We have some members who are A&P/IAs, who can do inspections of their own planes. We also have some members who participate in owner-assisted inspections. What they have in common is that they’ve come to me asking for sample inspection checklists. But I didn’t have one.
So one member, Jeff Owen of J-GO Aviation, created a checklist and sent it to me to make it available for our members. What did he create it from? All the items I listed previously, plus one more — the Cessna service manual for his specific airplane. Sure enough, I pulled out all my service manuals for the many Pipers and Cessnas I’ve owned and flown, and there they were: sample inspection checklists for mechanics and owners.
I thought all our members would probably like to have access to this sample checklist. The link to download it is listed in the resource sidebar at right and it’s also available on our Piper and Cessna forums. Feel free to revise it for your aircraft. And a very big thank you to Jeff Owen and J-GO Aviation, who made this possible.
Every year since 1974, I’ve taken my airplane in for an annual inspection. I would hand the shop manager or mechanic my squawk list, utter a silent prayer, and go home. Every few days thereafter, I would visit the shop and watch and learn and continue uttering prayers. My mechanic would usually show me his clipboard or notebook with a list of items needing attention. I would tell him to proceed without any concern for my checkbook, mostly because my annual inspection would be cheaper than my funeral. After a few times showing up at the shop and seeing the pages add up, I would get concerned about my checkbook and start sweating. Oh well, my kids didn’t need an inheritance, right?
In all these years, though, it never once occurred to me to ask, “Where does the inspection list come from?” I know that FAR Part 43 has a generic inspection checklist, and I figured that A&P/IA schooling and on-the-job training supplied the rest. Well, kind of! Recently that topic came up on the member forum of our sister association, Cessna Owner Organization. I regularly share relevant topics and solutions back and forth between the Cessna and Pipers forums, which benefits both member groups. The problems and solutions are often similar, as we all use the same products and share many of the same frustrations (oil leaks, rigging problems, prop blade gouges, bad brakes, etc.)
Resources
Shown is the first page of the checklist, which is provided courtesy of J-Go Aviation.
Download the entire checklist here.
We have some members who are A&P/IAs, who can do inspections of their own planes. We also have some members who participate in owner-assisted inspections. What they have in common is that they’ve come to me asking for sample inspection checklists. But I didn’t have one.
So one member, Jeff Owen of J-GO Aviation, created a checklist and sent it to me to make it available for our members. What did he create it from? All the items I listed previously, plus one more — the Cessna service manual for his specific airplane. Sure enough, I pulled out all my service manuals for the many Pipers and Cessnas I’ve owned and flown, and there they were: sample inspection checklists for mechanics and owners.
I thought all our members would probably like to have access to this sample checklist. Click here for a PDF of the sample checklist. Feel free to revise it for your aircraft. And a very big thank you to Jeff Owen and J-GO Aviation, who made this possible.
