Page 16 - Volume 12 Number 2

Maintenance Records –
LOGBOOKS
by Dean Benedict
In recent months I have been swamped with buyers considering King Airs for purchase. They have asked me to scrutinize the logbooks to figure out where the aircraft is maintenance-wise. In doing so, I encountered some really frustrating situations that could have been avoided if the log entries were clear, concise and complete. Over the course of my career I’ve slogged through a lot of logbooks, and early on formed some strong opinions on what makes a good log entry. Is this a topic of interest to the average King Air owner? Maybe not, but bear with me.
Crucial to Value
Accurate logbooks are crucial to the value of any aircraft. When an aircraft changes hands, the logbooks come under intense investigation. What about your log books? When it’s your time to sell, how will they hold up?
Too Vague
Here’s a real example of a very poor log entry: “Complied with all lube items currently due.”
This blew my mind! King Airs have lube item requirements due every 12 months plus a host of others due at 200-, 400-, 600-, 800-, and 1200-hour intervals. Each is a special inspection unto itself; they’re all different. Some contain service items (replace a gasket, service a filter) in addition to specified lubrication tasks. There is no overlap or duplication. Unless the shop can produce detailed write-ups and lube item checklists from their work order that prove exactly what was done, everything must be done at the seller’s expense.
Too Much Information
Another real example: “Pilot reported aircraft’s RH engine would not ignite. Troubleshooting carried out, igniter box Unison p/n 10-381550-1 s/n xxx found with
very weak spark. New exciter Unison p/n 10-381550-4 s/n xxx (A.P.I. SO- xxx-xxx) installed. Air- craft ground run and operation of ignition
system checked OK.”
This is the discrep- ancy and disposition write-up. It has no place in a logbook. It belongs on the work order. And what’s the sales order number doing
in there? If a warranty issue cropped up down the road, you’d call the shop, they’d research the work order kept on file, and they’d take it from there. Keep clutter out of the logs.
My version of what the above entry should be: “Installed igniter box in new condition, R/H position, p/n 10-381550- 4 s/n xxx; removed p/n 10-381550-1, s/n xxx.”
I put detailed squawk and disposition write-ups in my client invoices. I want the customer to see what it took to sort out and resolve their squawk. It’s important to the customer, but superfluous in the log entry.
Hobbs is not Enough
I see way too many airframe log entries with nothing but the Hobbs reading at the top. That doesn’t cut it. Hobbs meters fail and when replaced, they start over at 0.0 hours. The only acceptable proof of compliance with any hour-based requirement is by linking it to Aircraft Total Time (ACTT).
Recently, on a job, I struggled to find compliance for the lube items, the instrument air filter replacement (600 hours), and the power lever pin inspection (1,200 hours). I was faced with a long string of Hobbs-only entries in the airframe records. Was this the original Hobbs meter? I had no way of knowing. I rummaged through the records, looking for an entry that had Hobbs and ACTT. Finally, after going back quite a few years, I found an entry with both numbers. Eureka! I moved forward from there and calculated the ACTT for each entry based on elapsed Hobbs. In the end, I found proof of compliance for all those hour-based items. That seller lucked out. (And, by the way, it was not the original Hobbs.)
Engine Logs Need Airframe Time
All too often I find engine log entries with engine times and cycles, but no ACTT. This is my biggest pet peeve in log entries. Even the FARs, which give precious few specifics for log entry content, require that every log entry contain the ACTT (Ref. FAR 43.11). If you’ve only owned airplanes with original engines (which means the Engine Total Time and ACTT are the same number) consider yourself lucky. Engines come off one airplane and go onto another all the time. Great care is usually taken with the log entries at installation and removal. All the airframe information (registration, serial number in addition to ACTT) is put on the engine entries. The problem comes after installation. Somebody does an
14 • KING AIR MAGAZINE
FEBRUARY 2018
MAINTENANCE TIP