I also reviewed the comments on airnav. It's sometimes hard to tell a shill
from a real customer but I found the comments to be fairly accurate. And
once you find a shop, post it here, you'll likely find someone who's been
there before. You can also ask other owners at your home base. Most are
fairly candid about such things.

I have found the airnav comments to be nearly useless. Almost all of
them relate to the FBO ramp service and whether the receptionist greeted
them with a smile or not. I have seen precious few on the competence of
the A&Ps. Also, I think people are reluctant to make negative postings.
It is hard to tell the difference between true incompetence and an
honest mistake. Who wants to trash someone's business so publically on
the basis of one experience? I know I am reluctant to make negative
postings even though I have had three negative experiences.


When I made my choice, I was lucky enough to do a trial with some simple
maintenance (if something major breaks you may not have this option): I got
an oil change and a strut refilled, and also talked to the mechanic about
some plug fouling issues. My chat with the mechanic convinced me that this
was a competent individual whom I could rely on in the long term. To be
honest, though, I don't think you can really know until your first annual,
which is a sort of test of how thorough your mechanic is.

Well, unfortunately, I am not knowledgable enough yet to really tell the
difference between someone who sounds like they know what they are
talking about and someone who actually does. I am learning, but it is
not a quick road to travel.


Finally, I resolved to become more knowledgable about my aircraft. I joined
a type club, acquired the parts and maintenance manuals, and did some
independent research each time I had a squawk. I suggest you do the same,
regardless of where you get your maintenance done. You'll feel much better
if you can do some high-level problem determination on your own and compare
with what the shop wants to do to the plane. A type club is also great for
guessing where your next problem might be, and provides some hints as to
what your mechanic should be looking for.

Yes, good suggestion. This newsgroup is very helpful in that regard. I
have also joined the Piper type club. Everytime I learn more, I become
even more disappointed in the service I have had.


best of luck,
mark

"O. Sami Saydjari" wrote in message
...

OK, I have a controversial question. How does one find a good A&P
mechanic. I just bought a Piper Turbo Arrow III recently and I want to
find a mechanic in my area (Central Wisconsin) that I can trust and is
competent. I am interested in hearing about how folks find the good
A&Ps out there, other than by pure luck.

I have had a couple of disappointing experiences with A&Ps where they
missed some pretty significant problems. I found one through word of
mouth. The other, well, I found the closest Piper Service Center near
me (figuring that they had special knowledge and expertise with Pipers
-- turned out to not be so).

-Sami