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#1
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How long to keep VOR check records?
So here's a question I had never thought of until getting my instrument rating and owning an IFR-equipped aircraft: how long should records of VOR checks be retained? Do they need to be retained at all? Can the FAA come to me and ask, "Remember that IFR flight to SLO you made 2 years ago? Show us the VOR check for that flight." This came to mind because the next VOR check entry will fill up the form I have been using, and I'll have to start a new one. So I have to decide whether to discard the filled sheet, or save it somewhere. Is there any value to saving these with the aircraft maintenance records? Happy landings, Ross Oliver |
#2
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No where does it say WHERE they must be recorded. I enter them in the
"remarks" column of my pilot's logbook. Rip Ross Oliver wrote: So here's a question I had never thought of until getting my instrument rating and owning an IFR-equipped aircraft: how long should records of VOR checks be retained? Do they need to be retained at all? Can the FAA come to me and ask, "Remember that IFR flight to SLO you made 2 years ago? Show us the VOR check for that flight." This came to mind because the next VOR check entry will fill up the form I have been using, and I'll have to start a new one. So I have to decide whether to discard the filled sheet, or save it somewhere. Is there any value to saving these with the aircraft maintenance records? Happy landings, Ross Oliver |
#3
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FAR 91.417 (b) (1) says you must keep the record for 1 year or until
the work is repeated. A VOR test is actually an inspection and is considered "work". Where you keep it is up to you. It does not need to be in any particular place or location. It does not need to be in the aircraft either. It is a maintenance record. On Tue, 30 Mar 2004 12:52:48 GMT, rip wrote: No where does it say WHERE they must be recorded. I enter them in the "remarks" column of my pilot's logbook. Rip Ross Oliver wrote: So here's a question I had never thought of until getting my instrument rating and owning an IFR-equipped aircraft: how long should records of VOR checks be retained? Do they need to be retained at all? Can the FAA come to me and ask, "Remember that IFR flight to SLO you made 2 years ago? Show us the VOR check for that flight." This came to mind because the next VOR check entry will fill up the form I have been using, and I'll have to start a new one. So I have to decide whether to discard the filled sheet, or save it somewhere. Is there any value to saving these with the aircraft maintenance records? Happy landings, Ross Oliver |
#4
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FAR 91.417 (b) (1) says you must keep the record for 1 year or until
the work is repeated. A VOR test is actually an inspection and is considered "work". Where you keep it is up to you. It does not need to be in any particular place or location. It does not need to be in the aircraft either. It is a maintenance record. This is the first time I've heard anyone claim that the VOR check is considered maintenance. Do you have a reference for this interpretation? If a VOR check is considered maintenance, then we're in trouble (except for the pilots who also have an A&P), because VOR check is not on the list of preventive maintenance items given in Part 43, Appendix A. So if it's considered maintenance, but not preventive maintenance, most pilots would not be authorized to perform it. There are several other factors that indicate a VOR check is not maintenance: - FAR 91.171(a)(2) uses the word "checked," not "inspected," for the 30-day checks we're discussing here. - FAR 1 defines maintenance to include "inspections", but not "checks". - FAR 91.171(d) specifies record-keeping requirements that are different from those in 91.417 and 43.9 (no certificate number, for example). If the VOR check is an inspection, then you'd also have to comply with 43.11 and include aircraft total time in service, and the statement "I certify that this aircraft has been inspected ..." It seems clear to me that the VOR check is not maintenance, and thus not subject to the requirements of 91.417. Barry |
#5
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I operated a certificated avionics repair station for years. When we
performed a VOR calibration, at the owners request, which qualifies for the 30 day check, it was a maintenance function and required the 417 documentation. FAR 91.171 (a) (1) is the reference. Both the words maintained and inspect are used there. I said that it is a maintenance record, not maintenance, as far as a pilot performed function. My comment only referred to the fact that it does not have to be in the aircraft. There are actually 6 ways to perform the "check", 5 of which can be done by the pilot. On Tue, 30 Mar 2004 15:40:07 -0500, "Barry" wrote: FAR 91.417 (b) (1) says you must keep the record for 1 year or until the work is repeated. A VOR test is actually an inspection and is considered "work". Where you keep it is up to you. It does not need to be in any particular place or location. It does not need to be in the aircraft either. It is a maintenance record. This is the first time I've heard anyone claim that the VOR check is considered maintenance. Do you have a reference for this interpretation? If a VOR check is considered maintenance, then we're in trouble (except for the pilots who also have an A&P), because VOR check is not on the list of preventive maintenance items given in Part 43, Appendix A. So if it's considered maintenance, but not preventive maintenance, most pilots would not be authorized to perform it. There are several other factors that indicate a VOR check is not maintenance: - FAR 91.171(a)(2) uses the word "checked," not "inspected," for the 30-day checks we're discussing here. - FAR 1 defines maintenance to include "inspections", but not "checks". - FAR 91.171(d) specifies record-keeping requirements that are different from those in 91.417 and 43.9 (no certificate number, for example). If the VOR check is an inspection, then you'd also have to comply with 43.11 and include aircraft total time in service, and the statement "I certify that this aircraft has been inspected ..." It seems clear to me that the VOR check is not maintenance, and thus not subject to the requirements of 91.417. Barry |
#6
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"Ross Oliver" wrote:
So here's a question I had never thought of until getting my instrument rating and owning an IFR-equipped aircraft: how long should records of VOR checks be retained? Do they need to be retained at all? Can the FAA come to me and ask, "Remember that IFR flight to SLO you made 2 years ago? Show us the VOR check for that flight." FAA imposes on itself a time limit for initiating investigations, something like only 6 months. No need to be concerned about a flight 2 years ago. Fred F. |
#7
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#8
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Ross Oliver wrote: So here's a question I had never thought of until getting my instrument rating and owning an IFR-equipped aircraft: how long should records of VOR checks be retained? Do they need to be retained at all? Can the FAA come to me and ask, "Remember that IFR flight to SLO you made 2 years ago? Show us the VOR check for that flight." This came to mind because the next VOR check entry will fill up the form I have been using, and I'll have to start a new one. So I have to decide whether to discard the filled sheet, or save it somewhere. Is there any value to saving these with the aircraft maintenance records? Happy landings, Ross Oliver What everyone says is true, from 6 months for investigations, to 1 year for maintenace inspections, to "until the next time." If you are the kind of guy who likes to cover all the bases, keep them for 1 year. Beyond that you have zero exposure. And, they can be kept anywhere although the most current one is best kept in the aircraft in the event of a ramp check. It can, however, be written on a cocktail napkin. ;-) |
#10
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I check mine before each flight provided there is a ground check
available, and then I just write it on my kneeboard with the required date, type of test etc. That way it is always current (and if I am somewhere I can't check it usually have a few months of old papers on the knee board anyway), and I know immediately if it is misbehaving. -- --Ray Andraka, P.E. President, the Andraka Consulting Group, Inc. 401/884-7930 Fax 401/884-7950 http://www.andraka.com "They that give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." -Benjamin Franklin, 1759 |
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