As new year’s resolution I would like to get more involved in all those maintenance tasks I am able to perform being the owner of a D-Reg Grumman Tiger with the usual PartM Appenix VIII List in my maintenance programme. Apart from looking over your mechanics shoulder, what kind of material did you use to get into the subject (Books, DVDs, Courses, Webpages …) and what kind of tools you can recommend, respectively what would be your “Minimum Equipment List” for maintenance tools, that you keep for working on your plane.
The plane is hangared (though the place is not heated) and I can store and work with all kind of equipment, living very close to the airport – so no limits there.
Thanks and the best to all of you for 2016
Start with the Bible : FAA AC 43.13-1B – Acceptable Methods, Techniques, and Practices – Aircraft Inspection and Repair
It’s free for download here : AC 43.13-1B
The hand tools are fairly basic and really depends on which tasks you plan on tackling.
Previous possibly useful threads here here here
I carry everything required for a 50hr service i.e. torque wrenches for plugs and oil filter, various spanners (not whole kits necessarily, due to weight), a small metric socket set, spares (plugs, vac pump, etc). The box weighs perhaps 20kg…
Best to work with an engineer and he can show you what needs doing. Also it’s much quicker with two people.
@simonsorcerer, do you have the maintenance manual and the parts manual for your Tiger? Drop me a line if you need them.
Thanks for all of your input – and yes @Ultranomad I have the Manuals for the Tiger from AYA and the Overhaul Manual from Lycoming but thanks again for the offer.
Did any one ever attend a Course or Seminar on an Aircraft-Maintenance-Related subject – are there even any in Europe? I could find some in the US (EAA, AOPA, Lycoming …) but none over here.
IMHO, nothing beats hands-on experience, and being shown by somebody who knows it.
Obviously if you are a “mechanical type” then you have a big start.
The actual operations required when doing say a 50hr service on a Lyco are so simple a brain-dead person can do them. No special tools are required. You have to do it “right” so e.g. double-check everything. No good having a conversation with somebody while torquing up the spark plugs 
And there are various important tips e.g. if you drop a spark plug on the ground, it has to be discarded (due to risk of internal insulator cracks).
A small tip: get a box of disposable gloves – about €5/100. I have found that some of the liquids used have a bad effect on the skin. Not on hands but when you touch your face later e.g. to blow your nose. I am not sure whether it was the normal oil; it may have been the grease used (Shell Grease #7). Brake fluid is known to be bad.
I have never heard of a “DIY maintenance course” for planes. Only stuff like A&P courses, run at some colleges.
I read somewhere quite a while ago that the Deutscher Aero Club or some local sub-section thereof used to offer some courses/weekend meetings for people interested in DIY-maintenance. IIRC, this was done in cooperation with a maintenance shop and intended to give people some technical insight and practical tips before they take a wrench to their planes. Unfortunately, I do not recall further details and could not find anything on their website on this, ie. I am unsure whether they still offer such. However, here is a contact who might be able to answer such questions:
Also, I found this on the website of the Luftfahrtverband Baden-Wuerttemberg (this might actually be the offer I was thinking of above). No idea if this is applicable to you or what the prerequisites might be but the course on engine maintenance could be of interest
“Maintenance Courses”: http://www.bwlv.de/uploads/tx_bwlvdownloader/Lehrgaenge_2016.pdf
For our international readers: Text following the links is only in German ;-)
Make sure that all the tools are made by a reputable maker and are NICAD. Don’t buy cheap crap.
