1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,960 [SOUND EFFECTS] 2 00:00:16,360 --> 00:00:17,890 PHILIP GREENSPUN: All right. 3 00:00:17,890 --> 00:00:20,800 Let's talk about aircraft ownership and maintenance. 4 00:00:25,180 --> 00:00:29,710 Some of this stuff actually, oddly enough, is on the test. 5 00:00:29,710 --> 00:00:31,458 What does it cost to own an airplane? 6 00:00:31,458 --> 00:00:33,000 Most people say, I can't afford that. 7 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:35,250 But then you see them buy a brand new car 8 00:00:35,250 --> 00:00:39,588 or renovate their kitchen for $200,000. 9 00:00:39,588 --> 00:00:41,130 So I don't know what their excuse is. 10 00:00:41,130 --> 00:00:45,000 It's actually not expensive to own a four-seat airplane. 11 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:46,890 There's so many out there. 12 00:00:46,890 --> 00:00:48,780 There were more pilots in the '70s and '80s, 13 00:00:48,780 --> 00:00:52,320 when these airplanes were built in large quantities. 14 00:00:52,320 --> 00:00:55,050 The owner of East Coast Aero Club, Mark, 15 00:00:55,050 --> 00:00:59,190 he says that, in the '80s, there was a waiting list even 16 00:00:59,190 --> 00:01:00,630 for a tie down at Hanscom. 17 00:01:00,630 --> 00:01:03,330 Now there's ample parking. 18 00:01:03,330 --> 00:01:05,410 The hangar space is still a little bit tight, 19 00:01:05,410 --> 00:01:07,980 but if you just want to get a Cessna and pay, 20 00:01:07,980 --> 00:01:11,460 it's actually a lot cheaper to tie a Cessna down at Hanscom 21 00:01:11,460 --> 00:01:14,490 than it is to park a car in Cambridge. 22 00:01:14,490 --> 00:01:15,870 And there's plenty of room. 23 00:01:15,870 --> 00:01:19,110 He said every firefighter, every teacher 24 00:01:19,110 --> 00:01:20,970 used to have a family airplane. 25 00:01:20,970 --> 00:01:23,160 So the airplanes are relatively inexpensive to buy-- 26 00:01:23,160 --> 00:01:27,660 $20,000, $30,000 for something that's airworthy for VFR use, 27 00:01:27,660 --> 00:01:29,140 for basic VFR use. 28 00:01:29,140 --> 00:01:31,700 And you can see the prices here. 29 00:01:31,700 --> 00:01:33,690 The depreciation would be pretty close to zero 30 00:01:33,690 --> 00:01:37,890 for those lower-end airplanes. 31 00:01:37,890 --> 00:01:42,030 Anyway, all that said, it's still cheaper 32 00:01:42,030 --> 00:01:45,240 to rent from a flight school if you're 33 00:01:45,240 --> 00:01:50,480 going to fly 100 hours a year, paying $150 or $200 an hour 34 00:01:50,480 --> 00:01:55,170 to a flight school is still cheaper, and it's a lot easier. 35 00:01:55,170 --> 00:01:57,300 For people for whom owning may actually 36 00:01:57,300 --> 00:02:00,270 make a little bit of rational sense, 37 00:02:00,270 --> 00:02:01,740 it never truly makes sense compared 38 00:02:01,740 --> 00:02:05,390 to just getting everywhere in your Toyota Camry. 39 00:02:05,390 --> 00:02:10,830 That if you fly a whole ton, more than 100 hours a year, 40 00:02:10,830 --> 00:02:14,010 and the fixed costs of insurance and storage and stuff 41 00:02:14,010 --> 00:02:18,180 won't kill you, if you have to use the airplane 42 00:02:18,180 --> 00:02:21,840 to make regular long trips somewhere and then just park it 43 00:02:21,840 --> 00:02:25,110 away from the home airport, then it makes sense. 44 00:02:25,110 --> 00:02:27,870 And a lot of people, also, you know 45 00:02:27,870 --> 00:02:30,720 you can't fly, if you have multiple airplanes, 46 00:02:30,720 --> 00:02:33,540 you can't fly them all at the same time. 47 00:02:33,540 --> 00:02:35,730 And even one airplane, it's a little bit hard 48 00:02:35,730 --> 00:02:39,000 to use everyday the way you would use a car. 49 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:43,650 So partnerships with two to four people are pretty common. 50 00:02:43,650 --> 00:02:46,560 And that cuts the cost dramatically 51 00:02:46,560 --> 00:02:49,650 without really impairing the utility. 52 00:02:49,650 --> 00:02:51,750 I shared an airplane for years with a guy, 53 00:02:51,750 --> 00:02:54,690 and I don't think we ever conflicted on when 54 00:02:54,690 --> 00:02:56,700 we wanted to use the plane. 55 00:02:56,700 --> 00:02:58,680 All right. 56 00:02:58,680 --> 00:03:01,770 This is some stuff that you want to know a little bit. 57 00:03:01,770 --> 00:03:03,850 If you're an owner, it's really critical. 58 00:03:03,850 --> 00:03:08,470 And if you're a renter, some of the stuff is still relevant. 59 00:03:08,470 --> 00:03:11,760 So the owner or operator, if you think about a leaseback 60 00:03:11,760 --> 00:03:15,450 airplane to the flight school, the leaseback owner 61 00:03:15,450 --> 00:03:18,420 is any individual, perhaps. 62 00:03:18,420 --> 00:03:20,647 And the flight school becomes the operator. 63 00:03:20,647 --> 00:03:22,230 And they're the ones who are primarily 64 00:03:22,230 --> 00:03:27,420 responsible for making sure the airplane is airworthy, 65 00:03:27,420 --> 00:03:30,510 that it gets its annual inspection, 66 00:03:30,510 --> 00:03:33,660 and that it has a logbook. 67 00:03:33,660 --> 00:03:36,610 However, the pilot is also responsible. 68 00:03:36,610 --> 00:03:39,780 And if the pilot knows that something's inoperative, 69 00:03:39,780 --> 00:03:44,250 and it's not required, then it's still 70 00:03:44,250 --> 00:03:47,700 legal to fly the airplane in a lot of circumstances 71 00:03:47,700 --> 00:03:53,320 as long as that piece of equipment is placarded inop. 72 00:03:53,320 --> 00:03:56,940 And maybe the breaker is pulled, for example, 73 00:03:56,940 --> 00:04:02,240 on a GPS unit that's not working. 74 00:04:02,240 --> 00:04:07,040 After maintenance, then a private pilot 75 00:04:07,040 --> 00:04:10,580 with no passengers can make entry 76 00:04:10,580 --> 00:04:13,790 in the logbook saying that the test flight was done. 77 00:04:16,610 --> 00:04:20,773 The core inspection is every 12 months. 78 00:04:20,773 --> 00:04:22,190 For a privately owned airplane, it 79 00:04:22,190 --> 00:04:24,403 has to have an annual inspection. 80 00:04:24,403 --> 00:04:25,820 Typically it won't fly a whole lot 81 00:04:25,820 --> 00:04:28,970 more than 100 hours during that year if it's just one person 82 00:04:28,970 --> 00:04:29,960 flying it. 83 00:04:29,960 --> 00:04:33,080 But the 100-hour requirement only 84 00:04:33,080 --> 00:04:34,580 becomes necessary when the airplane 85 00:04:34,580 --> 00:04:38,120 is operated commercially, like at a flight school. 86 00:04:38,120 --> 00:04:42,010 So that's 100 hours of flight time, not engine running time. 87 00:04:42,010 --> 00:04:44,720 So if it's taxiing around the airport, 88 00:04:44,720 --> 00:04:48,920 the engine might be running for 120 or 130 hours 89 00:04:48,920 --> 00:04:53,030 to build up 100 hours of flight time. 90 00:04:53,030 --> 00:04:54,860 You say, well, god, these airlines 91 00:04:54,860 --> 00:04:57,920 must have to tear the airplane apart, 92 00:04:57,920 --> 00:05:01,850 open all the inspection panels every week or two. 93 00:05:01,850 --> 00:05:04,070 Jets have their own maintenance schedule that 94 00:05:04,070 --> 00:05:07,250 supersedes this FAA guidance. 95 00:05:07,250 --> 00:05:09,725 Even modest-sized jets often have a 300 96 00:05:09,725 --> 00:05:12,530 or a 600-hour service Interval. 97 00:05:12,530 --> 00:05:17,930 The Pilatus PC-12, it was recently extended to 300 hours, 98 00:05:17,930 --> 00:05:20,210 for example. 99 00:05:20,210 --> 00:05:23,080 OK, Tina covered this before. 100 00:05:23,080 --> 00:05:25,910 The transponder has to be inspected and sort of 101 00:05:25,910 --> 00:05:28,850 recertified every couple of years. 102 00:05:28,850 --> 00:05:33,830 Emergency locator transmitters-- if it's a civil airplane, 103 00:05:33,830 --> 00:05:36,950 91.207 says it has to have an ELT 104 00:05:36,950 --> 00:05:38,490 except in certain circumstances. 105 00:05:38,490 --> 00:05:41,820 So gliders, helicopters, things like that don't really need it, 106 00:05:41,820 --> 00:05:42,783 I don't think. 107 00:05:42,783 --> 00:05:43,700 Maybe the glider does. 108 00:05:43,700 --> 00:05:44,408 I don't think so. 109 00:05:50,830 --> 00:05:55,907 So the FAA really wants to ensure 110 00:05:55,907 --> 00:05:57,990 that every aircraft that's flying around in the US 111 00:05:57,990 --> 00:06:00,360 has a comprehensive logbook going back 112 00:06:00,360 --> 00:06:05,190 to the birth of the aircraft, the birth of the propeller, 113 00:06:05,190 --> 00:06:07,110 and the birth of the engine. 114 00:06:07,110 --> 00:06:09,480 Engines, when they get remanufactured by somebody 115 00:06:09,480 --> 00:06:13,380 like Lycoming or Continental, they get a zero-time logbook. 116 00:06:13,380 --> 00:06:17,010 So that logbook might only go back four or five years. 117 00:06:17,010 --> 00:06:20,130 But the logbook for the airframe should go back 118 00:06:20,130 --> 00:06:23,990 to when it was made. 119 00:06:23,990 --> 00:06:25,830 If the logbook ever gets lost, the airplane 120 00:06:25,830 --> 00:06:28,590 is significantly devalued, because stuff 121 00:06:28,590 --> 00:06:30,120 has to be reconstructed. 122 00:06:30,120 --> 00:06:34,450 And you can never really be sure what's happened to it. 123 00:06:34,450 --> 00:06:35,380 OK. 124 00:06:35,380 --> 00:06:41,370 There are airworthiness directives that legally 125 00:06:41,370 --> 00:06:45,120 have to be applied to aircraft. 126 00:06:45,120 --> 00:06:47,970 If the manufacturer issues a service bulletin, 127 00:06:47,970 --> 00:06:51,030 you don't have to do that, especially if you're not 128 00:06:51,030 --> 00:06:52,575 operating the airplane commercially, 129 00:06:52,575 --> 00:06:55,140 like as an airline or a charter. 130 00:06:55,140 --> 00:07:00,750 But airworthiness directives are mandatory. 131 00:07:00,750 --> 00:07:03,660 So let's see if I can think of an example. 132 00:07:03,660 --> 00:07:07,620 I think there were some Cessna seats that were sliding back, 133 00:07:07,620 --> 00:07:09,400 so people were trying to fly their Cessna 134 00:07:09,400 --> 00:07:11,927 and the seat wasn't really locked into position. 135 00:07:11,927 --> 00:07:14,010 So that's the kind of thing where an airworthiness 136 00:07:14,010 --> 00:07:18,600 directive would be negotiated between Cessna and the FAA. 137 00:07:18,600 --> 00:07:21,360 And it would be issued, and they might say, within the next 10 138 00:07:21,360 --> 00:07:25,350 flight hours, you have to go and get new seat rails 139 00:07:25,350 --> 00:07:28,680 for your Cessna to make sure that it doesn't slide back 140 00:07:28,680 --> 00:07:31,090 inadvertently. 141 00:07:31,090 --> 00:07:32,705 If there's a plane-- 142 00:07:32,705 --> 00:07:34,320 if there's something really serious, 143 00:07:34,320 --> 00:07:37,260 they may issue an emergency airworthiness directive 144 00:07:37,260 --> 00:07:39,360 and say, everything's grounded until you 145 00:07:39,360 --> 00:07:42,400 apply this fix or change. 146 00:07:42,400 --> 00:07:43,830 Here is just an example, actually. 147 00:07:43,830 --> 00:07:44,747 What did we find here? 148 00:07:47,730 --> 00:07:49,110 This was for Cirruses. 149 00:07:53,876 --> 00:07:55,740 Ah. 150 00:07:55,740 --> 00:07:59,070 In-flight cabin door separation-- 151 00:07:59,070 --> 00:07:59,760 that's not good. 152 00:07:59,760 --> 00:08:03,660 [LAUGHS] One was total separation. 153 00:08:03,660 --> 00:08:06,330 One was retained by the door strut. 154 00:08:06,330 --> 00:08:11,110 We're issuing this AD to prevent in-flight failure of the cabin 155 00:08:11,110 --> 00:08:12,160 door. 156 00:08:12,160 --> 00:08:16,720 OK, well, it's nice to have two doors, I guess. 157 00:08:16,720 --> 00:08:18,613 That's the takeaway from this one. 158 00:08:18,613 --> 00:08:21,280 I don't know what they said that you have to do-- yeah, threads, 159 00:08:21,280 --> 00:08:22,810 leaves, blah, blah, blah. 160 00:08:22,810 --> 00:08:24,430 Oh, but it says within 50 hours. 161 00:08:24,430 --> 00:08:26,290 See that? 162 00:08:26,290 --> 00:08:29,020 Within the next 50 hours time in service. 163 00:08:29,020 --> 00:08:31,330 So they don't consider that an emergency. 164 00:08:31,330 --> 00:08:34,480 And actually, if you ever do take off, 165 00:08:34,480 --> 00:08:35,789 don't slam an aircraft door. 166 00:08:35,789 --> 00:08:37,870 They tend to be fragile. 167 00:08:37,870 --> 00:08:41,830 The latches, various techniques have been tried over the years 168 00:08:41,830 --> 00:08:43,150 by various manufacturers. 169 00:08:43,150 --> 00:08:46,000 None of them are as foolproof as car doors, 170 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:49,970 because they don't have the weight budget that a car has. 171 00:08:49,970 --> 00:08:52,310 So if a door does pop open in flight, 172 00:08:52,310 --> 00:08:54,460 it's actually not hazardous as long 173 00:08:54,460 --> 00:08:57,100 as you're not so startled that you 174 00:08:57,100 --> 00:08:58,660 do something crazy on takeoff. 175 00:08:58,660 --> 00:09:01,180 They'll usually pop open just as you're climbing out, 176 00:09:01,180 --> 00:09:03,300 and you're like, whoa, what's that noise? 177 00:09:03,300 --> 00:09:08,170 Anyway, just remember, as Tina said, keep flying the airplane. 178 00:09:08,170 --> 00:09:12,970 And don't over-focus on something 179 00:09:12,970 --> 00:09:16,050 that's not related to the aircraft attitude and power. 180 00:09:16,050 --> 00:09:22,510 OK, part 43 is mostly stuff that certified AMT mechanics 181 00:09:22,510 --> 00:09:24,570 need to know. 182 00:09:24,570 --> 00:09:26,320 It's illegal, actually for-- 183 00:09:26,320 --> 00:09:29,500 this is one reason why owning an airplane 184 00:09:29,500 --> 00:09:30,730 is better than owning a boat. 185 00:09:30,730 --> 00:09:33,000 It's illegal for you to work on your own airplane, 186 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:33,720 more or less. 187 00:09:33,720 --> 00:09:38,110 [LAUGHS] So you have to have an FAA-certified mechanic do it. 188 00:09:38,110 --> 00:09:41,980 You can't spend every weekend monkeying with your airplane. 189 00:09:41,980 --> 00:09:46,660 There are a handful of things pilots are allowed to do. 190 00:09:46,660 --> 00:09:49,010 You can replace a tire. 191 00:09:49,010 --> 00:09:50,290 You can add oil. 192 00:09:50,290 --> 00:09:56,945 You can-- there's an enumerated list, 31 items. 193 00:09:56,945 --> 00:09:58,320 A lot of those are kind of more-- 194 00:09:58,320 --> 00:10:00,010 you can change a spark plug-- 195 00:10:00,010 --> 00:10:01,540 related to bush pilots. 196 00:10:01,540 --> 00:10:04,840 If you're up in Alaska, or northern Minnesota, or out 197 00:10:04,840 --> 00:10:08,890 in the middle of Maine, and you want to change something, 198 00:10:08,890 --> 00:10:12,460 instead of being stuck, you can carry a spark plug and a wrench 199 00:10:12,460 --> 00:10:15,640 and get yourself back to the hangar. 200 00:10:15,640 --> 00:10:18,490 But it's unconventional for people with certified airplanes 201 00:10:18,490 --> 00:10:21,460 to do much in the way of maintenance. 202 00:10:21,460 --> 00:10:23,290 One exception is owner-assisted annuals. 203 00:10:23,290 --> 00:10:25,340 Some people who are very mechanically inclined 204 00:10:25,340 --> 00:10:28,540 like to work with an AMT and help out. 205 00:10:36,350 --> 00:10:39,350 If you do this stuff, you have to sign it off 206 00:10:39,350 --> 00:10:46,320 by making a logbook entry with your certificate number 207 00:10:46,320 --> 00:10:47,640 and what kind of certificate. 208 00:10:47,640 --> 00:10:49,478 So if you change the oil, you still 209 00:10:49,478 --> 00:10:51,520 have to log it even though you're not a mechanic. 210 00:10:51,520 --> 00:10:53,937 You just say, I'm a pilot, and here's my pilot certificate 211 00:10:53,937 --> 00:10:54,840 number. 212 00:10:54,840 --> 00:10:56,550 All right, if that's too much work, 213 00:10:56,550 --> 00:10:59,092 and you still really just want to own an airplane because you 214 00:10:59,092 --> 00:11:01,680 want to say that I own an airplane, 215 00:11:01,680 --> 00:11:03,588 you can buy an airplane. 216 00:11:03,588 --> 00:11:05,880 And then if you're not going to fly it 200 hours a year 217 00:11:05,880 --> 00:11:08,010 or more, you can lease it to a flight school 218 00:11:08,010 --> 00:11:10,410 and let the flight school be responsible 219 00:11:10,410 --> 00:11:12,120 for the maintenance. 220 00:11:12,120 --> 00:11:16,570 A lot of people do this to take advantage of depreciation. 221 00:11:16,570 --> 00:11:18,600 Let's say they're a medical doctor. 222 00:11:18,600 --> 00:11:22,590 They start a side business working with a flight school, 223 00:11:22,590 --> 00:11:25,080 and they're now in the aircraft rental business. 224 00:11:25,080 --> 00:11:28,380 And they take a 100% deduction for their airplane. 225 00:11:28,380 --> 00:11:30,960 It hasn't really been completely tested by the IRS. 226 00:11:30,960 --> 00:11:33,090 Leasing is supposed to be a passive loss, 227 00:11:33,090 --> 00:11:34,590 and you're not supposed to offset it 228 00:11:34,590 --> 00:11:37,320 against active income. 229 00:11:37,320 --> 00:11:40,290 So people come up with various gimmicks where the flight 230 00:11:40,290 --> 00:11:42,750 school is marketing their aircraft for rental 231 00:11:42,750 --> 00:11:44,270 to other people. 232 00:11:44,270 --> 00:11:50,310 Anyway, they're taking $700,000 or $800,000 write-off 233 00:11:50,310 --> 00:11:53,820 in one year against their million dollar income 234 00:11:53,820 --> 00:11:55,200 as a physician. 235 00:11:55,200 --> 00:11:57,180 And now they have a free airplane. 236 00:11:57,180 --> 00:11:59,250 And that's why you can go to the flight school 237 00:11:59,250 --> 00:12:02,962 and rent one of these beautiful new airplanes for $250 an hour. 238 00:12:02,962 --> 00:12:04,920 It sounds like a lot, but take advantage of it, 239 00:12:04,920 --> 00:12:08,490 because they're basically giving you the airplane for free. 240 00:12:08,490 --> 00:12:10,980 OK, what if that's not enough work? 241 00:12:10,980 --> 00:12:13,110 Well, go to Oshkosh in July. 242 00:12:13,110 --> 00:12:14,070 I'll be there. 243 00:12:14,070 --> 00:12:17,490 And we can go check out all the kit airplanes, 244 00:12:17,490 --> 00:12:19,320 and you can meet people who say they've 245 00:12:19,320 --> 00:12:21,870 spent 13 years building their airplane, 246 00:12:21,870 --> 00:12:25,680 and now they're finally flying it. 247 00:12:25,680 --> 00:12:31,860 So in theory, the airplane has to be built by this-- 248 00:12:31,860 --> 00:12:34,140 the intent was some person who was then 249 00:12:34,140 --> 00:12:36,360 going to fly it had to build half of it. 250 00:12:36,360 --> 00:12:39,420 But you know, LLCs are also people, 251 00:12:39,420 --> 00:12:43,030 as far as the regulations are concerned. 252 00:12:43,030 --> 00:12:46,350 So basically, the LLC becomes the builder of record. 253 00:12:46,350 --> 00:12:51,690 And the LLC is formed between somebody who actually knows 254 00:12:51,690 --> 00:12:54,300 what he or she is doing and the pilot who 255 00:12:54,300 --> 00:12:57,030 just wants to fly the cool experimental airplane. 256 00:12:57,030 --> 00:12:58,830 And then when the builder's finished, 257 00:12:58,830 --> 00:13:01,560 the pilot buys out the builder. 258 00:13:01,560 --> 00:13:04,830 There are a lot of limitations on experimentals. 259 00:13:04,830 --> 00:13:07,860 Oh yeah, another technique is the factory-assist build. 260 00:13:07,860 --> 00:13:10,290 So to show that people have done a lot of work, 261 00:13:10,290 --> 00:13:13,320 they'll go down to the factory, and they'll change 262 00:13:13,320 --> 00:13:14,890 their clothing every two hours. 263 00:13:14,890 --> 00:13:17,190 And they'll have all these pictures of themselves doing 264 00:13:17,190 --> 00:13:19,747 various work on the aircraft. 265 00:13:19,747 --> 00:13:21,330 And then they can show that to the FAA 266 00:13:21,330 --> 00:13:24,240 and say, look, I was putting on the wings. 267 00:13:24,240 --> 00:13:24,960 I was doing this. 268 00:13:24,960 --> 00:13:26,592 I was doing that. 269 00:13:26,592 --> 00:13:27,900 [LAUGHS] 270 00:13:27,900 --> 00:13:33,150 All right, you can't use the aircraft commercially. 271 00:13:33,150 --> 00:13:36,990 And if your passenger gets into the airplane, 272 00:13:36,990 --> 00:13:39,210 right in front of the passenger will 273 00:13:39,210 --> 00:13:42,330 be this scary-looking sign that says, this is experimental, 274 00:13:42,330 --> 00:13:44,530 doesn't meet FAA standards. 275 00:13:44,530 --> 00:13:48,060 So the passenger is warned that there's a lot more risk 276 00:13:48,060 --> 00:13:49,590 than flying a Cessna. 277 00:13:49,590 --> 00:13:53,370 So you might say, well, why is it riskier 278 00:13:53,370 --> 00:13:55,860 than a Cessna or a Cirrus? 279 00:13:55,860 --> 00:14:01,460 And I talked to Alan Klapmeier about this, 280 00:14:01,460 --> 00:14:02,710 one of the founders of Cirrus. 281 00:14:02,710 --> 00:14:04,418 I said, how come these experimentals have 282 00:14:04,418 --> 00:14:07,800 so much better numbers for payload or speed 283 00:14:07,800 --> 00:14:10,730 than certified planes like the Cirrus? 284 00:14:10,730 --> 00:14:13,410 So part of it is that they're relieved 285 00:14:13,410 --> 00:14:15,870 of a lot of the forgivingness requirements 286 00:14:15,870 --> 00:14:16,980 of certified airplanes. 287 00:14:16,980 --> 00:14:19,080 So they're a little bit trickier to handle. 288 00:14:19,080 --> 00:14:22,810 You might have a higher stall speed. 289 00:14:22,810 --> 00:14:28,320 They're just not as idiot-proof and as stable 290 00:14:28,320 --> 00:14:31,620 as a Cessna Piper or Cirrus. 291 00:14:31,620 --> 00:14:33,930 The other issue is that they don't have 292 00:14:33,930 --> 00:14:35,220 as much redundant structure. 293 00:14:35,220 --> 00:14:37,500 With an experimental, you're allowed 294 00:14:37,500 --> 00:14:40,110 to assume that the construction process was perfect, 295 00:14:40,110 --> 00:14:42,960 that there were no defects, there were no missing screws, 296 00:14:42,960 --> 00:14:47,040 that nobody dropped a tool and damaged part of the structure 297 00:14:47,040 --> 00:14:48,560 during construction. 298 00:14:48,560 --> 00:14:51,495 But a certified airplane, you have to show to the FAA 299 00:14:51,495 --> 00:14:53,580 that even if all kinds of bad stuff 300 00:14:53,580 --> 00:14:57,417 goes on during manufacturing, and then the airplane's 301 00:14:57,417 --> 00:14:59,250 buttoned up so that those parts can't really 302 00:14:59,250 --> 00:15:01,500 be inspected afterwards, it still 303 00:15:01,500 --> 00:15:03,600 meets all of the structural requirements. 304 00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:05,820 That's why you see these crazy YouTube 305 00:15:05,820 --> 00:15:08,380 videos of wings being tested. 306 00:15:08,380 --> 00:15:10,260 The transport category aircraft are only 307 00:15:10,260 --> 00:15:12,870 supposed to be certified to 2.5 Gs, 308 00:15:12,870 --> 00:15:16,440 and the wings don't break until they put 9 Gs on them. 309 00:15:16,440 --> 00:15:19,230 Partly they're over-designing because it's good engineering 310 00:15:19,230 --> 00:15:22,290 practice, but also because they have 311 00:15:22,290 --> 00:15:23,970 to over-design to some extent because it 312 00:15:23,970 --> 00:15:27,330 has to do 2.5 G's even if a lot of mistakes 313 00:15:27,330 --> 00:15:29,555 were made during the manufacturing. 314 00:15:34,240 --> 00:15:36,400 So experimentals-- there's not really a free lunch. 315 00:15:36,400 --> 00:15:39,200 It's not like they're better than a Cessna or Piper. 316 00:15:39,200 --> 00:15:45,430 They're subject to kind of different rules. 317 00:15:45,430 --> 00:15:48,730 The one element where they are arguably better 318 00:15:48,730 --> 00:15:51,680 is that, with composites, you're allowed to-- 319 00:15:51,680 --> 00:15:55,510 it becomes practical to make arbitrary shapes. 320 00:15:55,510 --> 00:15:57,290 If you're fabricating sheet metal, 321 00:15:57,290 --> 00:15:59,950 there's a limit to how exotic you 322 00:15:59,950 --> 00:16:03,940 can get at a reasonable price, whereas planes like the Cirrus 323 00:16:03,940 --> 00:16:05,843 and then some of these experimentalists, 324 00:16:05,843 --> 00:16:07,510 you can have a nice smooth skin, and you 325 00:16:07,510 --> 00:16:09,610 can make any shape you want. 326 00:16:09,610 --> 00:16:13,600 It's closer to an ideal airflow. 327 00:16:13,600 --> 00:16:15,250 But otherwise, there's no free lunch. 328 00:16:15,250 --> 00:16:17,500 If it has better payload, that's because they took out 329 00:16:17,500 --> 00:16:21,220 all the redundant structure that makes a certified airplane 330 00:16:21,220 --> 00:16:22,750 a little safer. 331 00:16:22,750 --> 00:16:25,810 All right, renter pilots are still responsible, 332 00:16:25,810 --> 00:16:27,660 to some extent, for this stuff. 333 00:16:27,660 --> 00:16:29,950 You've got to make sure the aircraft is airworthy. 334 00:16:29,950 --> 00:16:32,260 You can't pin it all on the flight school. 335 00:16:32,260 --> 00:16:36,460 If you see something hanging loose, or there's no oil in it, 336 00:16:36,460 --> 00:16:40,870 then it's your responsibility to call the mechanic over 337 00:16:40,870 --> 00:16:45,220 to re-secure the panel or put some oil in. 338 00:16:45,220 --> 00:16:48,230 You want to make sure that the airplane has 339 00:16:48,230 --> 00:16:49,800 airworthiness certificate. 340 00:16:49,800 --> 00:16:51,430 The registration used to last forever. 341 00:16:51,430 --> 00:16:53,060 Now it expires every three years. 342 00:16:53,060 --> 00:16:55,390 So I guess if you're in a brand new flight school, 343 00:16:55,390 --> 00:16:57,100 and you don't know everybody there, 344 00:16:57,100 --> 00:17:01,690 it's worth at least paying some attention to the registration. 345 00:17:01,690 --> 00:17:06,190 The AFM/POH, or owner's manual, if you want 346 00:17:06,190 --> 00:17:07,630 to be colloquial about it-- 347 00:17:07,630 --> 00:17:09,208 that has to be onboard the aircraft. 348 00:17:09,208 --> 00:17:11,500 Usually the weight and balance is not a separate thing. 349 00:17:11,500 --> 00:17:15,190 It's just inside the POH. 350 00:17:15,190 --> 00:17:17,200 And you have to also report accidents. 351 00:17:17,200 --> 00:17:20,302 We'll talk about that more in the seaplane lecture, [LAUGHS] 352 00:17:20,302 --> 00:17:24,550 since sloppiness in the seaplane tends 353 00:17:24,550 --> 00:17:27,280 to be more likely to lead to an accident. 354 00:17:27,280 --> 00:17:31,810 All right, so you are responsible for the operation 355 00:17:31,810 --> 00:17:33,280 of the aircraft. 356 00:17:33,280 --> 00:17:37,450 And with responsibility comes the authority and ability 357 00:17:37,450 --> 00:17:39,520 to deviate from the rules in an emergency. 358 00:17:39,520 --> 00:17:43,660 You can just say, you know, Cirrus 359 00:17:43,660 --> 00:17:49,540 707 whiskey tango emergency landing at this nearby Air 360 00:17:49,540 --> 00:17:50,440 Force base. 361 00:17:50,440 --> 00:17:54,160 And they can't really bust you for that. 362 00:17:54,160 --> 00:17:57,010 If later they come and say, well, we 363 00:17:57,010 --> 00:17:59,470 want to know why you landed at the Air Force base, 364 00:17:59,470 --> 00:18:04,105 then you have to you respond with what 365 00:18:04,105 --> 00:18:05,230 led you to want to do that. 366 00:18:05,230 --> 00:18:09,670 But if they don't request you to do that, then there's no need. 367 00:18:12,550 --> 00:18:15,460 So basically, you can just read the slide. 368 00:18:15,460 --> 00:18:20,240 But abort the mission if you see something 369 00:18:20,240 --> 00:18:22,520 broken during the pre-flight. 370 00:18:22,520 --> 00:18:26,560 All right, here's a standard airworthiness certificate 371 00:18:26,560 --> 00:18:28,560 there on the bottom right. 372 00:18:28,560 --> 00:18:29,540 When was it issued? 373 00:18:29,540 --> 00:18:30,443 1995. 374 00:18:30,443 --> 00:18:32,360 So I think that's when the airplane was built. 375 00:18:32,360 --> 00:18:35,750 The airworthiness certificate should tell you 376 00:18:35,750 --> 00:18:39,860 when the manufacturing process terminated. 377 00:18:39,860 --> 00:18:41,070 Start shopping. 378 00:18:41,070 --> 00:18:43,070 So if you look at Controller.com, 379 00:18:43,070 --> 00:18:47,630 that's where your higher-end aircraft are. 380 00:18:47,630 --> 00:18:51,620 And Trade-a-Plane is that big yellow book 381 00:18:51,620 --> 00:18:54,020 that some of you guys may have seen at flight schools. 382 00:18:56,600 --> 00:19:00,980 Barnstormers.com is the homebuilt center. 383 00:19:00,980 --> 00:19:03,710 Before we take questions, I'll just 384 00:19:03,710 --> 00:19:12,887 close by telling you all that's fine. 385 00:19:12,887 --> 00:19:14,095 But it's not really rational. 386 00:19:16,810 --> 00:19:21,300 Having done one aileron roll and one loop in my life, 387 00:19:21,300 --> 00:19:23,280 do I need a GameBird? 388 00:19:23,280 --> 00:19:24,870 No. 389 00:19:24,870 --> 00:19:26,880 But it's only $400 grand, and I want a GameBird. 390 00:19:26,880 --> 00:19:33,055 [LAUGHS] And wouldn't it be cool to arrive in a GameBird? 391 00:19:33,055 --> 00:19:34,180 Look at that luggage space. 392 00:19:34,180 --> 00:19:37,951 You could put in probably three packs of crush-proof cigarettes 393 00:19:37,951 --> 00:19:48,640 [LAUGHS] and a spare pair of socks, 394 00:19:48,640 --> 00:19:51,400 like Charles Lindbergh used to travel with. 395 00:19:51,400 --> 00:19:54,190 So anyway, yeah that ownership stuff-- 396 00:19:54,190 --> 00:19:59,180 it's never a rational decision to buy an aircraft 397 00:19:59,180 --> 00:20:01,180 unless you're planning on dying rich. 398 00:20:01,180 --> 00:20:01,900 Why not? 399 00:20:01,900 --> 00:20:03,510 Actually jetAVIVA has this thing. 400 00:20:03,510 --> 00:20:06,375 Their whole tagline for this airplane brokerage 401 00:20:06,375 --> 00:20:08,745 is life is short, fly a jet. 402 00:20:08,745 --> 00:20:10,870 [LAUGHS] 403 00:20:10,870 --> 00:20:13,840 Does anyone have any exciting questions about maintenance 404 00:20:13,840 --> 00:20:16,235 and your responsibilities as a pilot? 405 00:20:16,235 --> 00:20:17,860 OK, there's a little bit of interaction 406 00:20:17,860 --> 00:20:21,605 there between the pilot and the mechanic. 407 00:20:21,605 --> 00:20:23,230 You can't practically check everything. 408 00:20:23,230 --> 00:20:25,750 You have to rely on mechanics, who 409 00:20:25,750 --> 00:20:27,470 are generally quite reliable. 410 00:20:27,470 --> 00:20:30,225 And they're FAA-certificated. 411 00:20:30,225 --> 00:20:31,600 But you have to have a little bit 412 00:20:31,600 --> 00:20:35,530 of common sense about not accepting a broken airplane 413 00:20:35,530 --> 00:20:36,445 or helicopter. 414 00:20:36,445 --> 00:20:37,070 Oh, [INAUDIBLE] 415 00:20:37,070 --> 00:20:38,945 AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE] build your own airplane 416 00:20:38,945 --> 00:20:42,945 how [INAUDIBLE] does the process of [INAUDIBLE] certification 417 00:20:42,945 --> 00:20:43,538 [INAUDIBLE] 418 00:20:43,538 --> 00:20:45,580 PHILIP GREENSPUN: If you build your own airplane? 419 00:20:45,580 --> 00:20:46,480 AUDIENCE: Yeah. 420 00:20:46,480 --> 00:20:49,532 PHILIP GREENSPUN: My friend Christian can answer that. 421 00:20:49,532 --> 00:20:50,740 There may be a YouTube video. 422 00:20:50,740 --> 00:20:55,420 But anyway, I think the FAA is supposed 423 00:20:55,420 --> 00:20:58,080 to inspect at one or two points during the construction. 424 00:20:58,080 --> 00:20:59,620 I'm not 100% sure about that, But I 425 00:20:59,620 --> 00:21:02,890 think that they may come in. 426 00:21:02,890 --> 00:21:05,050 More importantly, there is, like, 427 00:21:05,050 --> 00:21:07,410 40 hours of flight testing that has to be done. 428 00:21:07,410 --> 00:21:09,400 And you can't go over populated areas 429 00:21:09,400 --> 00:21:11,110 during that flight testing. 430 00:21:11,110 --> 00:21:15,100 And you get cut loose, I think, after 40 or 50 hours 431 00:21:15,100 --> 00:21:16,785 in the experimental world. 432 00:21:16,785 --> 00:21:18,160 It's never been attractive to me. 433 00:21:18,160 --> 00:21:21,590 I mean, if you talk to the people who do experimentals, 434 00:21:21,590 --> 00:21:24,040 they're really passionate about building and tinkering. 435 00:21:24,040 --> 00:21:27,550 They actually have very few hours of flight time 436 00:21:27,550 --> 00:21:28,720 accumulated. 437 00:21:28,720 --> 00:21:31,000 And that becomes a problem, because their pilot-- 438 00:21:31,000 --> 00:21:33,790 even if they were a good pilot when they started, 439 00:21:33,790 --> 00:21:38,080 after spending 13 years in a garage building, 440 00:21:38,080 --> 00:21:39,580 their pilot skills are pretty rusty. 441 00:21:39,580 --> 00:21:41,350 [LAUGHS] 442 00:21:41,350 --> 00:21:43,120 TINA SRIVASTAVA: I would also recommend 443 00:21:43,120 --> 00:21:44,960 that you ask Sebastian. 444 00:21:44,960 --> 00:21:47,560 If you guys remember, Sebastian came yesterday afternoon 445 00:21:47,560 --> 00:21:48,580 from the flying club. 446 00:21:48,580 --> 00:21:50,560 And he was discussing how they're 447 00:21:50,560 --> 00:21:52,360 getting that plane refurbished. 448 00:21:52,360 --> 00:21:54,240 He had a picture with the wing not attached, 449 00:21:54,240 --> 00:21:56,110 and now the wing is attached. 450 00:21:56,110 --> 00:21:58,600 So I believe that he's going through that airworthiness 451 00:21:58,600 --> 00:21:59,930 process right now. 452 00:21:59,930 --> 00:22:01,948 So definitely recommend you talk to Sebastian. 453 00:22:01,948 --> 00:22:03,490 And then the other thing I would just 454 00:22:03,490 --> 00:22:05,830 add to aircraft ownership in general 455 00:22:05,830 --> 00:22:09,190 is that there are also a lot of opportunities where there are-- 456 00:22:09,190 --> 00:22:12,010 basically, you can become part of a group that 457 00:22:12,010 --> 00:22:14,110 partially owns an airplane. 458 00:22:14,110 --> 00:22:17,110 So there's a bunch of clubs around here 459 00:22:17,110 --> 00:22:19,990 where, for example, there are three planes that 460 00:22:19,990 --> 00:22:22,630 are owned by 60 people. 461 00:22:22,630 --> 00:22:25,840 And so you kind of timeshare those planes. 462 00:22:25,840 --> 00:22:28,870 And a number of the other instructors of this course 463 00:22:28,870 --> 00:22:29,900 have done that. 464 00:22:29,900 --> 00:22:34,400 So you might have heard Luke or Marissa talk about that. 465 00:22:34,400 --> 00:22:36,582 And so they have some planes, for example, 466 00:22:36,582 --> 00:22:38,290 in Beverly, where there are three planes, 467 00:22:38,290 --> 00:22:39,520 and a bunch of people own it. 468 00:22:39,520 --> 00:22:42,100 And so you can timeshare the plane, 469 00:22:42,100 --> 00:22:45,610 and they have to be very mindful about these types 470 00:22:45,610 --> 00:22:47,540 of maintenance aspects, as well. 471 00:22:47,540 --> 00:22:52,270 So it's kind of an in-between cost of renting versus owning 472 00:22:52,270 --> 00:22:54,120 your own airplane by yourself. 473 00:22:54,120 --> 00:22:56,830 PHILIP GREENSPUN: Yeah, and if you want to-- 474 00:22:56,830 --> 00:22:58,660 the Experimental Aircraft Association, 475 00:22:58,660 --> 00:23:01,233 which runs Oshkosh, they have chapter meetings 476 00:23:01,233 --> 00:23:02,650 all over the country all the time. 477 00:23:02,650 --> 00:23:06,400 They're kind of the most social folks in the aviation world. 478 00:23:06,400 --> 00:23:09,700 So if you want to find out what it's like to build your own kit 479 00:23:09,700 --> 00:23:12,007 airplane or design your own airplane from scratch, 480 00:23:12,007 --> 00:23:13,590 those people will be happy to hang out 481 00:23:13,590 --> 00:23:18,130 with you, at least every month, all over the country-- 482 00:23:18,130 --> 00:23:19,680 EAA.