Picking Up Your Aircraft After Maintenance

Not all aircraft owners have had anyone teach them about owning an airplane.

I always tried to pass on some of that knowledge as I instructed, but many pilots lack a mentor in that area. One of the bigger issues I see is how people treat their aircraft after maintenance. It doesn't matter if it was in the shop for engine work or avionics, the return to service should be methodical and thorough.

So many folks show up, grab the logbooks, and off they go into the wild blue without a second thought. First, you should know exactly what was done to your aircraft. Talk with the mechanics that performed the work. Review the logbook entries for accuracy and completeness. A post-maintenance preflight should be extra thorough. Shine a flashlight in all the nooks and crannies and look for items that are wrong. This could be the failure to reconnect the landing light or it could be a tool left in the aircraft somewhere (you'd be surprised how often this happens). Are all of the inspection plates replaced correctly? Is the cowling tight and all the fasteners fastened? Is there safety wire visible in all the places it should be?

I like to do a hands on preflight, meaning I'm not just looking – I'm pushing/pulling/ grabbing the aircraft and checking for movement/security. Is the nose cone on tight? Is there any play laterally in areas where there shouldn't be?

It's always good to do a "thumbs up" check, especially if the control surfaces have been worked on. Grab the yoke/stick and hold your thumb pointing up, move the yoke/stick to the left and observe your thumb point to the aileron that should be up. Check that the left one is up and the right one is down. Then repeat to the other side. Be patient on runup and make sure your aircraft is functioning as expected.

If you are going to have a major problem its better it happen on the ground. The return to service flight is not a time to break any speed or time to climb records. I like to circle the airport for a while to make sure all systems operate well. The first flight post maintenance is not the time to launch into hard IFR and trust that it will all work out. If you have a long trip coming up, make sure to put some time on the aircraft, ensuring it is up to the task, prior to launching on a long cross-country flight or into any hard IFR situations.