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DFC90 - Sudden "Autopilot Disconnect" in Cruise

So you stay behind the mechanic and watch how he put the screws in and out? How pedantic is that?

EDXQ

Some observations...

An N-reg plane does not need a 100hr check unless it is used for paying passengers, or you are training others in your plane. It should be just the 50hr checks plus the Annual. Do Cirrus mandate a 100hr check in the Airworthiness section of their MM? It would be bizzare if they did because the 100hr is almost a whole Annual.

It is fine to trust the company, and I used to for years, but in GA not many companies are good. I have had a long string of in-flight problems, caused by incompetence. Stuff like the elevator trim freezing because they put some dodgy lube in. The list from my 11 years of ownership is very long... I suspect that others who like to get involved have also seen stuff like that. In the piston world, most companies struggle to make money because the customers don't like spending it.

One would hope that at the turbine level of things, the companies are better. I have no direct experience there, however.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

"Muelli" Did I say I do that? Or is the only thing you can imagine? Why do you judge people you know nothing about?

You don't care for the technical details, only for the money. I for one don't care much for the money, but I like technology and enjoy it.

Peter, that is my experience too. And in my case I never refused to pay for anything.But I wanted the work to be done properly. Which many times simply didn't happen.

How would you feel if you got your airplane back from a 5000 Euro annual/100 h inspection and most of the inspection covers were missing and two of the engine mounts to the firewall were loose? I know what I FELT!

Peter, my plane is G-registered. 50 and 100 hours inspections and the annual are mandatory. I have it in a CAMO (RGV in Gloucester)

Interesting. I wonder why.

Normally on a G-reg it is the 50s and a 150, and of course the Annual. How is a 100 different from a 50, on the Cirrus?

The SR22 is hardly different from any "old" plane. The engine is the same, the avionics are similar to many others of the era. What happens specially on the 100?

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Hmmm... i really don't know yet precisely. But as far as i know at the moment (like on my Warrior) the 50 h is a better oil change, corrosion is checked, the oxygen bottle and some other minor things. At the 100 h inspection the seats and all carpets, floor panels, inspection covers are removed and all systems checked according to the maint. checklist.

For the Cirrus. Mr Fischer of Cirrus at EDAZ told me that 50 & 100 h inspections for D-reg have to be done by (at least authorized) Cirrus shops, means for me Schönhagen or Groningen every 50 h. If you don't do that and screw for yourself it's the same as if you'd do the inspection of your brand new Mercedes S class yourself. So that's not an option.

Said that, I had also lots of trouble with maint shops when I started owning airplanes. They were just ripping me off because I was a beginner. As time goes by there is a learning process you can't avoid as an owner and thus the shops are changing until it fits. I'm not such kind of pedantic control freak or "I know everything" guy.

EDXQ

At the 100 h inspection the seats and all carpets, floor panels, inspection covers are removed and all systems checked according to the maint. checklist.

So let's say you fly 140hrs in a year. That means you would do

50
100
Annual

That sounds very expensive because you are almost paying for two Annuals.

Now take the standard G-reg 150hr check. If you flew 170hrs, you would have

50
100
150
Annual

so you are paying for nearly 3 Annuals.

Maybe Cirrus have done a deal to replace the UK CAA 150hr check with a 100hr check? I would really like to know why. Obviously it makes them more money...

It can be a warranty requirement, which is a different thing. But an airworthiness requirement - I don't believe it.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Muelli, of course a brand new plane under WARRANTY has to be serviced at Cirrus. That's a completely different aspect. And i would be very astonished if this wasn't the same with Cessna, Piper or Beech.

You might not be a "pedantic" or a "control freak" but obviously you reserve the right for yourself to call others just that.

Also there is an authorized SC in Augsburg.

of course a brand new plane under WARRANTY has to be serviced at Cirrus. That's a completely different aspect. And i would be very astonished if this wasn't the same with Cessna, Piper or Beech.

Is that legal?

It is no longer legal in the UK for cars.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom
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