[Pilots] Aircraft Maintenance Report

[Jerry Rosendahl]

*MN Wing AMO Report:*

1.) AMRAD Open Discrepancies List (28):


A.) Planned - mandatory fuel strainer inspection (6), 500 hours magneto
inspection, prop governor overhaul, calendar oil change, Garmin 510
install, 100 hour inspection.

B.) Incidental - CAP radio low power, DF radio inop, defrost knob missing,
red X for CHT #1, nav database expired, CAP radio transmit inop, autopilot
inop (2), no Nexrad, sending unit intermittent, MFD control knobs inop,
intermittent pilot talk switch, 4 seat rails need replacement, seat covers
worn out, GPS inop, DME inop, Garmin SAR install needed.

2.) Aircraft Status:

Available - 13

Not Available - 3  (695CP mags inspection, 853CP prop
governor/autopilot/oil change, 878CP G1000 reload software)

3.) May Lookahead:

Annual inspection - 0
IFR certifications - 0
Calendar oil changes - 828CP, 878CP
34L 100 hour inspection
837 50 hour oil change (depending on flying hours, there will be more)

4.) June - July Lookahead:

Calendar oil changes - 13

IFR certification - 1

Annual inspection - 1

5.) Miscellaneous AMO Issues:

A.) Since the synchronization of the WMIRS and AMRAD data, it has become
much more important for pilots and squadron DOs to keep a close eye on the
AIF cover sheet information. Both the "Next due hours" and the "Next due
date" columns have the potential of stopping the flight from happening, or
worse yet causing an overfly situation. As the Wing AMO I'm also watching
for this, but I'm watching 16 airplanes. I need your help.

We recently got down to 1 hour before a required inspection had to be done
until a person caught it. Yup, my mistake, however, where was the squadron
DO and the pilots who flew the last 10+ hours that should have caught it?
We had the inspection done and no foul, but it highlights what I'm saying.
Reviewing the AIF is the *FIRST* item on the preflight checklist!

B.) We make every effort to have squadron pilots move their airplane into
and out of maintenance. If not available, we have a couple pilots who are
readily available to make these moves. Squadron DOs are the primary contact
when we make these moves. Squadron calendars are checked for flight
activity. Please keep your calendar up to date. Once we've made contact
with a squadron about a move, it's important for that information to be
passed along within the squadron to appropriate members. We've received
complaints that an airplane was moved without their knowledge. In one case
it was moved by 2 of their own squadron pilots. In another case the DO knew
but nobody else did. Make sure some method of communications is established
within your squadron so everyone is in the loop.

C.) A simple oil change can be done in a very short period of time as
long as we coordinate the arrival time at maintenance. Conducting a 100
hour/annual inspection however is several days. Removing props, prop
governors, and magnetos for inspections/overhaul is even longer. The more
advanced we get with our avionics requires specialized equipment and
software to fix problems. Some of this work must be done at a vendor who
also requires lead time. Our maintenance contractor has excellent
relationships with these vendors but everything seems to take longer than
we'd like.

D.) The loose equipment we ordered is coming in and we'll be updating each
airplane on needed items as they come through maintenance. Contact me with
any requests.

E.) In addition to maintenance of the fleet, we get involved in moving
airplanes around to keep the flying hours up. NHQ's target is 200 hours per
year (federal fiscal year) per airplane. As of today, 7 months into the
year, only 5 squadrons are "in the ballpark" of those hours - 130th,
Viking, North Hennepin, Mankato and St. Croix. DO Wolfgram has stated
several times that we'll move airplanes out of your squadron if you're not
flying it. We know what winter weather does to flying hours, but when you
had no flights on the schedule for April and none yet for May, you may be
on the target list.

Jerry Rosendahl, LtCol, CAP
MN Wing AMO
651.785.8911
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