Roger Long wrote:
snip
So, take the pledge. If you are a shop, keep true annual costs separate so
you don't suffer annual cost inflation that scares away customers. If you
are an owner, ask for two invoices so you can better track expenses and not
scare customers away from the shop that you depend on.

Good post, Roger. I wish more people understood the distinction between
an annual inspection, the work needed to make the airplane airworthy as
a result of that inspection, and all the extras that make sense to do
while the airplane is in pieces.

For the annual on our 172 that just ended last month, our mechanic
quoted us 18 hours of labor on just the inspection. Turned out he did a
VERY thorough inspection in that time and managed to come up with lots
of little things that others had missed over the last few years...which
brings up another important point.

It doesn't matter what you spend on the inspection portion of an
annual...it's the quality of that inspection that matters. Some guys
can do it in more time, some in less...but what matters is whether the
IA actually does his job. We are fortunate in that respect to have a
good long-time friendship and business relationship with our mechanic.
He knows we are particular about the airplane and takes pride in his
efforts to find all the stuff that others may have overlooked.

The inspection plus parts and labor to fix various things (new brakes,
etc.) totaled about $2000. Quite reasonable, and about average for this
airplane. Of course, if I mentioned outright that the total bill for
our "Annual" reached $7200, my mechanic would likely have no business.
In truth, half that cost was the propeller and governor overhaul that we
(not our mechanic) made the call to do, and the remainder covered lots
of little items that we considered important to do in the interest of
safety or cosmetics and "while the hood was up".

FYI, if you want to read the full story on our annual, I've written a
three part series of articles and posted them on my site. Click through
"Aviation-Articles-Maintenance".

-Doug

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Doug Vetter, CFIMEIA

http://www.dvcfi.com
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