Let’s just get it right out of the way: Jets are more expensive to maintain than piston twins. And they say writing is difficult.
I have a little bit of space left, so let’s go over some examples of how people keep their kerosene burning speed machines legal and safe. As with most things in life, many options vary widely in cost and convenience, and there are probably nearly as many arrangements as there are airplanes, so this list is far from comprehensive.
Be Your Own Maintenance Manager
If you have the time and a basic grasp of how the maintenance world works, you can manage your own maintenance. There are thousands of parts, inspections and life-limited components to keep track of and a simple Excel spreadsheet just won’t do. Turbine owners live and die by these intervals so you’re going to have to invest in a maintenance tracking service like CAMP, FlightDocs, or Traxxall, to name a few. These subscriptions aren’t inexpensive, but the service they provide is essential to having a solid grasp on the health and status of your airplane. Most services will provide you with a free trial period so you can work with several of them to see which one suits you best.
The interface with these services couldn’t be simpler. You’ll input the current hours and landings into the appropriate spaces, and it’ll spit out a “due list,” which will list the items that are due or will become due within the timeframe you specify. Maintenance tracking services are like crystal balls (without the bead curtain) that can save you plenty of downtime, money, and frustration when you use them properly.
When you have inspections or tasks due in the next several months, you need to have your slot secured with the service center of your choice sooner rather than later. Service centers are busier now than ever due to many factors – workforce shortages, increases in private air travel, and supply chain problems rank highly among those factors. Earlier this month (February) I scheduled a maintenance visit for the Falcon 900LX that I maintain, and the facility I’m using was booked solid until November. Thankfully my inspections aren’t due until December, otherwise I’d be scrambling to work out a Plan B. Many times, a service center can “work you in,” but be prepared to be last in line for the available labor pool that the shop has on hand. It’s best to use that crystal ball to stay as far ahead of the maintenance schedule as possible.
Another responsibility you will have to sort out as your own maintenance manager is figuring out who will be doing your pre/post-flight inspections, services, and database updates. The simplest solution is for you to do it all yourself, but a few factors may prohibit this. If you have your own hangar, external power cart, and oxygen and nitrogen bottles, this is a no-brainer. Otherwise, you may need to find someone on the field you can trust to check tire pressures, oil and oxygen quantities and keep your navigation and chart databases up to date.
Hand Your Keys to a Service Center
If there’s a maintenance facility with which you have a good relationship, you can throw them a spare set of keys and grant them access to your maintenance tracking software with the understanding that they’ll let you know when tasks are due. This is probably the most expensive option, but it frees you from putting a lot of time into maintenance tracking and planning. If you’re based at the same drome as the service center, you get bonus points because you won’t have to ferry an empty airplane every couple of weeks to accomplish minor tasks. Otherwise, you’ll be paying travel expenses and labor for the service center to come to you.
The upside of handing over the keys is that you have a group of professional maintainers keeping an eye on your airplane’s due items and service schedule. The downside of that is you’re going to be paying a premium for most of the tasks they perform. Most shops won’t nickel-and-dime you to death for the small stuff if you use them exclusively. Still, you can’t expect them to tie up an avionics tech for a half a day to download, transfer, and install databases, download and submit engine data, and reset computer faults for free.
The “hand them your keys” model also limits your options when it comes time to comply with larger inspections. Even if there isn’t a written contract, if you’ve handed your keys to a service center, they’re going to assume that you’ll use them exclusively. If another service provider offers you a great rate to do the next inspection and you take them up on it, the shop that has your keys will lose out on a decent payday. They’ve likely provided time and labor “on the house” for a lot of smaller tasks with the understanding that they would be the one to get that big inspection to even things out.
I’m not the biggest fan of using just one service center for all your maintenance, so this is the least desirable option for me. I’ve known several owners who use this model and it’s worked out for them, but I certainly don’t think it’s for everybody.
Hire a Maintenance Manager
This option is somewhere between being your own maintenance manager and handing your keys over to a service center because you’re going to hire someone to take care of your airplane for you. You’ll still be involved in the maintenance of the airplane, but you won’t be shouldering the weight of day-to-day stuff.
The most difficult part of using a maintenance manager is finding the right person. They can be a mechanic that you know, a friend of a friend, or someone who comes to you via a recommendation from another operator. If you don’t know of anyone who fits the bill, ask your flying friends or the folks in your type-association or aircraft club for recommendations, and you’re likely to get at least a few solid references. Your maintenance manager will play a huge role in your safety, the safety of your passengers, and your money, so mutual trust is key.
Once you find that perfect person to take care of your airplane, the first thing the two of you need to do is to collaborate on a monthly maintenance agreement. You, as the owner, need to clearly convey what you expect to be done daily, weekly, monthly, etc. Your new maintenance manager needs to clearly convey how those things will be accomplished, the fee(s) that will be charged, and their requirements to do the job legally and safely. At the very least, your maintenance manager will need access to technical publications for the airframe and engines, full access to your maintenance tracking software, and the means to order parts and consumables. I’m a proponent of having the agreement in writing so each party can refer to it as necessary; whether you get a lawyer involved is up to you.
A maintenance manager can be whatever you need them to be, and you can be as hands-on or hands-off as you want. Clear communication between the maintenance manager and the owner/operator is key to making this arrangement work. I’ve heard nightmare stories of airplanes being grounded because each party thought the other was responsible for taking care of certain tasks, and a very big ball got dropped.
Of course, after you and your maintenance manager have worked together for a few months, there may be a certain amount of adjustment required to form a smooth operation. As long as the two of you can work things out agreeably, this can be a long-term and mutually beneficial relationship.
Something Completely Different
I’ve only scratched the protective plastic coating of the surface of turbine maintenance here. There are many driven and creative people in aviation, so I’m sure there are many ways to keep a jet legal and safe that I haven’t run across yet. One big thing that people new to the world of jet maintenance, or aircraft maintenance in general, need to keep in mind is that the most expensive option doesn’t necessarily guarantee the best quality care, and vice versa for the lowest cost option.
There is a learning curve when it comes to the difference in maintenance between a single-engine airplane and a twin, and that curve gets considerably steeper when you move up to a jet. No matter which part of the curve you’re scaling, the bottom line is that you shouldn’t go it alone. That’s not to say that you should pour a bucket of cash onto anyone who says they have the perfect system to take care of your airplane and you won’t break so much as a bead of sweat. I’m saying that having a network of friends who have experience in maintaining an airplane like yours is priceless. A type-association is a great place to start if you don’t have anyone based at your home airport with the same model airplane as yours.
If you’re stepping into a Citation, the “Citation Jet Pilots” association is a pilot-owner group that probably possess more knowledge and resources for the smaller Citation jets than Textron. Cirrus operators have the powerhouse of COPA (Cirrus Owners and Pilot Association) if you’re interested in a VisionJet.
No matter which airplane you own or are considering owning, I guarantee that there’s an established group of people who own, fly, and maintain that model who will be happy to answer any questions you may have and help you build a network that will help ensure that you have many years of safe fun in your airplane.
Happy wrenching and fly safe.
