: Which FAA? Every FSDO is a fiefdom unto itself.
Sadly, yes... that's pretty much what I meant. It's dependent on your
particular FSDO.

: Would that include a T&B? How about a voltmeter? A radio? Post
: lights?
Yes, I should say so. The only reason not to would be replacing a part with
an equivalent part. If your T&B dies, you can legally replace it with an equivalent
part without a field approval. A more electrically-oriented example would be if you
wanted to add an ammeter to your voltmeter-equipped plane vs. adding a voltmeter to
your ammeter-equipped plane. In the former, you need to sever the charging wire and
put in either the meter or a shunt for the meter. In the latter you only need a
negligible-current wire to run to a voltmeter. I would argue that the latter is a
minor alteration, but the former is much more significant. I'm sure the regs don't
have any way to distinguish between issues that subtle.

: In some FSDO's, you're right - it's considered major. In some FSDO's
: it's not. The real issue is that unless you bring it to the attention
: of the FSDO, how are they going to know? You simply need to get it
: past your IA at annual time.

: Some IA's will ignore it even without paperwork. Most will accept an
: A&P's signature and not question his determination that it was minor.
: And a few assholes will actually ground your plane and make you either
: pay to have it removed or get the FAA involved. A 337 doesn't save you
: from this - remember how Honeck had to remove his strobes, installed
: under a 337, because the IA decided they weren't legal and got the FAA
: involved?

True. Just shows how broken the whole system is. My question is what in the
*HELL* is a "signoff" by a certified IA good for if the next IA and everyone
thereafter is responsible for it too? It only serves to hold last guy accountable for
everything. What's the purpose of a certification for an IA if the next IA can't
trust the previous' work?

I don't recall Jay getting phucked having to remove strobes. That sounds like
it was an ugly FAA-ism.

: That's why it's important to choose your shop carefully.

Again, I call bull**** on this. Unfortunately, it's true.

-Cory

************************************************** ***********************
* Cory Papenfuss *
* Electrical Engineering candidate Ph.D. graduate student *
* Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University *
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