Hi Avcanada,
I am a licensed AME M1/M2 ratings, I've been always working in the airline industry.
Recently, I plan to purchase myself a 1966 Cessna 172G. The aircraft I plan to buy is cheap, but interior is old and dirty, the ADF and Nav/comm have also broken down. My question is: Can I fix the ADF and Nav/comm by myself and release it instead of going to an avionics shop? Also, If I want to upgrade the interior of the aircraft, can I do it myself?
Thanks for everyone's time, I'm really fresh to the general aviation but passionate about flying
So as long as you purchase this aircraft and is registered private there’s no issues at all. You can sign for all maintenance done for the aircraft as long as you have access to manuals that are current and up to date to reference the maintenance carried out.
Yes Once again you can replace and clean up the interior, just make sure all parts are the correct part number pannels and parts are oem or approved PMA parts.
The broken ADF can also be fixed. Troubleshoot and figure out what’s wrong and fix it. You can’t open sealed units ( boxes / radio heads) and if the procedure to sign requires any test equipment you’ll have to rent.
Honestly, think very carefully before investing any time/money in old avionics. Would you ever use an ADF or VOR? (I haven't in 25 years for VFR only flying). If you feel you do need them, look for low cost sale units, there seem to be lots around, as people upgrade their panels. And, if you do spend time on an old unit, and it fails again shortly afterward, you'll frustrate yourself.
The very expensive King Comm/GPS I bought brand new 30 years ago (it was the latest/greatest back then), had a GPS clock failure recently. It'll work still, if I set universal time every time I turn it on, then wait for a search the sky. Circuit board battery replaced, 'did not help. The avionics shop I use say that this unit is no longer supported by King, and parts and service are not available. What I find hard to understand, is that there are three of them on ebay for many thousands of dollars each. Why would anyone pay thousands for a decades old unit which could fail tomorrow, for which there is no parts and service?
I'm seeing a shift in technology, it's probably not worth investing much in repairs to old avionics and instruments. Where approved modern (electronic) versions are available, they're probably more cost effective...
Another great point / advice for this AME/pilot . I agree with you 100%, it’s a useless piece of equipment now.
Last time I was in a plane that we used VOR/ ADF was in Africa lol. North America exactly like you mentioned not used really.
If I had a cessna 172 And it was in mint shape I would retro fit it with a nice used garmin unit, depending on price . For a flip you can find cheaper avionics options.
Like PilotDAR mentioned these boxes are not supported anymore from a manufacturer level. You can still find old shops to repair them but you’ll have to phone around. Hard to get parts / support as PilotDAR mentioned.
Like mentioned above, junk all of the old, HEAVY radios. Unless you plan on flying lots in the winter, because they use so much power that they make great aircraft heaters! The most important avionics these days is a modern 760 channel comm radio and reliable transponder. With awesome apps like Foreflight and its' Droid counterparts, all of the old NAV stuff is worthless for VFR flying.
So with that being said any removal of equipment will require entries in the logbook and an amendment to the weight and balance of the aircraft. If an equipment change is being done on an aircraft, and the new weight and balance is calculated mathematically instead of weighing the aircraft.
New entries adjust the weight and balance and your set!
It's still worth it to try and fix the adf and vor first. Adf is great for tuning in to am radio for those long x country trips. The vor is being decommissioned mostly except for airways but it is still useable and might help you learn how to navigate.
Don't spend too much though, like said above, slap a cheap "gps" in there.
Nobody thinks to ask why an AME can't answer a question about what work is legal for an AME to do? I would have thought that the limitations and barriers of each AME classification would be something they were taught...
Nobody thinks to ask why an AME can't answer a question about what work is legal for an AME to do?
The notion crossed my mind briefly, however, the OP states that they come from an airline environment, and the work they propose could verge on being specialized maintenance, or a modification, so the question is fair in my mind. They perhaps have worked in a more specific maintenance role, where this work would not have been anywhere near their scope. I try to be open minded with the "there's no such thing as a stupid question" perspective. Sometimes I have to stretch to keep my open mind around that, but better people should ask, for their one sake, and those who only read, who were reluctant to ask...
AirFrame wrote: ↑Sun Jun 28, 2020 7:49 am
Nobody thinks to ask why an AME can't answer a question about what work is legal for an AME to do? I would have thought that the limitations and barriers of each AME classification would be something they were taught...
From what I understood, mostly now at school the Ames are trained to think more like m2 engineers. Well let’s be honest most will work on 705 category planes. They should go into the m1 stuff more.
I actually seen that unanswered also and wondered why. So PilotDAR and I can help this young man out on the legalities of it. Also some others helped with suggestions of replacement equipment.
Nobody thinks to ask why an AME can't answer a question about what work is legal for an AME to do?
The notion crossed my mind briefly, however, the OP states that they come from an airline environment, and the work they propose could verge on being specialized maintenance, or a modification, so the question is fair in my mind. They perhaps have worked in a more specific maintenance role, where this work would not have been anywhere near their scope. I try to be open minded with the "there's no such thing as a stupid question" perspective. Sometimes I have to stretch to keep my open mind around that, but better people should ask, for their one sake, and those who only read, who were reluctant to ask...
I always believe there’s no such thing as a stupid question. Avcanada is awesome as it’s free advice to help or guide Ames in the right direction.
I noticed there’s only a few people on here with a wealth of knowledge but every comment counts!
When being an M2 engineer, well you know. You get a ACA list of what you can and can’t sign for. It gets more tricky on the private as people don’t want to read the CARS. So this is why we are here to guide people in the right direction.
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