenance (quite common). If you p1ss him off, you have made your life hard.
If you p1ss off a company which is at your airfield, you have closed off a lot of options all in one go. So a lot of people either do everything where they are based, or they do nothing where they are based. I know of airfields where there are 1 or 2 companies but most based aircraft fly somewhere away for all maintenance. It’s hardly ideal and not the way it should be but they are obviously doing it for a reason.
There are indeed many details where the owner – IF he gets involved in maintenance; many don’t – can easily know more than a maint company. A classic one is the lower cowling on the TB20, which needs the removal of the prop spinner, otherwise there is a good chance you will break something.
Of course it’s ALL in the MM, and the Cirrus has a very extensive and nice MM (2000 pages with a drawing of about everything). But my experience is that many mechanics do not have the typce specific experience and have no idea what to do if something is wrong with the MCU or the various other boxes like the “DAU” data aquistion unit").
The “problem” is that when you’re a passionate owner you know more about the plane than the typical mechanic.
Last example: I come to the Avionics shop and two mechanics are kneeling on the seats. Now everybody who has some experience with Cirrus knows that this can damage the honeycomb blocks in the seats. I told them and of course they had no idea.
And there’s many little details like that a “normal” service center with litle Cirrus experience will not know. Of course that stuff is in the MM … but you have to read it to know! There’s really a difference between beeing formally qualified or having EXPERIENCE with a type.
mh wrote:
Okay, so you would need a service center for the CAPS every six and ten years. But for an annual?
If you go to the service center every 6/10 years for the whole annual because you need them for CAPS, then you are most likely going to pay lot of money. When you switch shops, the bills tend to be higher the first year and you might also get into disputes about what is acceptable and what not as shops have different philosophies.
Is it practical to fly to the service center for the caps work and then do the annual somewhere else? If so, then I fully agree, a Cirrus is just a piston GA aircraft that every shop is qualified to maintain.
Okay, so you would need a service center for the CAPS every six and ten years. But for an annual? What can possibly be so tricky about the cirrus electric system, that needs to be addressed at an annual, and that could not be documented in the maintenance manual?
While a good Service Center can maintain a Cirrus some special know-how is necessary regarding the electrical system and the avionics (but what shop knows anything about avionics anyway?) and especially the CAPS system. Only a Cirrus SC can change the line cutters (6 year intervall) or the parachute (10 years).
